Weight Loss in the New Year

I wanted to write a little blurb about what is probably the most popular new year's resolution.. losing weight. Needless to say that every year around this time people's biggest goal is to lose weight in the new year. If they need to lose weight then that's great; I definitely encourage people to have a goal and stick to it, but where people fall short is in sticking to their goals.

I read somewhere once, not in these exact words, that it's not the goal we enjoy or want, but the 'getting there'. All throughout December and earlier, people are already planning their weight loss for the new year and getting all excited and then when the new year comes around their motivation to reach their goal drops with each passing month. You can probably graph gym attendance throughout a year and it wouldn't surprise me to see it peak in January then drop.

One mistake people make is seeing their goal, take weight loss as an easy and common example, as a short-term thing that they'll be 'done' with once the weight has dropped. That's a perfect recipe for failure. Not only that but motivation to reach and stick with your goals is a whole other topic. It's better to see the start of the year as a change in your HABITS, not a temporary change that will help you lose some weight. Make a plan to change your eating habits, change the time you wake up everyday to have time to make more food from home, schedule some time for the gym, but most importantly stick to your plan whatever it is.

If you start to see your goal as something that you will have completed when you reach your target weight, I can guarantee you there will be a rebound effect. Always allow yourself to eat what you like in moderation. People make the mistake of taking things to the extreme, especially with these New Year's weight loss goals. Something like "starting today I'll never eat chocolate again", or "instead of working out for one hour I'm going to work out for seven" are very unrealistic expectations. The weight will always drop off quickly at the beginning and then slow down, and this is where people lose their drive. Weight loss and muscle gain follow a similar pattern, the beginning is always the easiest and then they plateau. Don't forget that a smaller body requires less calories to fuel, so once you've dropped a decent amount of weight and you still feel like you want to drop a little more, look over your diet again because if you track calories you might realize that you're eating the same amount that you did before you lost the weight.

Why I Don't Like Commercial Gyms, And The Lonely Squat Rack

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So I had to sign up at a new gym the other day and sad to say, it was one of those hair gelled guys-hoe bag girls-spend half the time on your cell phone-upper body only workout kind of gyms. I know I'm speaking for pretty much 99% of the gyms out there but from the moment I walk in I want to keep my head down, earphones in and get my workout done and leave. I'll be talking about Mr. Hair Gel in this post quite a bit in reference to your typical gym rat.

Why don't I like commercial gyms? I don't like the fancy colours, personal trainers 'training' their clients while just actually wasting their time and money, smoothie bars, the majority of people's time spent socializing between reps, TVs all over the place, fitness assessment crap that doesn't actually measure anything, to name a few. As they come to me I'll be sure to name some more.

I haven't been to these 'normal' gyms in a long time, at least 6 months, since the last half a year has been spent in my school's high performance room focusing on strength training. I've made a shift from the aesthetic look of fitness to general strength training. I'm happy to say they have a couple of olympic bars at this gym, but I'm appalled to say that there's only one squat rack.

I like that people feel that when they belong to a gym they belong to a community of people who share their interest in fitness, but when it becomes another meeting place to socialize and talk on your phone while resting, then they're just getting in the way of people who actually are there to work out. I wasn't surprised to see the majority of guys in the gym working only on their upper body while neglecting the things they use to walk everyday, which brings me back to the lonely squat rack. Why people neglect this piece of machinery is beyond me. All you really need is a bar and two hooks, no need for the entire rack. Yet it's been known to be the king of exercises for ages. Squats work your entire body from head to toe, if you squat you're working your quads, core, hips, back, and that's where real strength comes from. Those guys pushing 12 plates on the leg press aren't doing their quads justice. The squat is built around the hip drive which forces your hips to drive your body up after lowering the weight. Mark Rippetoe wrote a book called Starting Strength where he gave a diagrammatic illustration of where strength comes from. Imagine a person standing up and a bull's eye drawn from their 'core' going out in all directions. The centre, around the hips, is the origin of strength, and as the circle moves out to the extremities you see a drop in strength. Guys with big arms from doing 12,000 curls a day can curl a lot, but ask them to do 10 pull ups and they probably wouldn't be able to do 5. The guy who trains pull ups can do more curls than Mr.Hair Gel (I'm not mad at hair gel users cos I'm going bald).

It's funny to see guys with huge upper bodies walking around on tooth picks thinking they own the gym, and everything else. In a match of brute strength, these guys would fall down like a stack of bricks. Muscle size/quantity doesn't equal strength; there were guys training Olympic weightlifting in my old gym that are half my size and could pull two to three hundred pounds off the floor into the air over their head under control, something I can only dream to do. Ask Mr. Hair Gel to do that. They wouldn't look like they go to the gym if you saw them walking around. It seems like most personal 'trainers', if not all of them are only taught to train their clients with machines that make things easy and don't actually require you to do any work. All muscles are trained to work alone, not in synchrony, so when you push, your triceps haven't learnt to work with your chest.

I don't care so much that these guys walk around thinking they're the sh*t, but what bothers me is the stereotype that people hold that muscle size is directly related to strength. I can guarantee you it's not.

