5 Super Simple Fat Loss Hacks That You can Use Today In Your Kitchen!

5 Super Simple Hacks You Can Use Today To Improve Your Nutrition.....

The truth is, nutrition for health, fat loss and performance does not need to be tricky. It's quite simple actually and a sustainable eating plan will always consider all macronutrients to achieve the best results.

There are some specific ways that you can craftily create better results faster. Check out these hacks below and let me know how you go with them, feel free to share them with your friends so they achieve the best results also.

1. NEVER eat carbohydrates by themselves 

Carbohydrates tend to spike blood sugar (raise insulin) more than other foods which creates a fat storing environment inside your body. Therefore, you will want to combine your carbohydrates with a form of lean protein to prevent unwanted fat storage. 

2. ALWAYS have some type of high quality protein in every meal 

This will keep your body in a consistent “anabolic” (muscle preserving) state. Protein provides muscle tissue with a steady stream of amino acids to help assist muscle growth This will help keep blood sugar more stable throughout the day to keep you in a high energy – fat burning environment .The thermal effect of protein will help prevent metabolic slow down and burn more calories (in other words, your body will burn more calories digesting and breaking down protein than it will digesting and breaking down fat and carbohydrates) 

3. Always LIMIT fat intake when eating starches or fruits (carbs) 

By keeping fat intake lower in meals that contain starches and/or fruits you’ll avoid insulin AND fatty acids being present together in the blood stream. Remember, insulin + fat = potential fat storage – NOT good 

4. Keep fat intake to a minimum before AND after workouts 

Fats tend to slow digestion and keep insulin stable. This is a great benefit during other times of the days, but pre and post workout are the only 2 times of the days when we want to speed up absorption and intentionally spike insulin. This will help force more nutrients into muscle tissue because insulin is a “storage” hormone. It’s also very “anabolic”, which means it helps create a muscle building environment inside your body during exercise. 


Key HACK: Always combine proteins and carbs together before and after your training sessions, but keep fat intake below 10 grams in both these meals

PORTION CONTROL:

This is a big one (excuse the pun!!)

When you are getting hunger pangs it's easy to pile your plate high and then wonder why you might not be feeling so good at the end of it all. 

Portion control is where many clients get confused. Again there is a super simple method to achieve the best results without much fuss at all just by using the palm of your hand! I know it sounds a little weird at first but this is the best may of monitoring your food intake without the fuss of scales.

Your fist, palm, and thumbs are directly related to how many calories and grams you should be consuming on a daily basis to burn more fat. Here’s how it works. 

1. Protein = the size of your palm 

An acceptable range is 15 to 25 grams per serving for women and 20 to 40 grams for men If you’re not consistently exercising, these amounts should be lower 

2.Carbohydrates = the size of your fist 

3. Fats = the size of the end of your thumb x 2 

Remember that Carbohydrates and proteins only yield 4 calories per gram while fats yield 9 calories per gram, which indicates you have to monitor fat intake and use smaller portion sizes for fats (ex: 12 to 15 nuts, not HALF the jar!) 
An acceptable range is be 15 to 30 grams per serving (approx. 1 to 2 tablespoons)

Top 10 reasons to be taking magnesium

TOP TEN REASONS YOU SHOULD BE TAKING MAGNESIUM

Why do I need supplements, Cant I just get all the vitamins and minerals I need from my diet?

This such a common question,  which many clients pose and yes! Of

course you should be able to get all your requirements for health and fat loss from the food that you eat. Yet, sadly with today’s agricultural changes, often our soils are stripped of the very elements we need from our fruits and vegetables & meat,  fish and poultry sources, plus the fact that we are so time poor therefore the variety within most of most our our diets to tell you the truth ....really suck! We often eat refined foods, that are poor quality at best, so we just don’t consume the amounts of minerals and vitamins in our diets required to support training, energy, optimal health and fat loss.

What foods contain magnesium? Spinach, pumpkin seeds flaxseeds cashew nuts, artichokes, wild salmon, grapefruit and bananas to name a few. 

1. Since every organ within our body requires magnesium for optimal function, highlights it's importance. It is involved in a whopping 300 biochemical reactions with our body. Because magnesium enables energy production it's super important for training! It also helps to regulate calcium protein synthesis, copper, zinc, potassium and vitamin D levels.

2. Up to 75% of the worlds population has magnesium deficiency which highlights the fact that our soils are stripped of the micronutrients therefore not allowing us to digest this in our foods.

3. Magnesium helps to promote recovery by supporting sleep, it has a calming effect on your body. From a fat loss point of view getting good quality sleep is essential for fat loss as it aids growth hormone release, the hormone that is released during sleep and helps you to become leaner and stronger.

