Fat – The Deception Uncovered

• What is fat?

That is the big question – we have all been told that fat is bad for our overall health but we don’t really know much about it. Let us now put to rest the perception that fat is bad.  Fats play a very important role in balancing the functions of the human body. They help maintain healthy hair and skin, act as shock absorbers for the body’s vital organs (fats buffer toxins in the body when unsafe levels are reached in the blood system by storing them in new fat tissue – which is later metabolised/removed via bodily excretions), promote the function of healthy cells and maintain the body’s temperature.

Fat also stores energy for the body (fats are broken down in the body to free fatty acids and glycerol, which is then converted to glucose by the liver and used as an energy source); this then explains why certain sports professionals are simply not all just rippling muscle and sinew (exceptions to this rule – those who are genetically predisposed to having a very low body fat levels). Fatty acids like omega-6 and 3 help regulate your heart rate and blood pressure. Fats also help the human body assimilate and absorb vitamins A,D, E and K.

The logical analysis of the layman on the assessment of any sports professional would be to assume that somebody who has devoted their life to participating at the highest level of sport to have very low body fat levels simply to give them the extra edge in performance.  One only has to look at explosive anabolic sports like the strong man events, power-lifting, rugby/American football (respective of position played), heavyweight MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and boxing to illustrate the fact that many visually display body fat thus disproving the supposition that carrying body fat is always bad. In fact unless you have a predisposition to low body fat, reducing fat levels to below your physical norm can seriously affect your performance and be counterproductive to your physical equilibrium. Just to make this more transparent the average bodybuilder off competition season usually carries 10-20% more body weight; the physical aesthetics are a far cry from the competition form you see on stage. This is because the removal of body fat for the competition look is simply done for the competition; behind the scenes bodybuilders whilst in this forced condition suffer from muscle cramps and blackouts because it is not a natural state for the human body to operate in. A professional body builder would never maintain such a low body fat percentage whilst training normally simply because body fat aids muscle development and endurance for the assimilation of nutrients and to train at equilibrium. In fact it is quite the opposite – bodybuilders trying to gain muscle when bulking-up aim to put on fat (within controlled parameters)  rather than loose it, to assist in muscle growth.

• Types of Fat

There are specifically 5 different types of fats found in our diets that are categorised under:-

1. Saturated Fat is one half of the nasty pair of fats that receives a lot of bad press. It is the most easily recognised fat because it is solid or waxy at room temperature. It is found in Poultry, red meat, whole milk, cheese and butter.
2. Trans Fat is the other nasty half and is easily categorised because it is predominantly produced artificially. It is found in cakes, biscuits and fried foods. This is the worst out of all the fats and like saturated fat can lead to heart disease if over-consumed.
3. Polyunsaturated Fat is liquid at room temperature and in the fridge. Vegetable oil i.e. sunflower oil is a good source of fat and can lower your risk of heart disease.
4. Omega Fat can be found in oily fish like salmon, herring and mackerel which contain omega-3 fatty acids. These sources of fat have been found to reduce the risk of diabetes, obesity and cancer.
5. Monounsaturated Fat is liquid at room temperature but can solidify in the fridge. Good sources are nuts, olive oil and avocados. These fats have also been found to reduce the risk of heart disease.

On analysis of the 5 different types of fat we can logically conclude that it is sensible to avoid excessive consumption of fats 1 & 2 and to integrate instead fats 3 – 5 as part of healthy balanced dietary regime. In view of the overall picture it is apparent that fat is an integral part of our dietary intake and overall health! The question we have ask ourselves is what types of fat we are regularly consuming and what effects are they having on our health? Because simply cutting out fats from your diet is counterproductive to a healthy balanced diet.

• What the experts say

No more than 33% of our total energy intake should be taken from fat. No more than 10% of our diet should be saturated fat. The average person in the UK eats 9.86kg of saturated fat per annum.

I recommend watching the following documentary “Supersize Me”, which is a fantastic diary insight into the extremes of consuming excessive bad fats click here.

Poisons we eat and how to avoid them

Poi·son

1. A substance that causes injury, illness, or death, especially by chemical means.

2. Something destructive or fatal.

The subject of the poisons we eat is constantly under the media spot light, in fact we are so overwhelmed by the information available that we are literally blinded by the science. Without a solid understanding of the principles of nutrition and the real facts these worries are literally swept under the carpet and eating habits remain the same because the overall picture looks complex.  The truth is your life doesn’t become more complicated once you know what to look for. So with out further delay let’s dive straight in.