The Most Ridiculous Things I've Seen In The Gym

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So I thought this would be a fun little blurb rather than the usual mumbo jumbo I write where half the time I wonder if the things I say are even right.

I think it's time to make a list of the dumbest things I've seen go on in a gym.. in no particular order.

Prepare for atrocity.

1) One guy telling his friend 'form is key' then proceeding to demonstrate to fellow gym buddy the most abysmal way to perform a squat that I've ever seen.

2) Aformentioned fellow gym buddy is watching his friend exercise telling him 'good form'. Please. Why. How. Where did he even get the idea he was ready to give out advice after just being taught the wrong way to do something!

3) One guy in a Parasuco t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his bling hanging out (like anyone cares), hair gelled doing 18 variations of bicep curls, then going to the mirror in between sets to check on his lip ring.

4) Someone squatting in jeans. That made my brain hurt.

5) This guy was FULLY dancing in front of the mirror between sets. He has his iPod on and looked like he was right in the middle of a 'So You Think You Can Dance' audition. He had absolutely no shame. None. Actually this might have been the worst, I couldn't stop staring. I watched him complete an entire dance in disbelief.

6) Girls that have ramped up the treadmill to practically an 85 degree angle and are holding on for dear life while attempting to finish their 12 hour cardio session.

7) This one guy was working out in flip-flops. Let us pray for him.

8) Instead of gloves, one guy was using kitchen sponges to hold the weights.. you know, just incase he spontaneously had an urge to start cleaning afterwards. (Thanks to Robby for this one)

Feel free to add to this list of atrocities in the comments section.

Is a Calorie a Calorie?

This is a debate that's been going on for ages, and while I do believe a calorie is a calorie, I don't take someone's healthy weight level as an indicator of health. What I mean is that just because someone dropped weight down to what's considered healthy for their height, age, etc., the way they do it is ultimately what matters. I wouldn't advise someone to starve themselves to lose weight if it comes at the expense of their health.

Fad diets are extremely common these days. Almost every magazine you see will have some sort of claim on the front cover about some new way to lose 800 pounds in 5 minutes or something absurd like that. While these diets do tend to work for what they are in the end, they all play around the laws of thermodynamics. Not to mention that they will more than likely cause a rebound in weight gain.

If they tell you that you can eat what you want and still lose weight, it's true, but only because you're eating them in smaller portions without realizing. Or if they tell you to have a small breakfast then pig out at dinner (and magically lose weight), it's because you're at a net caloric deficit by the end of the day since you didn't overdo it at breakfast (again, without realizing). That's just an example of the idea behind them all. The average consumer doesn't understand (or know) the energy equation, so to them these diets all seem revolutionary once they start to see the weight come off.

In this article a professor of nutrition went on a mainly Twinkie diet and lost 27 pounds. Bottom line, putting health aside he proved his point. From a calorie perspective, weight loss only requires that you be in a deficit of calories. This really only goes so far and eventually things like hormones, hunger, mood swings etc will start to kick in and can determine how far someone's willing to take their diet.

Here's the article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/professor-loses-27-lbs-on-twinkie-diet/article1791760/

I'm in no way qualified to make any sort of argument here, mostly becuase I just don't know enough, but I'll offer my input regardless. Basically what he did worked. A pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories, so if you do the math that means to lose 1 pound of body mass a week you should eat 500 less calories a day than your body requires. Real life is much more messy than that, but this gives you an idea of how to work with numbers if you count calories. It's not hard to cut out 500 calories a day from your diet if your goal is slow and steady weight loss. That's roughly 2 slices of bread or 2 cups of pasta or a few tablespoons of olive oil. Remember that fats carry 9 calories per gram (more than carbs or protein), but fats themselves have lots of health benefits, so if you're trying to cut calories then dropping fats slightly will help, but not at the expense of protein. I would replace processed carbs for fats and keep fruits, veggies and protein high.

Omega 3

http://emed.com.au/extras/2665/fish-oil-456.jpg

I've wanted to write about Omega 3 fatty acids for a long time, but I always get overwhelmed by the amount of information there is out there to the point where I don't know how to begin.

I came across this article in the news yesterday and thought it would be a good starting point for my blurb on Omega 3. The researchers in this study were looking at the effects of DHA (I'll explain later) on Alzheimer's disease. Long story short, they concluded that DHA, and Omega 3 for that matter, doesn't do anything to reverse Alzheimer's. REALLY?! (Someone has to come up with a sarcasm font).

Here's the article:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/11/02/alzheimer-fish-oil-dha-supplements.html

Whoever thought that Omega 3 does anything close to reversing such serious conditions?! I was shocked that this study even took place. Here's the full study:

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/304/17/1903

This is why I hate mainstream media. They didn't test with fish or fish oil, and they go and conclude that a fatty acid found in fish oil doesn't reverse Alzheimer's. They used DHA-rich algae instead.

Here's what the participants were given:
The study drug was an algal-derived DHA (Martek Biosciences, Columbia, Maryland) administered as capsules, dosed as 1 g twice per day for a total daily dose of 2 g. Algal DHA contains approximately 45% to 55% of DHA by weight and does not contain eicosapentaenoic acid.

