1. Avoid sugar and all calorie dense refined carbohydrates!
This has to be number one on the list because it is a major cause of obesity in developing countries across the world. It is now understood that very sweet foods stimulate the brain's reward system in a similar way to that of cocaine and gambling. The challenge for most of our ancestors throughout history was getting enough to eat to avoid starvation. It was important to feast on sweets and fats whenever available as a matter of survival. However, in modern society, where there is an abundance of quick release high-calorie food, our biological instincts work against us and when we consume these foods often we get fat! Things that may quickly turn you into a Yule hog; white bread, bagels, pasta, pastry, pizza bases, white rice, biscuits, granola, potato chips / crisps. 2. Eat a higher proportion of vegetables. Go on, go crazy. For weight loss to occur, the energy intake must be less than energy expenditure. This dietary energy deficit can be achieved by consuming quite a high volume of vegetables because they contain fewer calories. For example, 6 cups of cooked broccoli, 2 heads of romaine lettuce, 2 cups of blueberries, 1 apple, and 1 orange represent a large quantity of food but only adds up to 800 cal. As well as losing weight, a diet rich in fruit and vegetables can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, and lower the risk of eye and also digestive problems. 3. Slightly increase the amount of lean protein in your diet. Eating more protein has been shown to help people lose body fat (when combined with exercise) and maintain a stable weight after weight loss. Fish and poultry such as chicken and turkey are great sources of lean protein but you don't have to get your protein from meat as it can be obtained from a varied vegetarian diet. Nuts, beans, chickpeas, lentils, soya and peas are all rich in protein as well as important vitamins and minerals. 4. Eat foods high in monounsaturated fatty acids such as Avocados, Nuts, Olives and Sunflower seeds. Snacking on Almonds has been shown to be good at suppressing hunger and therefore halting cravings for the unhealthy alternatives. Avocado is also high in dietary fibre and several vitamins and minerals. Studies have linked avocado consumption to lower body weight, BMI, and reducing waist circumference. Fibre rich foods will reduce the rate at which sugar is released into the bloodstream and therefore helps prevent it from being stored as fat. 5. Eat slowly please, it's polite. Several studies have demonstrated that eating slowly can reduce calorie consumption and body weight. To feel full after eating, the brain must receive hormonal messages (such as cholecystokinin from the gut and leptin produced by fat cells). Research suggests that leptin has to interact with dopamine in the brain to produce the feeling of being full after eating. However, eating too fast does not allow enough time for these signals to meet, the result being that you do not feel full until you have eaten more than you should! 6. Stay well hydrated and drink water before a meal. Researchers from the University of Birmingham have found that drinking a bottle of water half an hour before each meal is a very effective weight loss strategy. The experiment was carried out over 12 weeks using obese adults. Participates in the study group who were instructed to ‘preload’ with water lost, on average, 1.3kg (2.87lbs) more than those in those who were in the control group. Also, staying hydrated increases mental alertness, metabolism and the activity of the nervous system, contributing to energy expenditure and therefore helping weight loss! 7. Sleep for 7-9 hours each night (every night!) This is a serious issue and usually when I tell people about this they give me that look like they are pretending to take me seriously but they really have absolutely no intention of doing anything about it. From a health perspective, inadequate sleep promotes systemic inflammation (ruins your immune system) and completely messes up the hormones in our body. Leptin is a hormone made by fat cells that decreases your appetite. Ghrelin is a hormone produced by cells in the stomach and pancreas which increases appetite. As well as making you annoyingly grumpy, a lack of sleep will lower leptin levels and increase ghrelin causing hunger and increased food consumption. 8. Use bacteria like they use you. The amount and type of the bacteria that exists in the gut has been shown to differ depending on whether you are lean or obese. This is because bacteria can influence how efficient the body is at extracting calories from food. Prebiotics are food ingredients that encourage the growth or activity of certain types of beneficial bacteria in the gut. They can be found in variety of foods such as vegetables and whole-grain cereals, and can be added in yoghurt. There are specific bacterial species such as Bifidobacterium spp. that have been actually been shown to reduce weight gain and fat mass. 9. Life is way too short to be stressed all the time. Stress is an evolutionary fight or flight response. In the past our ancestors would engage in some kind of physical activity when stressed (running away from the giant sabre toothed piglets or fighting them to survive). However, now we have the option of eating hedonic food, food makes us feel better, well for about as long as it takes to us to eat it. “Stress eating” and “self-medication with comfort foods" is very common in those who are having to deal with a stressful situation. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) discovered that mastering simple stress-reduction techniques helped prevent weight gain even without dieting. If you really cannot avoid stress then try to do something to reduce it, weight loss tip number 10 may help! 10. Exercise. I wonder if there was just one secret thing that would help me lose fat, whilst massively improving my overall health and would make me look good naked... That would be cool... Ryan Fearn: Personal trainer Canterbury References http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2015/08/Abottleofwaterbeforeeachmeal260815.aspx https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4901052/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-sugar-and-fat-trick-the-brain-into-wanting-more-food/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4111078/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270213/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4121911/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4116579/ http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v67/n11/full/ejcn2013184a.html http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v68/n7/full/ejcn201439a.html https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/additional-protein-intake-limits-weight-regain-after-weight-loss-in-humans/29CB9EE1953ABE6A05000A80B3F19B73 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545982/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1663443 http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-eating-slowly-may-help-you-feel-full-faster-20101019605 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100706150639.htm http://nutrition.ucdavis.edu/info/perspectives/pastissues/2011/6np_novdec_11.pdf http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2016/01/26/ajcn.115.119339 http://www.nature.com/ajgsup/journal/v1/n1/full/ajgsup20125a.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7122/full/nature05414.html https://genomemedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13073-016-0303-2 http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v67/n8/full/ejcn2013116a.html
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The research backed glute exercises....
- Forward step-up - Clam with resistance band - Unilateral bridge Here is the next set of key exercises from research studies that involve high glute activation. Interestingly, none of them actually require the use of heavy weights... - Forward step-up. Complete each set using one leg at a time for the desired number of reps, up to 15 is usually sufficient. Step up onto a raised surface such as a plyo-box and then take a slow and controlled step down again. It is safer to just use body weight when completing this exercise for the first time as it is difficult to maintain balance. - Clam with resistance band. Set up the resistance band in position just above the knees. Lay on the floor with your back and underside of the feet touching the wall, keeping knees flexed at 90 degrees. Move knees apart whilst keeping heels in contact with each other and the wall. This is a great exercise to leave until the end of the workout, it will quickly burn and targets the gluteus medius. - Unilateral bridge or Advanced leg elevated single leg hip thrust. Lay flat on the mat with one leg bent, keep the bottom of the foot flat on the surface whilst the other leg is straight and resting on the floor. Push the straight leg upwards using the other leg and pause at the top briefly before bringing the leg back down to the floor slowly. Elevating shoulders and feet increases the range of motion and stability demand. Bringing the bottom to the floor each rep. Ryan Fearn: Personal trainer Canterbury References http://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.2013.4116 http://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/jospt.2013.0501 http://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/jospt.2016.6493 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22007858 The research backed glute exercises....
- Forward step-up - Clam with resistance band - Unilateral bridge Here is the next set of key exercises from research studies that involve high glute activation. Interestingly, none of them actually require the use of heavy weights... - Forward step-up. Complete each set using one leg at a time for the desired number of reps, up to 15 is usually sufficient. Step up onto a raised surface such as a plyo-box and then take a slow and controlled step down again. It is safer to just use body weight when completing this exercise for the first time as it is difficult to maintain balance. - Clam with resistance band. Set up the resistance band in position just above the knees. Lay on the floor with your back and underside of the feet touching the wall, keeping knees flexed at 90 degrees. Move knees apart whilst keeping heels in contact with each other and the wall. This is a great exercise to leave until the end of the workout, it will quickly burn and targets the gluteus medius. - Unilateral bridge or Advanced leg elevated single leg hip thrust. Lay flat on the mat with one leg bent, keep the bottom of the foot flat on the surface whilst the other leg is straight and resting on the floor. Push the straight leg upwards using the other leg and pause at the top briefly before bringing the leg back down to the floor slowly. Elevating shoulders and feet increases the range of motion and stability demand. Bringing the bottom to the floor each rep. Ryan Fearn: Personal trainer Canterbury References http://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.2013.4116 http://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/jospt.2013.0501 http://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/jospt.2016.6493 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22007858 |
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Canterbury Strength Weightlifting Club
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