• ASPARTAME

The Pentagon once listed Aspartame as a biochemical warfare agent, it continues to be one of the most controversial food additives. It was been linked to leukaemia and lymphoma which has lead to the continuing and ongoing protests of doctors, scientists and consumer groups who allege this artificial sweetener is killing us and should never have been allowed onto the market place. So you are asking why is it allowed by the government health organisations, I’m not going to justify the corporate or government reasons. Simply look to the example of the tobacco industry to get a parallel. Health of the masses has never been of major importance when corporate companies are looking at profit revenues and governments are looking at tax profits.

Most of us think it is safe because it has no calories and is a something that health-conscious individuals everywhere  specifically look out for. Independent scientists (scientists who are not taking back-handers from corporate companies) have found that aspartame can produce a number of damaging and extreme effects in humans; headaches, memory loss, mood swings, seizures, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.

It is has now been worryingly integrated into our modern diet (approved by the FDA 22 Oct 1981 – internal scientific research recommendations against introducing aspartame were ignored by Arthur Hull Hayes Jr on his own research team’s evidence and studies) and comes under many guises; Canderel & Nutrasweet, it is found in more than 5,000 foods; fizzy drinks, chewing gum, table-top sweetners, cereals, jams, sweets, vitamins, prescription and non-prescription drugs. The toxicity in aspartame lead to the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) denying it approval for 8 years. The risks have been brought to light by consumer groups, litigators and scientists. Providing horrific evidence that aspartame contributed to considerable central nervous system damage and has been shown to cause cancer in animals.

Overall conclusion – don’t buy into the advertising hype surrounding diet products and be guinea pig for future statistical research on the damaging effects of aspartame on humans – be responsible and respect your body – take aspartame out of your diet.

If you want further affirmation I’ve included a video link with tested scientific effects of food additives Click here.

• MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)

What common ingredient do Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, Subway, TGIF and countless other food venues use? MSG – why? MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body which is factually admitted by the food manufacturing sector. This makes people eat more and is scientifically proven to cause obesity. (Refer to book “The Slow Poisoning of America” by T Michelle Erb – Author; Erb. John E, Author.)

Hundreds of scientific studies around the world have been conducted around the world with MSG, scientists have for years been creating obese mice and rats in diet or diabetes studies. There is not a strain of rat or mice that is naturally obese they are created at birth by MSG injections which triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates causing obesity. The title for this new race of rodents in science circles is “MSG-Treated Rats”.

Potential harmful effects for children could be brain damage and damage to a child’s central nervous system which later in life may cause learning or emotional difficulties.

Food Additives that ALWAYS contain MSG

Monosodium Glutamate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Calcium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Textured Protein (Including TVP)
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Corn Oil

Again the question arises do you want to ignore the facts and be a guinea pig or take action and start removing MSG from your diet? Prevention is always better than cure. For further detail on this I’ve provided another video link – a speech given by Dr. Russell Blaylock on nutrition backed up by the science community Click here.

I hope this has been helpful, this is literally the tip of the iceberg but Aspartame and MSG are 2 of the major poisons we consume in our daily diets.

An Inside View On Adrenaline – How To Use The Natural High To Your Benefit

Base Jumping from the King Fisher (Tom Dancs)

• What is Adrenaline?

It is known as the High-Stress Hormone; the fight or flight mechanism – a natural chemical produced in the body; stimulating the heart and dilating the blood vessels.

You have probably felt the rush of adrenaline produced in your body as a result of a high-stress situation; walking into an examination room after a prolonged period of study or winning a competitive sporting event.  Adrenaline’s biological purpose allows us to deal with dangerous situations – it’s effects include a heightened pulse rate and a increased level of physical performance. This rush is usually paired with an increase in the production of endorphins which create positive feelings both on an emotional and physical level – this can last up to a period of 12 hours. This as mentioned in an earlier posting is the effect created after doing physical exercise.  Adrenaline can be used to push the boundaries of your physical performance. I personally use adrenaline for weight lifting if I want to supersede my performance levels I psyche myself up by thinking of an experience that has angered or agitated me in the past to create an aggressive production of adrenaline. On the flip-side excessive production of  adrenaline can cause stress-related diseases and high blood pressure, so operating within a sensible threshold by using adrenaline primarily in physical activity is a sensible option.