The sad thing is that people that buy into this study are now more inclined not to invest in Omega 3 supplements, or even eat more fish for that matter. Oh well, more for me! Noms noms.

So now that my rant is over, let me introduce you to some Omega 3 background and hopefully make you realize why you need to be supplementing with it. Omega 3s are polyunstaurated fatty acids, basically giving reference to the number of hydrogen bonds on the carbon chain. Unlike margarine and lard which are saturated fatty acids and solid at room temperature, polyunsaturated ones are liquid, which is why Omega 3 supps are either capsulated or in liquid form. There's a lot of research that shows that our modern diet has shifted from a Omega6:Omega3 ratio of approx 1:1, to 10:1 - 20-25:1. That's an insane increase towards a more Omega 6 rich diet which is associated with many of the most common sicknesses. Man evolved and their genetic patterns are much closer to a diet that reflects a 1:1 ratio.

Omega 3s health benefits are mainly attributed to three main fatty acids, ALA (Alpha-linolenic acid, EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexanoic acid). ALA is found in mainly dark green veggies, soybeans, flaxseed and some others, but the downfall is that the body isn't very efficient at converting it to EPA and DHA, which are mainly responsible for the health benefits. EPA and DHA sources are primarily cold water fish.

Here's a list of some health benefits associated with Omega 3:

- Reduction in inflammation in your body
- prevention of cancer cell growth
- Help prevent cardiovascular diseases
- Increase energy levels
- Improve sleep
- Help to improve concentration
- Reduce high blood pressure
- Can help with symptoms of depression
- Inhibit thickening of arteries
- Reduce the amount of lipids and cholesterol in the blood
- Maintain the fluidity of cell membranes

If you're wondering at this point how much Omega 3 you should be getting in your diet, I don't really have an answer for you. I've read about and experimented with many different doses and can only share with you what has worked for me. I've been the most consistent with about 4g combined EPA/DHA a day and have felt the most benefits from that amount. Let me explain something really quick. All Omega 3 tablets are made a standard 1g size. The actual content of EPA/DHA in each individual pill itself varies though. So when I say I take 4g I don't mean 4 pills, I mean I add the amount of EPA/DHA in each pill so that the number of pills I'm taking has a combined EPA/DHA content of 4g.

I took them for about 7 or 8 months before I started 'feeling' any sort of effect. Note that most of the benefits of Omega 3 are not really anything you can 'feel'. Given that our brain is mostly comprised of DHA fats, it's not surprising when I tell you that after about 7 or 8 months I started feeling like my memory improved phenomenally. I used to have trouble remembering very basic things and now I surprise myself at the detail I can remember, just in general. Not only that but I'm way more alert and when I'm working on something that requires lots of attention I can focus much much more. I'm in no way absolutely attributing all this to Omega 3, I'm sure since I fixed my diet way back all these little things play a part in the bigger picture.

It's also recommended you store your Omega 3 supps in the fridge or freezer since they can oxidize and go rancid if left out. I'll post a couple of studies that support the claim that higher doses than those recommended on the labels actually are more beneficial for your health.


http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=84

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/54/3/438

Convenience over health

If I had to sum up the average person's lifestyle in today's society in one word it would be: convenience. Everything we do from the moment we wake up till we go to bed revolves around finding the best solution in the shortest amount of time. Microwave breakfasts, drive throughs, to name a few. I will admit I fall victim to some of these myself, but for the most part it's not hard to look past all the bullpoop and realize that convenience really does come with a price. Living in a society of instant gratification, it's not surprising to see this effect. We want things done now and we'll pay the price later. Feeling good for just a moment is the reason we throw logic and rational thinking out the window, unfortunately a little too often.

Choosing the option that requires the least amount of effort seems to be the norm nowadays. Food can now be bought ready cooked and only requiring heating, but if you're even too lazy to do that then with a simple phone call you can have food delivered to your doorstep. All that's left is for the food to be fed to you. Gym 'routines' are now designed to be completed in a certain amount of time with the minimal amount of effort required, hard work is a thing of the past.

I'm more concerned with the diet aspect of this since it interests me more, although I'm a firm believer that when you go to the gym you should know exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it.

When did people start to think that putting their breakfast in the microwave and heating it for a few minutes does anything even remotely good for their health? All it takes is waking up say half an hour earlier to have the time to prepare something half-decent. Even instant oats which take less than 2 minutes to make are a million times healthier than say any generic brand of cereal. I make mine on the stove but I cook my eggs while they're cooking so it really isn't taking me any extra time. It's easy to wake up and pick up something on the way to work but it's not easy to take back the years of damage that millions of chemicals and toxins are doing to your body every day. Waking up early also gives you more time to prepare lunch for the day but sometimes if you're really pressed for time then it helps when making dinner the night before to make extra, and just take it with you the next day.

I believe people need to make more long-term changes to their everyday habits and behaviours. I have no doubt in my mind that there are no shortcuts. Convenience really does have a pricetag, and as humans, being the creatures of habit that we are, it's hard to change once we find something we're used to. It takes a lot to change something once it becomes ingrained in who you are; I myself still revert to my old habits sometimes and neglect certain aspects of my health. The important point though is that I've managed to change some core behaviours.

