Fitness myths uncovered

 

All fat is “bad fat”

Pick the bacon over toast at breakfast, for a delicious meal while stimulating your metabolism to utilize fat for energy throughout the day.  It’s critical to preface the encouragement of fat consumption with the importance of a low/no carbohydrate diet accompanying it.  
If both macro nutrients are consumed in significant quantities, as most American diets often are, will result in an environment ripe for fat storage and the means to do it.   

That said, adequate carbohydrate restriction and sufficient fat consumption will encourage optimal hormone balance in the body, improve metabolic efficiency and manage blood sugar levels.  

This shift in calories from carbohydrates to fat and protein will dramatically improve one’s capacity for weight management and overall health in the long term.

Lifting light weights for high reps is best for toning

When you place sufficient stress on your body through exercise the body’s response is to develop muscle.  Although varying the type of stress (angles, weight load, intensity, circuit training, etc.) is ideal to optimize the rate of progress, it does not determine the development of “toned muscle” vs. “bulky muscle”, you simply develop muscle.   

The aesthetic or visual display of that muscle will rely largely on body composition, driven by proper nutrition and the aerobic intensity of your program.  The latter can be accomplished simply by increasing the pace of your current workout, utilizing a circuit training style with minimal rest if fat loss is your goal.   

To be clear, this type of training is aimed at improving body composition or reducing body fat, not necessarily to develop “toned” muscle.   

If your goal is to achieve more “definition” then you should emphasize a nutrition regiment that is appropriate for the degree of fat-loss you seek.

Additionally, lifting as heavy as possible to achieve the desired rep count in your program, this can range from 4 – 25 reps, using a combination of rep ranges within one 4 week program to capture maximum results, regardless of your fitness goals.  

Never should you be using light enough weight that allows you to achieve the prescribed rep count with ease.  Everything we do in the gym is about forcing adaptation, placing your body under stress it cannot currently perform under, thus forcing it to change.

Crunches alone will give you 6-pack abs

Regardless of all the marketing slogans suggesting otherwise, developing a 6-pack requires more work outside the gym than in it.  Implementing a combination of abdominal exercises into your current program is smart for almost anybody and although it will impact core strength and the development your abdominal muscles it will do little to display the shredded 6-packs and flat stomachs we see in these cliché infomercials.   

The placement of our abs on the body (behind large fat stores) make them particularly hard to see unless a sufficiently lean body composition is achieved.  As such, a six pack is truly uncovered in the kitchen.

Lifting heavy weights will bulk women up

Because of the hormonal make up of women it makes it nearly impossible for most women to develop significant muscle naturally, regardless of the type of lifting they engage in.  That being the case, many women see even more benefit from lifting heavy and intense because it’s the most effective way to elicit physiologic response, eventually achieving the defined physiques we see on fitness covers.  

Many of our bikini competitors and fitness models lift weights in the same manner I do, in conjunction with a lean diet results in the impressive physiques you see in fitness magazines.

Eating “whole wheat” pasta and/or bread is healthy

Too often the “whole wheat” products marketed to us will trick you into thinking you’re consuming a healthier alternative to it’s white/starchy counterpart.  When a quick flip to the ingredients listed on back you’ll find that you’re still consuming essentially just starch.  

Starchy carbohydrates will effect blood sugar in the same way that table sugar does, in fact more.  When our bodies consume carbohydrates in this form we experience a dramatic rise in blood sugar/glucose, in response to this signal our pancreas begins releasing insulin in an effort to reduce or stabilize blood glucose levels by pulling nutrients out of the blood stream and into various energy stores throughout the body.   

Anything left over will be converted to triglycerides in adipose tissue (FAT).  Chronically high insulin levels will result in excessive weight gain in addition to numerous metabolic deficiencies.   

By dramatically reducing carbohydrate consumption it allows us to minimize the pervasive energy storage environment created by insulin.  

Equally important is the physiologic response to these low blood glucose levels, in much the same way our bodies signal to the pancreas to release insulin to lower blood sugar, our body begins releasing Glucagon in order to raise blood sugar.   The release of glucagon actually promotes the breakdown of energy stores (FAT) for the production of energy.

Long story short, when you’ve been consistent on your low carbohydrate diet for several days, you’ve sufficiently depleted the energy stores in liver and muscle, consequently utilizing adipose tissue or FAT as the primary source.

Read More Here: http://www.shyacademy.com/

Low Carb Diet Comes Back Around Yet Again

A new study has caused the infamous low carb diet to come back around in the press yet again despite mountains of scientific evidence that in the long term, calories in vs. calories out–not carbs or fat–is what matter most in weight loss. The study was recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and it included 148 men and women. Half of the participants ate a low-fat diet while the other half ate a low carb diet, cutting out breads, pastas, potatoes, high sugar fruits, baked goods and other carb-laden foods.

At the end of the study, the low carb group lost eight pounds more than the low fat group, leading press headlines to once again shout the benefits of a low carb diet from the rooftops. Low carb dieting began as far back as the 1800s, but it became incredibly popular in the 1970s, when Dr. Atkins was at the height of his career. His eating plan became so entrenched in the American mindset that it became known as “the Atkins Diet,” or as some people enjoyed calling it, “the Atkins.”

