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)

LOVE YOURSELF- REASON #3 WHY YOURE NOT ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS? You are not getting enough RESTORATION

LOVE YOURSELF: Reason #3 for you not achieving your goals is adequate RESTORATION.

Are you restoring yourself enough for you to adapt to your training? 

So you have set your goals, you have drawn up a detailed plan of action, and you are definitely actioning accordingly. You are really getting your head down and working hard when you need to,  but after 6 weeks you are still not making any progression towards achieving your goals? is this leaving you flabbergasted as to why this is happening? Are you also getting sick and tired frequently for no apparent reason?

The reason why you may not be achieving the results that you set out to (and you should be given the amount of effort you are making with your training) could be that you are not focussing enough on your RESTORATION sessions within your training plan. You have planned all of your training sessions out effectively and sequentially  but you have forgotten to plan adequate rest and nutrition around your training (part of restoration).  This means that your body is in constantly in fight mode (sympathetically overloaded)  rather than being allowed to recover and adapt to your training (parasympathetically activated) accordingly

RESTORATION is an essential part of your training program, especially if you want to achieve the best results. In fact the more intense your training and life in general, the more you should be focussing on the way that you recover from your training. This is especially true of life dis-stress, when you consider the many other environment and social stressors nowadays which many of us face, (which are more prevalent than ever),  such as  lack of jobs, poor job security, increased workloads and then lack of time, high priced housing,  school fees and GFC etc. All these undue stressors can create huge mental pressure and often we dismiss it,  as we can'tsee it, but unfortunately your body recognises every part any dis-stress within your life. Yes that's right! Because your body is a super dooper survival warrior, it will reflect your thoughts (distresses such as worry anxiety),  back upon it's ability to function and restore optimally.

Kinesiologists recognise that emotional stress is directly linked to pain in different areas of the body. So it's important we manage everything from a 360 degree view to stay injury free and enable a good level of progression from our training and nutrition plan.

Why does this happen? 

Believe it or not,  even worrying about life and worrying often, can force your sympathetic nervous system chronically into over drive,  hindering your ability to recover effectively from your training and thus effecting your overall health and quality of your results. This is because your sympathetic nervous system is not designed to be bashed continuously with dis-stress (continuous thoughts going on in your brain such as … hate my job, I'm running out of time to finish my work as i am trying to complete two peoples, I'm worried about paying my bills etc) . Rather;  your sympathetic nervous system is actually designed to be used in emergencies insert scenario….in the jungle running from the tiger, 'short and sharp thrust of adrenaline required please Mr nervous system' which causes your body to go into fight or flight mode.

As I mentioned above, the problem nowadays is we are subjected to deal much more chronic forms of life stress than any other day and age, making our sympathetic nervous system kick and you can sure bet that kicking it does! But chronically? That spells disaster!

WHY? Quite simply, our body is not designed to deal with this stress for these lengths

of time,  therefore continuing through high levels of dis-tress for lengthy periods means that at one time or another something has to give. Right? 

Yes! Right! Especially so because you are on mission to achieve results from your training,  you are now focussed on recovering from your training allowing you to make significant progressions. So you are going to have to find a way of taming that sympathetic bad boy, otherwise there is no chance on earth your parasympathetic nervous system (which is your body's the recovery/relaxation system) is going to comply with your health and fitness goals.  You guessed it!  Your restorative ability can only occur in parasympathetic mode, which when (and only when) we have got the sympathetic nervous system (part of the nervous system that deals with stress) under control. Also did you know … Your parasympathetic system is where you should be most of the time? So crucial that we now try and reaquaint our poor mind and body with this awesomely chilled dude friend of ours, the parasympathetic system.

How can we therefore nurture our para-sympathetic friend?

THE SOLUTION = FIND A MODALITY WHICH YOU WILL COMPLY WITH THAT HELPS TO IMPROVE YOUR RESTORATION: 

We can restore our body via a number of modalities so its important to find the one that works best for you so that you stick to it which then in turn allows for your lasting results…..