Start small, cut out some things from your diet that don't need to be there. Instead choose the option that requires more work on your behalf. That's really what it takes, because unfortunately the better option is usually the one that needs more effort. Try waking up a little earlier and making your breakfast for a few days. Cook extra the night before, put it in a tupperware and take it with you the next day. It will save you money on food and will be better for you.

Quinoa

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I've known about quinoa for quite a while but I've never actually eaten it until recently when I thought I'd try some for the heck of it. At first the smell of it threw me off while it was boiling, but I guarantee you it tastes much better than it smells. It has a slight fluffy and subtle crunch to it.

Quinoa is an an ancient grain thought to originate from South America and considered "the gold of the Incas". Apart from being a great source of manganese, magnesium, iron and copper, what sets this grain apart is its complete amino acid profile comprised of all 9 essential amino acids, making it a great choice for vegetarians and vegans. Its high content of the amino acid lysine makes it very effective at tissue growth and repair.

Quinoa has been shown to help reduce migraines thanks to its high levels of magnesium which aid in relaxing blood vessels.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=142&tname=foodspice

It's very easy to cook and really versatile.

Add a cup of quinoa to a boiling pot and fill it with water till the quinoa is just covered and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid or plate and once it starts boiling reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes. It can be added to salads, oatmeal, anything really. I usually add some tuna and veggies to a cup of quinoa and have that for lunch. Either way, experiment and if you have come up with any good recipes let me hear them!

Green Slime & Music

I always wanted to try making my own veggie shakes, so I decided to just try it this weekend. Here's a quick recipe I threw together, and despite it's vomit-inducing taste, it's extremely healthy for you.

1 cup kale
1 cup spinach
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 kiwi
1 banana

Blend it all together, and then blend some more. I steam the kale first to soften it up a bit. Believe me you'll need to blend this for a good couple of minutes if you want a decent consistency. I didn't blend it enough the first time I made it and ended up chewing pieces of the kale and spinach. Not fun, at all.

So in keeping with the original idea for my blog, here's some music I've come across yesterday that I can't stop listening to. It's very relaxing and very deep. Buddha Bar has some amazing music from all around the world and their style is definitely not something you hear every day.

The video is content of www.youtube.com




Enjoy!

Burger Recipe

I've come to realize that there's no real 'recipe' when it comes to things like burgers. You can play around with the ingredients so much that nothing really stays fixed. You just need to find the right combination of ingredients, even though I find that almost any combination of ingredients (within limits) seems to work fine.


http://www.newfunnypictures.net/data/media/1/Eat%20more%20chicken.jpg

One recipe I've made numerous times that I like a lot is:

1 pound lean ground beef (or 1/2 pound beef & 1/2 pound pork)
1 egg
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Handful of oatmeal or breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley
A squeeze of ketchup, mustard and some barbeque sauce
Finely chopped onions
I usually throw in some herbs and spices like oregano, seven spice, chili flakes etc. The more the better I find (again, within limits)
I like to also add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed - but this is optional, it just increases the Omega 3 content

Beat the egg, add the ingredients and make a nice mix before shaping them into either burgers or meatballs. This is even good just cooked on the skillet and thrown over some pasta for a really filling meal.

Really, the options are endless. You're basically making a meat mix and then you can do whatever you want with it. If I make these into burgers I'll slice up some avocado, tomato, onion and spinach and put them in a bun, and enjoy!

The Importance of Maintaing Your Body's Internal pH

I want to write a small article stressing the importance of maintaining the body's internal pH since this is something that gets overlooked a lot in my opinion. pH is very briefly a level of the acidity/alkalinity of the body (or anything for that matter), and the body maintains an internal pH of roughly 7.365. A huge amount of medical conditions arise in the body as a result of a drop in pH towards a more acidic value. Given the modern fast-paced lifestyle filled with fast food, pollution and stress this comes as no surprise.

Some of the most acid forming foods are protein, sugar, alcohol, coffee and tea. Yeah, coffee, I think a little part of me just died. Given that we'd basically stop functioning without protein, the solution isn't obviously to stop consuming it. What needs to be done is a balancing of internal pH. Vegetables are the most naturally occurring food source that help to stabilize an acidic environment. Diets high in acid-forming foods cause the body to use minerals to maintain the pH which can be taxing in the long run, resulting in various medical conditions.

Research has demonstrated that an alkali environment is needed for the body to repair and detoxify itself. Acidosis in the body has been shown to contribute to at least the following few conditions: kidney stones, immune deficiency, yeast/fungal overgrowth, depression, headaches, joint pain, stomach acid etc.

Here are a few resources and pointers to take away from all this.

1) An excellent book talking about all this and providing recipes: The pH Miracle - Robert. O Young and Shelley Redford Young.

http://www.amazon.com/pH-Miracle-Balance-Reclaim-Health/dp/B001Q3M5SU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283737541&sr=8-1

2) Add lemon to your water - An easy way to balance out your internal pH. You might think lemons are acidic but they produce an alkaline residue when digested.

3) Eat as many vegetable as you can, period. The more veggies, the more alkaline your body will be, not to mention the tons of other nutrients it will be getting. As a general rule I try and aim for as many colors as I can when it comes to veggies. Remember, variety is the key.