Atkins’ philosophy was that by cutting out carbs, a person’s body would be pushed into what is called ketosis. That is when the body is forced to burn fat as fuel, but it is also a condition suffered by diabetic people as well as those with kidney disorders. Few doctors think that ketosis is a healthy state in which to be, and it is hard on the kidneys and other organs. The Atkins diet starts people out on a phase called “induction” in which they eat almost no carbs, then moves them into the weight loss phase, where they can eat limited carbs in the form of vegetables. Maintenance allows some fruit and alcohol as well.

It is true that people lose weight on the Atkins diet or most any low-carb eating plan, but some experts say that the weight loss is due mostly to the drastic calorie reduction that occurs when carb-rich foods are cut from a person’s daily intake. Indeed, as USA Today reports, larger studies have shown no significant difference in weight loss between low fat and low carb diets.

Perhaps the most research has been done on the effect of calorie restriction as it pertains to weight loss. What the body of research over time shows is that calories are the main factor in determining weight loss. When someone burns more calories than they ingest, they will lose weight barring any underlying medical condition. This has been proven again and again in numerous meta-analyses over at least 50 years.

Nearly all diets rely on one basic factor for success: calorie restriction. Whether that restriction occurs due to cutting out food groups, counting points, measuring portions, eliminating sweets, adding exercise or replacing meals with shakes and bars, all the diets have one thing in common and that is a net reduction of calories.

Low carb diets have come back around yet again, but like the current gluten-free hysteria, low carb is a trend; a fad that keeps waxing and waning over time. To lose weight for the majority of healthy people, calories must be reduced somehow, and no amount of marketing for any specific diet will change this proven fact.

http://www.viralglobalnews.com/health/low-carb-diet-comes-back-around-yet-again/16086/

Aerobic exercise better for weight loss than high intensity interval training, research from the Charles Perkins Centre finds

Researchers find aerobic exercise has the best ‘fat furnace’ effect
High intensity training workouts not a magic bullet for weight loss

HIGH-INTENSITY interval training and Crossfit has been touted as the quickest way to get lean but according to new research, it’s no fast track to fat loss.

A world-first controlled trial has found regular continuous aerobic exercise yields better fat loss results than high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts for overweight people.

The trial was conducted by University of Sydney exercise physiologists Shelley Keating of the Faculty of Health Sciences eand Dr Nathan Johnson at the Charles Perkins Centre.

Forget the claims HIIT workouts can whip overweight people into shape in less time than regular aerobic exercise

Dr Keating said a growing number of people were substituting HIIT for regular aerobic workouts in their exercise routine.

“High-intensity burst training does deliver important benefits like increased fitness, but it doesn’t have a ‘fat furnace’ effect if you carry weight around the middle,” she said.

“The message is if you’re hitting the gym to lose weight and trim your waistline, stick with steady aerobic exercise to shift abdominal fat and see better results on the scales.”

Continue Here: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/aerobic-exercise-better-for-weight-loss-than-high-intensity-interval-training-research-from-the-charles-perkins-centre-finds/story-fngr8h4f-1226916104243

Tips on knowing what foods are actually healthy

Taking a trip to grocery store can be confusing at times, especially when you're trying to eat healthy.

While everything may look good, nutritionists say it’s easy to fall into a food trap if you don’t read the labels carefully.

“It's organic, it's healthy, it's GMO free, all that stuff, but the problem is, it just has way too many calories," nutrition specialist Ken Fujioka explained.

Fujioka said you need to read the labels to know exactly what you're getting these days. You can even get too much of a good thing.

"When you take things like fruit and you grind them up and concentrate them, you're actually making a high fructose syrup," Fujioka said.

Air-popped popcorn is one of the healthiest snacks around, full of fiber and low in calories.

"But the minute you soup it up, with sugar, with salt, with cheese, that's when you run into a problem and you take a healthy snack and you render it unhealthy," said Tod Marks with Consumer Reports.

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Why Are Pregnant Women Criticized for Exercising?

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Sara Haley, a personal trainer and mom from Santa Monica, California, hits the gym six days a week — and it turns out that's a problem for her fellow gym members, who, Haley says, routinely harass her because she's 35 weeks pregnant.

According to a recent story published in the New York Daily News, Haley, who specializes in pregnancy fitness, incorporates a combination of pull-ups, tricep dips, dead lifts, and lunges into her workout routine. But the constant stares, whispers, and comments (“Wow, your butt is so big!” and “Those stretch marks are the worst I have ever seen!") in the gym make her feel as though she's being ganged up on. “It is an element of bullying,” the 35-year-old told the newspaper. “Some people have no filter all of a sudden when they see a pregnant woman training.”

And while Haley — who in April was named one of 50 hottest fitness trainers by Shape magazine — insists that exercise is encouraged during pregnancy, she doesn’t want to be viewed as herculean. “My favorite reaction in general, throughout my pregnancy, has been the classic eye contact with a big thumbs up,” she said. "I do appreciate the encouragement, but honestly, I'm just pregnant, not trying to save the world."