1. Meditation and diaphragmatic breathing

Meditation is a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth.  Lazar et al studiedmeditation and the areas of the brain that were stimulated.

They proved that the practice of meditation indeed does activate neural structures (dorsolateral prefrontal parietal  hippocampus, temporal lobe) involved within attention and control of the ANS. Meditation has been shown to improve sports performance.  Solberg et al (1993) studied 25 elite shooters, whereby competition scores were measured with and without meditation practice. The competition results were better with the meditation intervention. The authors found that when the athletes practiced meditation it lowered their tension resulting in the better performance outcomes. Solberg et al (2000) found that meditative practice in runners improved their recovery times in comparison to a control group. The runners blood lactate concentration was significantly decreased in the runners who practiced meditation. According to Martarelli et al (2009) it may not be as in depth as meditation paractice to create a positive impaction the parasympathetic pathways. The authors found found that athletes who simply practiced breathing through the diaphragm significantly reduced oxidative stress related to exercise and as a result reduced cortisol and increase in melatonin. This lower oxidative stress initiated by breathing through the diaphragm,  could protect athletes from the long term effects of free radicals. 

Try to practice diaphragmatic breathing everyday; once before you get out of bed in the morning and once you get into bed at night. Slow the rhythm of your breathing down so that your in breath matches your out breath (which should ideally be for 4 seconds in Vs four seconds out)  Try to take really big belly breaths where you use your nose to breathe in and mouth to breathe out. Place your hands around your waist, and feel your diaphragm become active, whilst avoiding using your back to breathe.

2. Stretching and rolling 

Yoga:Yoga is a Hindu theistic philosophy a sequence of exercises, teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and for the purposes of dinstiguishing the differences between the body and mind in order to attain liberation, mental control and wellbeing.    Sharma (2015) believes that  Yoga is important for sports performance as it can play a key role in cultivating mind control and concentration which helps a

sportsperson to perform at their peak.  Aside from the improvement of musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion, Yoga is thought to create a stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium with a tendency toward the parasympathetic nervous system dominance rather than the usual stress induced sympathetic nervous

 system dominance. In 2005.  Donohue et al found that a yoga intervention proved beneficial to one mile run performance when matched for a control group with no intervention. Boyle et al (2004) studied the effects of a yoga intervention on muscle soreness after a DOMS inducing step protocol. They found that women within the yoga intervention group improved their recovery times compared to the group with no intervention. In order to move better within our training we require flexibility so that we can move within our entire range. Yoga has been proven to aid ROM . There was an increase in range of motion for these movements, muscular strengths for each side of the leg and chest muscles. In their study of the effect of yoga on bilateral strength and hip range of motion, Pauline and Rintaugu (2011) found that  a12 week yoga training practice created improvements in shoulder flexion, hip flexion, hip extension and abduction range of motion. I recommend starting with a beginners form of yoga which focusses more on breathing before you move to more dynamic versions.

Of course there's my new 30 min myofacial stretch sessions which enable better movement, better performance and better results. Ask me to find out more:

3. Massage 

The mechanical pressure applied to the musculo-skeletal system during a sport massage  may increase blood flow, and can increase or decrease neuro excitability (depending on the specific techniques used by the therapist). For your recovery from

your training sessions, it is interesting to note that there are changes to the paraypathetic activity and hormones during massage and resulting in a relaxation response. (Warping et al 2005). Arroyo-Morales et al (2005) found that Massage may favour recovery in the immune system, after high intensity training sessions, Lee et al (2011) studied the effect  of applied heat and massage on stress markers in the body on 139 subjects. The subjects within this study were measured for heart rate variability, sympathetic skin response, and serum cortisol and norepinephrine levels. All these markers were shown to decrease in subjects after a two week period. the authors concluded that heat and massage applications provide relaxation to the autonomic nervous system without serious adverse effects. in their review on sports massage and sport performance Best et al (2008). found that there were moderate benefits for massage upon sports performance in several randomised controlled trials. My main advise for massage is to find a therapist in your area who has come recommended or you know is good and stick with them as much as possible, due to the fact that there is quite  a lot of variability between therapists.