• How to use adrenaline

In a stressful situation your breathing and heart rate increases. This is your physical window of opportunity to use the adrenaline surging through your body to maximise your performance – take a deep breath and use the natural boost to push the boundaries of your performance.

The enhanced ability to remember things is also triggered in a emotionally stressful situation. My experience of trying to catch wasps and bees in my hands as a child has left an imprint in my memory cells to leave such creatures to their own devices. I also remember exactly what I was doing when I witnessed the Twin Towers collapsing in NYC – I was in a second had shop with a friend during a university lecture break watching the Twin Towers collapsing on a 42″ second hand TV. The shock of any event that stimulates the production of adrenaline releases glucose stores in your brain which improves your ability to remember specific details and events.

Adrenaline can massively improve your confidence in motivating you to do something that you would not normally do – a parachute jump or breaking a personal best record in any activity mental or physical. It is one of natures gifts that if wielded correctly can separate you from the crowd.

How To Begin Your Excercise Programme

• How do I keep up my motivation to exercise? – Where do I find the find the time?

These questions are probably the most frequently asked amongst peers who want to go to gym but cant find the discipline to do it.

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” Robert Fritz

We ultimately are in command of the decisions that make or break us. The majority tending to steer more towards the easier option – which is to procrastinate and avoid making the choices that take a little bit of commitment and effort. Why? The reasons could probably fill encyclopedic volumes from A-Z. Everyone has commitments and restraints incurred in the hectic lifestyle we endure today. The most difficult part of this is to break out of the counterproductive cycle of making excuses and deal with finding the solution.

Now I am going to ask you to take a minute and really think what your physical goals are – visualise what you want to achieve. To illustrate this for arguments sake let us say you aspire to have have a physique like Brad Pitt’s  Tyler Durden in fight club – you are city worker aged between 21 – 38.  This can be realistically achieved with commitment and discipline. Some of you may think that this is a complete fantasy, stop and ask yourself why? Unless you have a severe physical disability or illness there is absolutely no reason why you as a normal living breathing human being can’t achieve what is natural. But I can’t because I haven’t got time… Make time – sacrifice a few of the activities that are taking this time away from you. My workouts last no longer than an hour and I train 4 times a week.  Add up all the time you spend watching television, playing Xbox or even surfing the Internet and simply take out 3-4 hours.

Once you have established your physical goals and allocated your time write it down on a notepad as a contract to yourself. The next step is to find a premise to exercise. I personally find going to the gym far easier for the type of training I want to do which is body building, in terms of equipment, atmosphere and spotting on heavy lifts. Choose an environment that suits your personality and physical goals, my preference is a gym with all the core equipment I need (i.e. a lot of free-weights, squat rack, flat/incline bench etc.) I tend to steer away from cosmetic gyms with endless amounts of running machines and MTV screens, that is just my personal preference and it suits me. Some of you may prefer to do cardiovascular work in an open air environment, others may prefer to to buy gym equipment and train at home. I believe that if you surround yourself with like-minded people you tend to achieve your goals with greater speed and purpose.

When you begin perhaps start with a friend or friends to make the experience more enjoyable. Research your workouts properly, without a strategy or method you will have no direction. Understand how the body mechanisms work and remember that technique and properly executed form are crucial factors in training (nutrition which I shall delve into in another posting is the key element that unifies your physical development.) Take control of your training and educate yourself –  remember you are doing this for you! Do not rely wholly on friends or a personal trainer to offer you the magic remedy, being spoon fed will not benefit you in the long term. Once your training has become part of your routine things will get easier; when you start to see your physical goals becoming a reality your training will become even more rewarding!

On a scientific level of analysis it has been found that exercise stimulates various brain chemicals and boost feel good endorphins, which result in making you feel better after a workout. It has also been found that when an individual trains consistently for a period of at least 6 months – they will always return to training no matter how much time they take time out.

Health Claim Myths & Truths – (new topics in this post are always being added)

• Stopping Exercise Result In My Muscle Tissue Turning To Fat

This has to be one of the most asked questions in health related topics. This is a complete falsehood.

Firstly muscle and fat are 2 completely different tissues it is biologically impossible for one to turn into another. The simple fact is that when you stop exercising your muscle-to-fat ratio changes; your muscle tissues shrink thus clearing the way for fat tissue to take their place. This whole process is compounded by your caloric intake (which if still maintained minus your former training regime) results in an increase in fatty tissue! This then gives the illusion that your once defined obliques have become love handles and your wash-board stomach has transformed into a food pouch.