She's hardly the first pregnant gym-goer to cause controversy. Back in September, Lea-Ann Ellison of Los Angeles made headlines for participating in CrossFit, a high-intensity conditioning and core-strengthening exercise program that includes lifting barbells and dumbbells, tire-flipping, and using medicine balls. Ellison became an international sensation after photos of her lifting weights (She says they were staged for a pregnancy photo shoot.) hit the Internet and went viral.

Yahoo Shine could not reach Haley for comment. However, the benefits of exercise during pregnancy have been well documented. For the mother, staying active promotes energy, sounder sleep, and may even help to prevent gestational diabetes and reduce the length of labor and the odds of requiring medical intervention during birth. And babies reap the benefits too. A University of Montreal study found that pregnant women who exercise for just 20 minutes three days a week boost their newborns' brainpower. And, according to research conducted by Kansas City University, pregnancy exercise improves newborns' heart health too.

And according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), pregnant women can safely walk, swim, cycle, participate in aerobics, and run (provided they were runners before they were pregnant). "The general rule of thumb is, if it's a healthy pregnancy with no complications, we recommend that patients resume their pre-pregnancy exercise routines," Shahin Ghadir, MD, who is board certified in both obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive endocrinology and infertility, tells Yahoo Shine. "Otherwise, starting a new exercise routine can be a huge shock to the body."

In fact, taking up a new routine without being monitored by a doctor can lead to injury for both the mother and baby. If a pregnant woman isn't accustomed to exercising, Ghadir advises she start a regular walking routine.

For Haley, she has observed one interesting side effect after exercising throughout her pregnancy with her 3-year-old son, Landon — an appreciation of her workout music. “When Landon was born, the only thing that would stop him from crying was me playing hip-hop music, like Jay Z,” she told the New York Daily News. “I think he heard it in utero and was jamming along with me!”

https://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/pregnant-woman-sara-haley-excerise-174157988.html

Google Contact Lens Help Patients with Diabetes

Good news for diabetics everywhere! At this time, a new technology is offered by Google.

A convenient contact lens was developed to help diabetics monitor their blood sugar levels.


The prototype was revealed last January 16 and has much potential. It has the promise to replace the skin implants that continuously records the blood sugar levels. Doctors even hopes to dispose of the glucometer and many patients will be happy that they will not undergo anymore the agonizing and cumbersome blood extractions and finger pricks.

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The device has a small computer chip that contains a glucose sensor and a very thin antenna. This is implanted between the soft wearable contact lens. This so called “smart lens” is powered by tapping into radio waves in the air and sends data to a smart phone or other related devices.

 We all know that blood sugar levels change every minute depending on the activity and food intake of an individual. Especially for elderly and sick patients, sudden spike and drop of blood sugar is dangerous and may even be fatal! A regular monitoring is a must for those who have labile diabetes.

Continuous, regular monitoring of capillary blood glucose levels by finger pricking is doable but most of us really hate needles. The pain and difficulty in doing finger pricks is the most common cause of discontinuing blood sugar monitoring at home.

According to Google cofounders Brian Otis and Babak Parviz, miniaturized electronics might be the way to solve this problem. This very small chips and sensor might solve the enigma of tear glucose and measure glucose precisely.

Random blood glucose testing is generally measured by obtaining a sample of capillary blood and the ideal method is of determining blood sugar is by venipuncture after an overnight fast.

However, it should be known that glucose can also found and measured in other body fluids such as the tears in the eyes. However, there might be a gap in the detection of sugar levels between the blood and the tears due to the continuous change in sugar levels. Thus, further studies are needed to determine the time interval in the detection and also to determine the factors that may affect glucose levels in the tears.

The idea is remarkable if it can be done said Dr Gerald Bernstein. It should be identified whether the device measures the glucose levels only in the tears outside of the eye or the aqueous humor.

The aqueous humor is the fluid that fills the space between the cornea and iris and it may be a much closer association with the blood sugar than the human tears. However, it is just a body fluid and has a different composition than blood.

Measuring aqueous humor glucose has been studied before and ghave found statistically significant corelatuon with blood glucose. The researchers measured the glucose level by using a low level laser that can send light through the fluid in the chamber of the eye. This was done in the intraoperative blood sugar monitoring of patients undergoing surgery.

 Bernstein said that Google’s revolutionary device is not that easy and may not be what everyone hopes for. However, it may be beneficial in the sense that it is more worthwhile than the current practice of blood glucose determination and monitoring.

 Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in the young hence the term juvenile diabetes. An estimated 3 million of Americans have Diabetes mellitus Type 1. This is an insulin requiring type of diabetes since the body does not produce insulin completely.

Dr Alvin Powers understood the enthusiasm behind the Google lens. A novel device will get much attention. He said that 99% of diabetics suffers and monitors their blood sugar levels by finger pricks because subcutaneous measuring devices are very costly and has to be adjusted regularly. The smart lens needs also to be calibrated on a regular basis for it to be beneficial.