4. Helps you to get leaner and protects you against type 2 diabetes. Magnesium enables your body to be sensitive enough for insulin which then allows you to process all your food better, promoting fat loss enabling you to become leaner and protects your health against type 2 diabetes

5. Helps depression. Magnesium is required for serotonin release in your brain. This is your feel good hormone in your body. Deficiencies in magnesium can lead to stunted serotonin release which then can lead to depression.

6. Improves testosterone levels. We need testosterone, ladies you too! Testosterone levels are important for muscle growth and body fat stripping AKA body shape improvement. If you want to rip up those abs... 

7. Helps you to cope with DIS-stress better. Adrenaline is released in droves when your put under too much DIS-stress, which then depletes your magnesium supplies, in effect hindering your ability for fat loss.

8. Slows down the ageing process. Protects you from wrinkly skin on the outside and keeps your organs healthy on the inside as it works on your bodies processes at a DNA level, helping to divide and stabilise.

9. Plays an active role in promoting bone density. Because it helps to regulate calcium and vitamin D in your body Magnesium helps to promote bone density.

10.Helps with muscle spasms. Magnesium supports muscular contractions and neuromuscular signals so your muscles contract and relax properly. If you cramp or your muscles go into spasm this can be a sign of magnesium deficiency.

Which magnesium supplements should you be taking? There are many magnesium supplements out there on the market which makes it very confusing at best. Important to note you must consult with your health professional before taking any supplements. It’s believed that magnesium in citrate, chelate and chloride forms are absorbed better than magnesium supplements in oxide and magnesium sulphate form.

GUT HEALTH + FASTER FAT LOSS +INCREASED ENERGY - The Link

  

How to lose fat and promote your HEALTH? 

GO WITH YOUR GUT!

Variety of your Bacteria in you GUTS could hold the KEY!

Many studies of late have started to show that the variety of bacteria on your gut has a huge influence on the magnitude of the effects of fat loss when on a diet. The integrity of your microbiome also has a relationship with optimal health, conversely so, disease such as anxiety and depression.

The human metabolism and why it varies so much has long been a mystery, until now, that is.  Newer reports are emerging showing that metabolism could have a strong link with the bacteria within your gut. 

It is known that there can be up to 1x TRILLION different types of bacteria within your gut which influence your metabolism and this can vary massively from person to person. 

Studies are now emerging, illustrating that if you have high diversity of bacteria within your gut, you tend to achieve better results on a nutritional program than if you have lower diversity of bacteria.

More-over,  studies now show that changes to your the gut flora can increase the rate at which you absorb fatty acids and carbohydrates, and increase the storage of calories as fat. This means that someone with bad gut flora could eat the same amount of food as someone with a healthy gut, but extract more calories from it and gain more weight.

Bad bacteria in the gut can even directly contribute to metabolic syndrome by increasing the production of insulin (leading to insulin resistance), and by causing inflammation of the hypothalamus (leading to leptin resistance).

Leaky gut, your health and FAT LOSS- The link

The gut is naturally permeable to very small molecules in order to absorb vital nutrients required for optimal health. This  regulatory function of intestinal permeability,  is one of the basic functions of the cells that line the intestinal wall and is largely influenced by our gut flora.  Factors,  such as infections, toxins (such as alcohol, sugar, medications), stress, age, food sensitivities can generate gut dysbiosis (abnormal gut flora)  stimulating the parasites within the gut which then instigate the tight junctions to break apart allowing toxins, microbes, undigested food particles ‘leak’ from your intestines and travel via your blood stream, throughout your body. 

Your immune system marks these "foreign invaders" as pathogens and attacks them, often causing an inflammatory response, weakening the immune system, and as a consequence creates ill-health and stunts our level of weight loss and fat loss, despite thinking that we are doing the right thing.

Bloating, discomfort and abdominal pain is NOT normal and sure signs of a leaky gut,  you shouldn't have to live with it.

How do we get rid of our leaky gut so we look and feel amazing? 

Try a gut cleansing plan!

Nutritional plans (such as bodywize 14 Day FAT FURNACE plan) eliminates foods which feed the parasites, yeasts and fungi that cause leaky gut are ideal if you want to feel and look better from the inside to the outside. Programs such as ours,  can help you to provide an environment to cleanse your whole system whilst  enabling you to replenish the good bacteria, using specific supplements, allowing for optimum organ health and the promotion of fat loss. This works especially well when you combine our eating regime with our training routine. 

Not suprising  therefore, that so many of our clients involving themselves within our  Program have reported that not only do they look and feel better on the outside, but they also feel amazing on the inside- which is actually a reflection of their true health.

The FAT FURNACE program is a true game changer, no matter how fit, or how young you are! 