You can prevent your muscle tissues from shrinking excessively without going to the gym by keeping physically active through moderate everyday activities. But your body will adjust to your lifestyle eventually… our bodies are living computers if your built-up muscle tissue is no longer required for resistance activity this will be communicated to your body – resulting in muscle tissue becoming smaller and readjusting to the biological norm of the environment you live in. Do not expect your body to maintain complete proportions and development if you stop gym activity completely, a body that has been built in the gym will only (in the long term) be preserved by the activity that got it there in the first place.

• Eating Late At Night Make Me Gain Weight

The answer to this question is yes – the extent and degree is defined by you as an individual; your body’s metabolic rate, how active you are and your lifestyle. Dietitians usually recommend the after 8pm no food consumption rule to help prevent weight gain if so desired.

Lets be clear on the on subject of what happens to our bodies when we sleep – whilst you are sleeping your body is in a state of recuperation and repair, repairing bodily functions, assimilating what you have consumed and converting it to energy to repair cell tissue. It essentially is a natural fasting period where your body is literally cleansing itself. When you wake up you have breakfast to replenish and energise the body after this period of fasting (hence the meal term break-fast).

Now depending on your body type if you have a fast metabolism or a slow one, and what your aims are eating before you go to bed will make you put weight on! Forget the scientific claims on what works with animals my claims are based on human beings – my own findings and those of my gym contemporaries, professional body builders and athletes. It is common knowledge that the best experts on nutrition are bodybuilders they have disproved scientific theory and claims because they are the ones who are experimenting on themselves with nutrition to have control over their body’s development. Officially science has accepted that protein is a building block of muscle, something that was well known fact in bodybuilding circles for decades. I will cover this whole subject in more depth in my nutrition analysis later on.

• Eating a diet of just fruit will help me lose weight

Answer = No – First of all what essentially is fruit to us?  I am not going to delve into the complex biological context and composition of fruit,  it is simply a natural sugar source with a low GI (Glycemic Index) containing many beneficial minerals and vitamins which are broken down by the body slowly and converted into sucrose and glycogen to provide the body with energy. Natural sugar sources are far more beneficial than processed sugar sources as they are less taxing on the body and are assimilated more slowly, thus allowing for a fairer distribution of caloric energy.  They work as an excellent post-workout sugar food source and can be beneficial to any exercise programme.

Now if we go over what has been said the word sugar has been used more than once and herein lies the problem; if excessive fruit is consumed even though it is a natural food source and is far better than processed sugar it still is sugar. Therefore if a person was to go on a diet of just fruit you would undoubtedly be consuming too much sugar which would be absolutely counterproductive if your aim was to lose weight  - you would in fact be more prone to gaining weight.

I have come across many people who are always trying diet plans from fashion magazines who have been on fruit diets and are baffled by an increase in weight or no weight loss at all. Why make your life complicated start off by understanding the facts – simply look at how many calories you are consuming daily and find out the calories contained in the foods you are consuming and reduce them sensibly. As a starting point understand the importance of  protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins in relation to the human body. If doing the research is too long winded get the perspective of a qualified personal trainer or nutritionist to give you the foundation knowledge.  I will be posting up listings of food groups and an example diet plan in the near future to illustrate this more clearly.

In conclusion a strategic balanced diet (not a fruit diet) in response to your body type with a good exercise regime will achieve weight loss.

Exercising And Monitoring Your Heart Rate

• Why?

The level and intensity of your physical workouts must be based on listening to your body to understand your personal fitness level. A workout designed for full-time athlete will not yield the desired results if an individual who is a 60 hour week accountant was to undertake such a regime (a workout programme has to be tailor made to the person using it.) Monitoring your heart rate during a workout will give you feed back as to whether you should increase or decrease the intensity of your workout in-order to achieve your own goals.

As your fitness level increases your heart will not have to work as hard to distribute the same amount of oxygen to your muscles. It is also very important to understand that when your resting heart rate is elevated it’s your body’s way of  telling you to take a step back and have a little rest.

• What are the heart-rate parameters?

If your goal is weight loss you must be working within a certain threshold; within 60-70% of it’s maximum. To calculate your maximum heart rate subtract your age from 220. At this level you will be burning fat and communicating to your body that you want your muscles to be fed to work efficiently.

Working your body at 70-80% of it’s maximum heart rate creates an anaerobic workout which increases the build-up of lactic acid in your muscles – where your body will burn glycogen (storage form of glucose in animals and humans primarily made by the liver and muscles) rather than fat to get energy.