4) Here's a list showing different foods that are acidic or alkaline. You might be surprised at the amount of food we consume on a daily basis that is naturally acidic.


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Now even though you see things on the acidic side such as blueberries, cheese, milk and chocolate, it doesn't automatically mean that we should eliminate them from our diet. They each serve their own purpose in promoting a healthy body. Blueberries are bursting with antioxidants, cheese and milk offer very high quality protein and chocolate contains cocoa which apart from containing antioxidants also lowers blood pressure and improves blood flow.

http://www.trans4mind.com/nutrition/pH.html

Supplements - What's Necessary and What Isn't.

Supplements. What is a supplement? According to the online Cambridge dictionary, this defines a supplement:

supplement noun /ˈsʌp.lɪ.mənt/ [C]
• something which is added to something else in order to improve it or complete it; something extra

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/supplement_1

Note the phrase 'to complete it' in the above definition. I think this is what people overlook the most. Sports supplements these days are being used way more than they should be and even worse is they're being used to replace real food.

Every time I walk into a health/supplement store I'm never surprised to see the number of clueless kids spending tons of money on supplements and products they don't need. With all the variety nowadays from pump enhancers to triple extreme protein to products that claim to do everything for you except lift the actual weights, I don't blame them. The worst part is that they end up feeling like they need these products because of false advertising and marketing scams. It's taken some time to really learn to avoid such things, but once you start to analyze a product and look beyond the catchy terms and pretty colors, they really don't end up being all that amazing.

I've seen (and had experience) with employees trying to convince myself and others that products x and y will do this and that for me and if I'm serious about weightlifting then I'll buy them. Unfortunately half these people don't even know what they're talking about. Save your money, save your health and stick with the basic supplements that have been shown for many many years to have any sort of benefit and forget the ones that come and go like fad diets.

I've always been a believer in choosing real food over any kind of supplement, but for no other reason than convenience, there's a couple of supplements I'll continue to use and will advise anyone to use. These supplements are also the most researched and have stood the test of time. Stick to the basics like whey protein, some fish oil and a solid multivitamin (the last one is not even necessary if your diet is in check). Whey is nothing more than a protein that's created as a by-product of cheese production. It's cheap in bulk, easy to carry around, and very convenient to take with you to the gym.



http://biofoodpharma.com/loja/images/100-whey-protein-2342g.jpg

Tons and tons of research has gone into the effects of fish oils in the body. Omega 3 is primarily responsible for all the health benefits that fish oil are known for, and unless you're consuming higher than average amounts of fatty fish per week, chances are you can really benefit from some fish oil. With the overabundance of Omega 6 in the modern day diet, Omega 3 is needed the balance out the natural ratio. Fish oil has been shown to drop triglycerides, reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol and improve skin among tons of other effects.

Have a quick read through this website if you want to learn more: http://www.fish-oil-advice.com/benefits-of-fish-oil/

Supplements that claim to give you intense pumps in the gym are nothing more than marketing scams in my opinion. I'm no one special, with nothing more than an average athletic build. I have no super genetic inclination towards any kind of food and I can say that after eating a full, balanced breakfast with some coffee I have all the energy I need to get through a solid gym session. The ingredients list of some of these crazy products looks more like a list of all the things that go into a lethal injection. Caffeine has been shown to be an excellent pre-workout stimulant, so why people still continue to waste tons of money on useless supplements is beyond me.

http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/18

http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/5

You'll do much more for your health if you take the time and effort to clean up your diet. Stick to whole foods, eat more fruits and vegetables, and eat less processed food. I read somewhere once that it takes on average 3 weeks for the brain to develop any sort of habit. Make the effort to change something from your diet every few days and soon enough you won't even miss it.

Why You're Not Making Progress

http://www.fooducate.com/blog/wp-content/media/weight_scale.jpg

When people begin their approach to weight loss I assume the majority of the population out there will do one of the following: eat less food or exercise more, or both. While this isn't necessarily incorrect, it's not the entire story. Over the few years I've been working out I've probably seen hundreds of people in numerous gyms, and since I've been mainly working out at my school gym over the past two to three years, there are people I've come to see on a daily basis. What I've unfortunately noticed is that these people are in there day after day working their butts off and somehow they never seem to make any progress to their general 'physique'. They look exactly the same week after week, month after month.

You would think with the amount of effort those guys put into their curls and leg extensions they'd show at least some signs of muscle growth or fat loss. Same goes for those girls that run a total of probably a million miles or something ridiculous like that on the treadmill in a year, yet never seem to look any slimmer. If you ask me, something must be wrong, and I'm willing to bet it's their diet.

From the questions people have asked me over time I've begun to realize that generally people don't seem to understand the importance of their diet in the context of weight loss (or weight gain). That's not to say that exercise isn't important, it definitely plays it's part, but in my opinion I'd give diet 60-70% and exercise 30-40% in terms of overall importance to their goals.