4 . Sleep

Getting enough sleep and good quality sleep is an essential part of your recovery program. Halson (2014) suggests that sleep has numerous important physiological and cognitive functions, that may be particularly important to elite athletes. The deprivation of sleep has significant effects on performance effects on athletic performance, especially sub-maximal  prolonged exercise. Interestingly compromised sleep may also influence learning, memory, cognition, pain perception, immunity and inflammation.changes in glucose metabolism and neuroendocrine function as a result of chronic. Lack of sleep can influence the metabolism of the foods you eat, such as alterations in carbohydrate metabolism, appetite, food intake and protein synthesis. These factors combined can ultimately have a negative influence on an athlete’s nutritional, metabolic and endocrine status and hence potentially reduce athletic performance, so certainly we can see that making an effort to get enough sleep and good quality sleep should serve as a priority if you would lie to achieve top notch results.

5.Nutrition. 

In order to initiate optimal muscle repair and energy levels from training,  recovery nutrition should be of a paramount for any training program to be successful. The AIS suggest that recovery nutrition encompasses a complex range of processes that include; refueling the muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, replacing the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat,  manufacturing new muscle protein, red blood cells and other cellular components as part of the repair and adaptation process, and allowing the immune system to handle the damage and challenges caused by the exercise bout. This is a vast topic to cover, so In order to find out how you implement nutrients for your training, download my FREE macronutrient guide.

Conclusion: Aside from sleep and nutrition (which are non negotiable for recovery),  you should choose the modalities that promote recovery that work best for you. If you are feeling tired and not achieving the results from your training which you deserve when considering your intensity of your training, it is highly advisable to review how you are nurturing your parasympathetic system, as a lack of emphasis on your recovery will stump your results significantly as well as put you at increased risk of injury. 

REFERENCES

Arroyo-Morales M1, Olea N, Ruíz C, del Castilo Jde D, Martínez M, Lorenzo C, Díaz-Rodríguez L.(2005) Massage after exercise--responses of immunologic and endocrine markers: a randomized single-blind placebo-controlled study. J Strength Cond Res. 2009. Vol 23(2):Pp 638-44. 

Best TM, Hunter R, Wilcox A, Haq F (2008). Effectiveness of sports massage for recovery of skeletal muscle from strenuous exercise.

Clin J Sport Med. Vol ;18(5): Pp 446-60. 

Boyle, CA.; Sayers SP,; Jenson BE, Headly SA, Manos T M.(2004) The effects of yoga training and a single bout of yoga on delayed onset muscle soreness in the lower extremity.  Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research

Halson S. (2014) .Sleep in Elite Athletes and Nutritional Interventions to Enhance Sleep Sports Med. Vol 44(Suppl 1): Pp 13–23

Lazar SW, George B; Gollub RL, Fricchione GL,; Khalsa G, Gurucharan BH; ( 2000). "Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation". Neuroreport 11 (7): 1581–5

MacDonald GZ, Penney MD, Mullaley ME, Cuconato AL, Drake CD, Behm DG, Button DC.(2013) An acute bout of self-myofascial release increases range of motion without a subsequent decrease in muscle activation or force. J Strength Cond Res. Vol 27(3): Pp 812-21

Martarelli D,  Cocchioni M  Scuri S and Pompei P. (2011) Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 

Miller A,  Beisecker M,   Houser D,  Valdez R ,  S Tiller S,  Taymar T (2005).  Effects of brief yoga exercises and motivational preparatory interventions in distance runners: results of a controlled trial. Br J Sports Med. Vol;40(1):Pp 60-3;

Pearcey GE1, Bradbury-Squires DJ, Kawamoto JE, Drinkwater EJ, Behm DG, Button DC.(2015) Foam rolling for delayed-onset muscle soreness and recovery of dynamic performance measures. J Athl Train.Vol. 50(1): Pp 5-13.