Increase this to 80-90% this is the red-line threshold used for explosive sports like sprinting, this uses your fast-twitch muscle fibres and can only be undertaken in short bursts. Pain also increases in this threshold.

• What are the benefits?

It is very important to understand that a change in weight and body shape are a good indication of weight loss but not fitness levels.

If your heart rate decreases gradually this is a good indication of an improvement in aerobic fitness, this is how you ascertain whether your work out regime is actually working.

• What are the ranges of a healthy heart beat?

bpm = beats-per-minute

70 bpm Healthy

50 bpm Very Fit

28 bpm Elite Athlete

• How to measure your BPM

Take your index finger and middle finger and place them gently but firmly on the inside of your wrist; count the number of beats you feel for 15 seconds and multiply by 4.

Attaining Your Dream Body & Expelling The Myths…

The first thing you must take on board with this blog is the fact that I am not going to feed you fabricated theories or suppositions we are going to deal with the hard facts; these will be a combination of my own personal experiences training in the gym for 7 years and proven facts that have been shared by professional athletes, nutritionists and scientists. I am not going to give you ridiculous testimonials and stories of an Adonis physique achieved in 2 weeks, simply because this is an industry fabricated phenomenon – please understand I am not writing this blog as a marketeer but as an individual who truly lives and practices what he preaches.  By the way I’m not a personal trainer and have not studied sports science; I train because it’s one of my passions; someone who actually takes his own advice based on learned principles and applies them with results. There is of course no end to knowledge – if you have methodologies or techniques that have worked for you please share them.

Before we continue do not expect results without effort, achieving the body that you want requires commitment, consistency, self-belief and determination! You must also realise that this journey which is very personal – is something you have complete control over within the parameters of what you have been physically blessed with and is one of both self discovery and enlightenment.  Done correctly you will feel more confident, balanced and purposeful (it’s worked this way for me) – after all we are biologically designed to be physically active.

I believe in sharing information for free with those individuals who really want to learn, I dislike how difficult it is to get a no nonsense analysis of personal health without having to part with cash. This is an essential part of life that should be fully accessible to everyone in a media driven society that deliberately breeds ignorance to fill the pockets of the corporate machines who profit from the control of information.

First of all you must understand and appreciate that we are all unique, we are not produced as clones. We all come in different shades, sizes, proportions and physical compositions – each of us blessed with both strengths and weaknesses. Thus comparing yourself to a separate individual who has a different genetic composition and physical make-up will not yield a valid analysis. To use a simple analogy it would be like comparing a classical music piece to a rock song, a Ferrari to a Porsche, tennis to football etc. Within this field we can go into further depth as within each of these pairs similarities and considerable differences exist.  In essence the key to understanding your body is wholly down to your own ability to understand  your very personal physical make-up. This can only be done with intelligent & logical trial and error experimentation and a lot of patience – the quicker you understand your body the faster you will achieve the desired results. The key lies within listening to your body; be honest with how far you can push the boundaries and how far you want to push yourself. This will only come if you are brutally honest with the facts. It would be unrealistic for instance to expect an individual who is 50 years old  to train as a 100 metres sprint athlete and work towards breaking the world record.  You will be battling against many odds – some you may have more control over than others; age, body-type, physical window of opportunity, existing state of health and mindset. You must also be willing to step out of the comfort zone and ascertain information without prejudice – in order to view the bigger picture about yourself and how this relates to your environment.

In seeking advice it must be stated that; there is no holy grail, there simply is not one method that works for everyone. Just to touch on the intricacy of the whole subject – each of us as mentioned earlier has different body types; there are 3 main categories; ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph. In these 3 categories we can have a whole myriad of combinations of any of the aforementioned types.  And your body will respond on a number of different levels which I shall cover in depth as we progress. I believe the predominant principle of success in achieving your target is your own personal drive and conviction. Ask yourself –  How much do you really want to attain your goal? To what extent are you willing to pursue your goal?  What existing challenges must you overcome mentally and physically to realise your potential?  If you mentally tick all the right boxes this will be a very rewarding journey.  I personally believe that we all lie to ourselves at some point or another when you start understanding the bigger picture and realise that you must follow your passions then things start happening with remarkable consistency and occurrence. Before we go further I must state that balance is and always will be the defining factor in life so be realistic and operate within the parameters of your own  personal ability and remember that as long as a passion exists in all the areas of your life achieving physical goals will be easier than you think.