It's great that people begin to watch what they eat when exercising and trying to lose weight, but sticking to a generic 'low fat, low cal, low this low that' diet won't necessarily do it for you; especially once your body has adjusted to the initial weight loss (which is mainly water) and you hit a plateau. This is when you need to re-think your diet, or maybe you should have analyzed it better from the beginning.

I'll leave you with a bit of helpful information that will at least let you see where you stand right now in terms of your body's needs. Everybody's body uses a standard amount of energy to function on a day to day basis. This is called you Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). A standard equation is used to determine this and from there you adjust your daily calorie intake and expenditure depending on your goals. The website conveniently gives you an estimate of the calories you should consume depending on whether you want to lose or gain weight. It takes some effort and lots of label-reading to really figure out how much of what you're consuming but this formula (I'll link it at the end) makes it a lot easier. Studies have shown that people generally tend to underestimate their calorie intake so again, this likely explains why people don't seem to make progress.

http://faculty.insead.edu/chandon/personal_page/Documents/Article_Nature%20Clinical%20Practice%20Endocrinology%20&%20Metabolism.pdf

For all you know you've been eating much more than you thought you were and didn't realize it, and so you have the most likely explanation for why you don't see the scale moving anymore.

Enough rambling, here's the formula provided by and fully credited to www.freedieting.com. Enjoy.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Broccoli

Broccoli is one of the most underrated yet healthiest foods out there. My love affair with the vegetable began about 2 years ago and I made it a goal to eat an entire broccoli a day. For the most part I've stuck with it but the way I cook it has changed. Looking back I can't believe I used to eat it raw, just the thought of putting that stuff in my mouth now uncooked makes me want to puke. I began steaming it for a while and got used to the soft texture it gives, but then recently I changed things up a bit and found a much more enjoyable way to eat it.

Take a quick look at this website to read more about what it has to offer.

http://healthbenefits-of.org/2010/05/the-health-benefits-of-broccoli.html

I begin by steaming it like usual for about 8 or 9 minutes, then throw it in a baking pan (preheat the oven to about 425F). I use an oil spray to spray the broccoli evenly and then sprinkle some salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Put it in the oven for about 25 minutes and send me a thank you message once you're done. I look forward to it more now than I do my main meal. It gives it a nice new crispy texture and an amazing taste.

Keeping It Simple

Without going into too much technical lingo, I wanted to write a brief article about keeping things simple and not over thinking your approach to exercise or weight loss.

I guess the most important place to start would be to say that even if you're not going to do much, just do something. What I mean by this is there's no need to jump straight into an advanced training program or extremely strict diet. Even if you just go for a walk around your neighbourhood or do some body-weight exercises at home; anything is better than nothing.

People sometimes get discouraged right from the start because they think that if they don't follow a professionally-made routine or follow a really strict diet they're not going to achieve their goals. That's simply not true. You can't run before you learn to walk. It's easy to find a simple exercise routine, and it's even easier to walk outside for an hour a day.

When it comes to changing one's diet, simply substituting things like refined carbohydrates for more whole foods like fruits and vegetables are little steps you can take. These keep you fuller for longer because of their fiber content, and provide your body with all the vitamins and minerals it's missing. Tons of research has shown their potential to help in weight loss, not to mention their health benefits. Generally if anyone asks me for any advice on how to change their diet the first thing I would recommend is switching to whole foods. Anything that's processed or has more than 2 or 3 ingredients shouldn't be consumed (especially if you can't pronounce the ingredients). I wouldn't expect people to make the switch overnight; when I first changed my diet it took about a year for it to be about 90% clean. I still within moderation eat some processed food, but in my opinion they're much much cleaner than what processed food can get to.

I've been approached by a few friends and randoms over the last couple of years that have asked me specifically about my diet, and I find the biggest issue is that people don't really know where to begin when looking for advice. I'm by no means a nutritionist or have any formal knowledge in that field, but I try and keep my advice as general and 'applicable to everyone' as possible. Hopefully people are in it for the long term and don't seek advice for a quick weight-loss scheme. Chances are it will rebound once they've reached their desired weight unless they take steps to make sure it's more of a lifetime change.

Once people start to realize that the choices they make regarding what to eat affects not only them, but such things as their local economy and the environment, I think it becomes easier to see that keeping it simple is really the best approach.

A few simple pointers. Try and incorporate these over a few months, no one will get them all right away.

-Spend more time in the produce section
-Spend less time in the middle part of the supermarket, the perimeter usually sells more natural food (try it and see)
-Buy food that was grown locally
-Substitute frozen pizzas for home-made pizza (making dough isn't that difficult)
-Eat more fish, blueberries, and nuts
-Drink more water and green tea
-Veggies keep you full so they're great as snacks. Eat them without limit
-Try and chew your food more. More chewing 'tells' your brain you're fuller and helps with digestion

Understanding Fat

There's a lot of confusion that still surrounds the whole 'fat is bad' and 'fat makes you fat' mumbo jumbo. The point of this post is not to give you any information on how to lose fat, but rather to give you a better picture of the common misconceptions surrounding fat and it's role in the body.

