Info found at yesterday from Jules at Dax;s Moy Gym

very interesting read, long but if you have time have a read and let me know your thoughts

HAPPY FRIDAY ALL. :)

Diets?

Any “diet” will work intially, but only in the short term. You may be losing weight, but are you losing FAT? Conventional “diets” will inevitably result in weight gain.
The body will react to a lack caused by a diet by slowing down the metabolism to survive on less for longer. It is part of the body self-preservation mechanism. The body will burn muscle to survive and make up for calorific defecit.
Diets based on high level calorie restriction actually increase the activity of the fat storage enzyme, and decrease the output of thyroid hormone.

A balanced diet?

We are all familiar with the food pyramid that has long been held as the standard for healthy eating. A varied mix of healthy grains being the base of it. Of secondary importance comes fruit & vegetables. Dairy & meat & fish in a smaller proportion. And lastly, fats oils & sugar.
But, where did this standard come from? The food pyramid that we recognise today was initially utilised by farmers as a standard to help cattle to gain weight for farming purposes. It was then minimally adapted to suit the human diet.
In Western Society we are encouraged to over-consume on quick & cheap carbs. Breads, pastas, cereals, wheat, oats and rice etc. Complex carbohydrates do offer health benefits, but consuming grains will nevertheless trigger an insulin response, which will ineveitably slow the weight loss process.

Fats are bad for you?

Eating fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat. It may be that the types of fat that you consume are bad for your health. But Essential Fatty Acids are what they say they are, Essential for human health & long term weight management. So stop avoiding the good stuff because you are concerned about the fat content. The fats in oily fish, avacados etc will help the body expel fat. Just keep clear of toxic fats such as hydrogenated oils etc

Calories

We’ve all done it. Looked at two items on the supermarket shelves & opted for the one that has less calories. But counting calories will not help you lose fat. The body is seeking nutrition, not calories. The better fed nutritionally the body is, the less hunger, cravings etc you will have. There are simple mathmatical calculations that people utilise to tell you how many calories you require, but they make little to no allowance for individual factors in your lifestyle, genetics, hormones etc that will affect your metabolim and efficiently you are burning calories. Boost your metabolism to burn the calories don’t count them. And avoid processed foods and other hormone & metabolism disruptive foods that will create food cravings, and block nutrient absorption.

Exercise

One of the simplest & effective ways to boost your metabolism is exercise. Exercise will create a calorie defecit to enable you to lose weight, without the negative impact of low calorie diets putting the body into “starvation mode” and, therefore wanting to retain fat and slow the metabolism.
Exercise, weight bearing especially, encourages the body to build and retain muscle. Whereas a lot of the weight loss from dieting alone can come from muscle loss. You may have lost weight, but still be just as fat.
An effective exercise programme can boost metabolism, hormone function and increase fat burning enzymes. It promotes the body to burn carbohydrates for energy, storing it as glycogen, rather than as fat!

So what is an effective exercise routine?

Often when people find an exercise programme that has worked for them in the past, they stick to it with little or no deviation. Because it worked, right? Wrong! The body needs change otherwise it adjusts to the programme, the programme ceases to be effective. Not only does the body get bored, but psychologically you will too. And that’s when we start to get into that “I’ll go tomorrow” point in our exercise routine.
Here at the Dax Moy Personal Training Studios we will change a client’s programme approximately every four weeks, increasing the demand and challenge on the body to maximise results.
When you train as a specific body area that does not mean you will be burning fat in that specific area. Where you retain your body fat is based on genetics, hormones, posture. Not the exercise you choose. You will burn more body fat by exercising using multiple muscle groups, increasing the body’s demand for fat burning.

Cardio?

Extended periods of cardio are ineffective. They actually put the body into a period of stress, triggering cortisol release, encouraging the body to store fat. Plus, the body will start to use muscle mass as fuel, not body fat.
Instead, opt for High Intensity Interval Training. Intervals & whole body workouts willl fire up the nervous system encouraging the metabolism to boost, not just when you are training, but for hours and hours afterwards.