Some of the reported results from my program are: Increased energy & wellness, fat loss, better health, weight loss,, increased strength,  better skin, hair and nails, improved gut function and the elimination for previous cravings such as sugar and alcohol.

Interested? Click this link

REFERENCES:

Arrieta MC, L Bistritz  &  Meddings JB (2006) Alterations in intestinal permeability. Gut.; 55(10): Pp1512–1520.

Ballard ST, Hunter JH, Taylor AE (1995); Regulation of tight-junction permeability during nutrient absorption across the intestinal epithelium. Annu Rev Nutr. 15:Pp 35-55.

De Santis S;  Elisabetta Cavalcanti E,  Mastronardi M,  Jirillo E, & Chieppa M (2015)

Nutritional Keys for Intestinal Barrier Modulation. Front Immunol. 2015; 6: 612.

Shimizu M (2010) Interaction between food substances and the intestinal epithelium Biosci Biotechnol Biochem;74(2):Pp 232-41. 

Tremaroli V Bäckhed F. (2012). Functional interactions between the gut microbiota and host metabolism. Nature. ;489(7415):Pp 242-9. 

AWESOME mailing list

ARE YOU BUSTING YOUR ASS IN THE GYM AND STILL NOT GETTING RESULTS?

WANT TO ACHIEVE BETTER LEVELS OF BODY COMPOSITION IN 2016 BUT CAN’T FIT ANYMORE TRAINING TIME IN? YOU COULD BE LITERALLY TRAINING YOUR ASS OFF!

BOTTOM A)

BOTTOM B)

Want to look like A but looking more like B? You may be literally training your ass off doing too MUCH cardio and not enough programmed heavy resistance training! Yes! Damn sure,  you’re training really hard, (and possibly craving sugar every spectrum of the day from doing so, )and you’re still looking like B, going around in a vicous circle..Very frustrating....Sound familiar?

Then you need to read on.....

Consider your current training SYSTEM. What i am referring to here is what type of exercise you do and how often you do it. Often people get stuck thinking they need to do more cardio, to get leaner, and stronger, when in fact there is a much better way to train to achieve faster, more effective and more long lasting results for better body composition (reduced fat and increased muscle), with exactly the same time dedicated to your training. I will try simplify my point, by giving you an example: 

Two main types of exercises that most of us do:

1. Cycle class/ run/aerobic based acitvity = fat oxidation (burns fat)

2. Resistance based training = muscle strength and hypertrophy (builds and strengthens lean body mass , plus increases whole body metabolism short term and long term)

EXAMPLE: Imagine a set of twins, Fauna and; Mary both very healthy and fit with the following current training routines. Fauna and Mary have exactly the same frequency of training sessions per week, follow exactly the same nutritional routine, yet they using different training modalities to achieve their goal, as per below: 

• Mary: 3 x Spin, 2 x run plus 2 x weights session per week
• Fauna: 2 x Spin 1 x run and 4 x weight training session per week

The twins both partake in a spin class today, they work just as hard as one another, both get a great sweat up, yet Fauna oxidises more fat and not to mention achieves an increased overall calorific burn than Mary, both during and for more hours than Mary, after their training session ceased. But surely because Mary does more 'cardio' she should get better results than Mary. Not exactly! But why? This is because Fauna partakes in more resistance training per week which increases her metabolism; that is her ability to burn more fuel per unit of energy.

This means that from that one spin class, if their goal they would have been to achieve better body composition, then you'd probably prefer to be following Fauna's routine, rather than Mary's.

If you look at a cyclist or endurance runner (AKA BOTTOM B) V’s a cross fit athlete (AKA BOTTOM A)- the results become even more obvious. OK extreme example...... but you get my point. Right?

Are you Fauna or are you Mary? If you are Mary and you want to achieve a stronger leaner physique in 2016- You are probably asking: How could this be fair? When you put so much effort into your cardiovascular training? How can I change this so i start seeing better results (you ask!) 

IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR APPLIED SYSTEM: So if your goal is to become leaner and stronger this year, then you need to look systemising your training SPECIFICALLY around your goal, in order to achieve RESULTS from your hard efforts. for example: increasing the volume of your resistance training Vs your cardiovascular training plus adding structure to your programming, in order to get better results from your cardiovascular training.

BODY SHRED CHALLENGE PREPARATION GUIDELINES

12 WEEK BODY SHRED CHALLENGE 

This challenge is designed for you if you are ready to take MASSIVE DETERMINED ACTION  and you need a kick over the next 12 weeks SO YOU can achieve

*Rapid and lasting Fat Loss especially from stubborn areas (up to 5% in 12 weeks)
* Vast improvements in body shape (drop 2 dress sizes)
* 25% shifts in total body strength

In order to achieve

*HUGE LIFE-LONG SHIFTS in your body and mind confidence and esteeme, so you can fullfill your happiness, for yourself and and your loved ones.