I hope people are starting to drift away from the ideology that came out of the 80's that fat makes you fat. It was basically common knowledge back then that fat was the reason people would, well, get fat. So began the whole low fat craze and before you knew it every item of food (and even still today) was changed to low fat. This probably made people really happy because now they could enjoy their favorite food and not gain (and probably lose) weight. Right? Wrong. Fast forward a few years and somehow we ended up with obesity rates higher than they've ever been. But, but, if I eat low fat food, I won't get fat right......RIGHT!?!? Well, not really.

It seems a little counter intuitive to think that switching to low fat food would result in weight gain, but in Michael Pollan's 'In Defense of Food', we see that one of the biggest reasons obesity rates sky-rocketed as consumers began switching to low fat was because what they didn't know was that their food was being pumped with sugar and high fructose corn syrup, making them much more calorie dense (and unhealthy). Once everyone jumped onto the low fat bandwagon, they were under the impression that they could consume as much, if not more, of everything else because they were on a 'low fat diet', but unfortunately they didn't realize that those extra calories were what was keeping them fat.

In one article by Lyle McDonald which I'll make reference to at the end, he talks about one amazing study that was conducted where individuals were given low fat or regular yogurt and told to eat as much as they wanted. The group that was given the low fat yogurt ate more. Shocker. So is human nature; give someone something to eat and tell them it's low fat and without noticing they'll eat more of it because they feel like they're 'saving calories'. What they don't realize though is that they're making up for the lost fat calories (fat contains 9 calories per gram) by consuming either more of the product, or by consuming more of something else. It's interesting to notice how people justify their fast food meals by ordering a diet drink or whatever on the side because, well, it's 'diet'. Right. Ok. One of the things people would overcompensate on was carbohydrates (very briefly, when carbs are consumed they basically halt fat oxidation (burning) and any fat you're consuming gets stored).

'In Defense of Food' by Michael Pollan is a great book and goes into much more detail than what I wrote here.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/all-diets-work-the-importance-of-calories.html

The Importance of Moderation

One of the biggest reasons people tend to never make (permanent) progress in terms of dieting is because they're so set on seeing results that they can't see the forest for the trees. I don't like the word 'diet' too much, it sounds too short-term and paints an immediate picture of anorexic-looking Hollywood celebrities with the 'ideal' body image. (As a side note, I'm talking a lot about dieting lately because I'm on one right now - Look up Lyle McDonald UD2.0 if you're interested). Losing weight is not just a physiological process; there's a psychological component to it.

We live in a society of quick fixes, immediate results, and zero patience. I for one have pretty close to no patience. When a webpage takes more than 3 seconds to load I immediately give my modem an evil look, as if looking at it will change anything, and assume that something's wrong with the internet in my area. The point I'm trying to make is that weight loss, weight gain (yes, this is a goal for many athletes), overall health improvement among others is a slow and non-linear process. It's important to take a couple of steps back when trying to move forward so you don't crack later on down the road.

After intentionally putting on weight for the first year or so since I started working out, I tried to shed some of the fat that had inevitably come along with the muscle. I failed the first time. I didn't know what I was doing and I thought that if I went on a strict diet for a short period of time, things would just fall into place. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. I pretty much gave up not long after and decided that maybe I was just 'meant to be' a bigger, fuller person. I've always been broad-shouldered, so I took the easy way out and blamed it on my genes.

About 6 months ago I decided to give it another go. I weighed 200 pounds at Christmas of 2009 and decided enough was enough. At that point I was lifting well, I ate a very balanced diet, but at the end of the day, healthy or not, calories add up if you don't count them. And excess calories are stored as fat (fat doesn't make you fat, excess calories do, but I'll talk about that another day). Although I've never been one to count calories or macronutrients (protein, carbs and fat), I seem to have a good intuitive sense about how much I eat. I say this because until last month when I really started analyzing my diet, without counting a single calorie I've managed to drop 30 pounds since last Christmas and conserve the vast majority of the muscle I've built over 2 and a half years. If you're not careful, it's easy to lose muscle on a diet if you aren't conscious of your protein intake.

I think a big reason for my success is that I've come to realize what the phrase 'everything in moderation' means. I probably eat out once a week and believe it or not you can still enjoy the majority of things out there if you do so in moderation. People tend to think that if they've been watching what they eat for one month and they've seen the scale go down, then one junk food meal is going to destroy their progress and send them back to fatville. It doesn't work that way. Not allowing yourself to indulge every once in a while will only hurt you in the long run once you've reached your goals. It makes the rebound weight come back much much quicker.

One last point, and probably the most important, is that people usually fall into the habit of thinking that they can over-indulge in some kind of junk food or 'cheat meal', because they're going to burn it off later by running for 52 hours or something ridiculous like that. What's important to keep in mind is that exercising in general does not burn as many calories as you think it does. Let's say someone eats a fast food meal worth 700 calories. One gym session, say on the treadmill, will not burn that amount. Cardio equipment doesn't give you an exact measurement of calories burnt. Lyle McDonald sets out a really nice and much more thorough article than the one I'm writing explaining this in more detail.

www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/exercise-and-weightfat-loss-part-1.html

Recipe - Roasted Pumpkin/Squash Seeds

First, credit for this recipe goes to a good friend of mine, Robby Costa. He gave me this recipe a while back and I've made it numerous times since and somehow each time it tastes better than the last. It's very easy to make, takes very little time and tastes amazing. When I buy squash I'll scoop out the seeds and use them for this recipe, but fresh pumpkin seeds can also be used.

I usually use a nice big handful of seeds, but quantity is up to you.

1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili flakes
Sprinkle salt according to how salty you want it
1 tablespoon olive oil
Mix it all together with rinsed, dry pumpkin or squash seeds

You can let them sit for a few hours before cooking, but sometimes, okay always, I don't have the patience to wait, so I cook them right away
Spread out the seeds on an oven sheet and roast at 350 Fahrenheit mixing every 5-8 minutes until seeds are cooked and crispy

Time depends on the amount and size of seeds; maybe around 15-25 minutes

You can also roast them in a skillet with a lid on the burner on low/medium heat, but you have to stir more often

Adjust the quantities as you like, I don't even measure anymore I just sort of throw things in

There's no elevator to success

Like all schools, my high school used to have year books that we'd get at the end of each year. The last few pages were dedicated to the graduates where they'd be asked a couple of questions, and some of them would put up their favorite quotes. One quote stuck with me that I try and utilize as much as I can in my life. It goes like this: "There's no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs".

It paints a pretty abstract picture in your head, but even my 500 year old neighbor would get the message behind it, which brings me to what I want to talk about today. I've really come to appreciate the meaning of this quote over the last half a year or so. In terms of where my training has gone, I believe I've made substantial progress. A decent amount of discipline is needed if you want to achieve any sort of goal and no less for people aiming to lose weight, which I'll talk about today. For the sake of argument I'm considering an athletically inclined individual here who's looking to shed body fat while conserving muscle, although the general principle applies to everyone. My knowledge doesn't span beyond what I've learnt from reading up on the research of people like Lyle McDonald, Alan Aragon and Dr. John Berardi. Of course Google Scholar, PubMed, and journal studies floating around the interwebz here and there have helped validate my claims.

I've come to realize that lack of consistency is probably the biggest reason people tend not to achieve their goals. They get bored, have too many 'cheat meals', don't see the scale move for too long which can be disheartening, or just decide to try the next new diet. In terms of body recomposition, fighting against your body's natural tendencies to conserve fat is not easy. At all. Your body doesn't care how it looks, all it wants to do is survive long enough to pass on your genes. Our ancestors survived because their bodies burnt fat when food wasn't available (I'm talking cavemen days). So given that, you can see that fat caveman = more chance of survival. This genetic predisposition is not something the human animal will ever, for lack of a better word, change. I'd like to write a lot more about dieting, but I'm only familiar with the basics so when I feel like I know enough I'll come back and write something on it. Right now all I know is how to do it the right way, and while I'm seeing progress, it comes slower and slower as fat drops more and more.

I can point you in the direction of two articles that serve as the very foundation of weight loss, be it for the average person looking to drop some pounds or an athlete looking to conserve muscle while cutting fat. There's three trillion diets out there and the dieting industry probably earns that much in revenue each year, but what the average person doesn't know is that all these 'fad' diets out there cleverly trick you into losing weight because they all revolve around the same principle - the law of thermodynamics. If you can eat 12 bagels at night and 'magically still lose weight', it's because the morning part of your diet was a banana and air.. diet air, so from a caloric perspective it's balancing out. When someone begins to understand how this principle works, they'll realize that setting out a healthier diet than the ones you see in magazines while waiting to check out at the grocery store, is better in the long run for many reasons. If you're still reading up to this point, thanks, and if any of this sparked your interest take a look at the two links below.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-fundamentals-of-fat-loss-diets-part-1.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-fundamentals-of-fat-loss-diets-part-2.html

Jalapeno Peppers Recipe

It looks like my second post will be a recipe as per one request (yay!)

I came across this recipe a few days ago and realized what love at first sight means.

5 or 6 green jalapeno peppers
cream cheese
olive oil
ground flaxseed
one egg

Cut the peppers in half but leave one side connected (so they open like they are on a hinge) Then gut the peppers....leave some seeds in if you like them very spicy
Fill them with cream cheese and close them up
Dip in egg
Roll in ground flaxseed
Pan fry in olive oil

These are great as finger food, or in my case, a snack if made in a batch of 40.

Let me know what you think. On a separate note, I can't stop listening to John Mayer's new album - Battle Studies.

First post

Since this is my first post, it will probably be short and pointless for the most part. I'm new to the whole blogging thing and I really just signed up to it to be able to share with people the things that generally interest me.

A brief background first: I'm almost done an Honors Bachelor Degree in Biology. It's taken a long time, hard work, and lots of procrastination. The next step is not very clear, but I've learnt to take things one step at a time and not get too ahead of myself.

Nutrition and exercise have become more of a hobby/passion than anything else really and after reading lots, and lots, and lots, and lots, it's nice to be able to share what you find out with others. Note that I'm not a qualified physician/doctor/whatever you want to call it, and any advice or research I provide is purely up to you to follow or not. I've come a long way over the last 2-3 years by following the very, very, very basics and in doing so have discovered a newfound care for my overall health.

I'll try and keep up with this blog as often as I can; I'm still trying to figure out my way around the site.