The good news is that i am getting married in December , so i am competing in the challenge myself,  so i will be right with you during your journey. Stay tuned to track my journey and let's work together to get awesome results. 

I will give you a break down week by week of what you need to be doing. If you would like to download the whole this is coming to you soon so stay tuned for more info

Are you ready to take massive action with me? Then read on!!!

Week 1: PREPARATION

An imperative part of your 12 week challenge, determining your level of success is your PREPARATION for your 12 weeks.  Once you prepare properly your 12 week challenge, your body and mind will be set much better and everything is going to flow so much more 

easily (so in other words you will achieve your results much more easily) So please emphasise this phase as much as possible and once you have prepared effectively you need to put everything into ACTION.

 SET YOUR GOALS. 

When we complete the challenge it will be summer. Do we really want to be hiding in full clothes when the sun is beaming?  What clothes do you want to wear this this summer and how would you like to feel. What do you think  you need to work the most in your body/fitness/health that will create the biggest impact?

Imagine how GOOD you will feel once you achieve your goals- how will this effect how you work, how you interact with your partner, family, friends?

12 weeks is not a very long time, therefore super important to hone in on the specifics on what you need to achieve so you can action plan accordingly and achieve greater success. Dive in as deep as possible then you are going to create meaning and emotion to your goals making you much more likely to achieving your goals. If your goals don't mean 100% for you to achieve them, then you need to look at re-setting your goal.

Avoid overload at this point. Pick a maximum of three goals that you'd like to achieve. Don't worry if you can't think of 3 goals, just pick what is the most important aspect of this challenge for you. Click here to download a free copy of my goal setting and nutritional help sheet.

ASSESS WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW

You need to be assessing where you are at right now so that you can plan accordingly and also track your progressions for motivational purposes. 

Assessing is measuring. Measuring can be more simple that you might think.

BODY COMPOSITION: If you have a PT handy,  yes it's definitely a plus to be measuring your body composition with callipers or a bod pod, but a really effective way of measuring yourself,  is a picture.

Far too many people get hooked at whats on the scale but at the end of the day, you are not going to be putting yourself on the scale on the day of the wedding uttering that you look fat, it will be HOW you look and feel in your dress that counts,  regardless of whether you weigh 1kg, or 100kg! Therefore a picture is a much more useful measuring tool

Yes, I know you might feel silly doing it, trust me you won't regret it and i have clients who wished they had done this before they began training with me. 

Take a picture…take it now. One picture from the front, side and back. In a bikini to your underwear. GO ON…..

Then you can repeat this every 2 weeks to track your progression. This is important, as it will show whether your training and nutrition is working for you, and therefore you can adapt accordingly depending on your outcome.

NUTRITIONAL STATUS

How is your nutritional status right now? The details of your current nutritional status forms a massive part to your progression. Be as precise as possible, by tracking your nutrition for the next 3 days. You can track everything you eat and drink with a visual food diary. Take pictures of all your meals and beverages. Alternatively,  you can write these down, but you must write all of these down. Feel guilty about your current daily eating habits? This is why this process is although painful is very short sharp way of illuminating and eliminating the bad habits that are holding you back from making progress. These details have a direct impact on your goals and action plan

Need someone to keep you accountable? It much easier to stay on track when you are working along side someone else and/or you have someone backing you all the way, Find a friend/ family member or PT. If you'd like to book in a 10 minute free consultation with me to discuss your nutrition? You can do by clicking right here: 

If you are too worried about speaking with a PT about your current health and fitness status, feel free to join our accountability group on www.facebook.com/bodywize.australia

ASSESS YOUR CURRENT FITNESS STATUS

What would you rate your current fitness out of 10? Consider your exercise history, how many times per week you are currently training and what type of exercise you are partaking in. 

You need to assess your current fitness in order to choose the correct exercise routine which I am planning for you. Although I hate categorising this is just an essential part of the process. Choose which category which you fall into. if you have any injuries or medical conditions you must get clearance from your medical professional 

Beginner Base level: Beginner level is if you have never done exercise before or haven't done exercise for 1 year or more 

Beginner to Intermediate Intermediate level is that you 

Have exercised in the past year but sporadically 

Intermediate Level: Intermediate level is where you exercise 2-3 x per week on a regular basis

Advanced level: Is where you exercise 4+ times per week at the moment and you are injury free!

STAY TUNED FOR MY 12 WEEK JOURNEY AND YOUR EXERCISE PLAN FOR WEEK 1!