Sharma L (2015). Benefits of Yoga in Sports- A Study. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health 2015; 1(3): Pp 30-32 

Solberg EE, Berglund KA, Engen O, Ekeberg O, and Loeb M (1996) The effect of meditation on shooting performance. Research article. Br J Sports Med. Vol. 30:Pp 342-346 

Solberg EE,   Ingjer F,  A Holen A,  Sundgot-Borgen J,  S Nilsson S,   Holme I (2000) Stress reactivity to and recovery from a standardised exercise bout: a study of 31 runners practising relaxation techniques. Br J Sports Med . Vol (34):Pp 268-272

Weerapong P1, Hume PA, Kolt GS(2005)The mechanisms of massage and effects on performance, muscle recovery and injury prevention. Sports Med. Vol 35(3):Pp 235-56.

Young-Hee Lee, Bit Na Ri Park, and Sung Hoon Kim(2011) The Effects of Heat and Massage Application on Autonomic Nervous SystemYonsei Med J. 2011 Nov 1; 52(6): 982–989.

MACRONUTRIENTS: How to get Fit and Lean in the Kitchen this Summer

Confused with your nutrition which will help you to get the body you have always desired this summer? Well,  you are not alone. There are so many beliefs about the best ways to lose body fat, a myriad of different diets and fads, no wonder you feel befuddled with the all the information out there!

This article is a very simple guide to help set you up on the right track,  so you can achieve your ultimate bikini body for summer  for our 12 week to christmas challenge, minimising confusion along the way. If you are interested to learn even more more you can download MY FREE comprehensive report showing you how you can accelerate your fat loss and promote a leaner tighter body this summer here:

It is important to note that, we are all different and will respond differently to different nutritional protocols, therefore this information should be used as a guideline ONLY. You will need to tweak this for yourself and understand how your body responds to the directions, in order to achieve true success.

On any fat loss plan, you should strive to lose 1-2 lbs. per week, whilst a realistic goal for strength and muscle building is between 2-4kgs. Essentially,  if you haven't already done so, you will need to follow a nutritional protocol as soon as possible so that you can achieve the best results within a minimal timeframe.

CALORIES AND MACRONUTRIENTS (MACROS)- They all count!

You have three macronutrients which you need to take into consideration to get your body

working like a fat stripping machine for your 12 week transformation challenge.  You must include optimal levels for each and every macronutrient (that is protein, carbs and fat) into  your nutrition plan, and lose any preconceptions of completely cutting any particular  macronutrient, which you may think will allude to better results:

Your macronutrients are Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein and all have a particular energy density which all play specific and essential roles within the body.

One gram of each macronutrient, is equal to a certain number of calories and therefore

contains a certain amount of energy (measured in calories) according to the macronutrients' atwater factor. The energy density of each macronutrient certainly plays an important role in your fat loss plan.

Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates all have  a certain amount of calories (unit of energy) per gram. One gram of protein contains 4 calories, one gram of fat contains 9 calories, and one gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. Due to the energy density of each macronutrient you will need to subdivide your portions carefully per meal to promote the results that you want.

To keep things super simple for you; think about every main meal, your protein serving should be approximately the size of 1 palm of your hand for the ladies and 2 palms for the blokes. Carbohydrates 1/4 to 1/2 cup- if well tolerated for both genders and fats 1/3 the size of each serving.

Ever heard of the phrase that not all calories are created equally? Whilst this concept is true, if you are serious about losing body fat, you will definitely need to consider your overall calorie intake. This is due to the fact that, if your intake is its way over your expenditure you will pile the pounds on rather than rip them off your body.

If you're a food lover,  then maybe you eat all the healthy foods but can't understand why your not changing shape? If this is the case,  you should definitely check your portion sizes this might be sending your energy intake over the edge and as a result,  you could be stunting the potential of your results.  If you do tend to splurge on the portions, a top tip is to be more mindful, and appreciative of  each meal. Avoid being in a rush when you eat,  slow everything down, enjoy each bite and chew around 7 times before swallowing. Also,  actually focus on eating, so rather than eat whilst watching T.V eat at the dinner table where you have time to think about your meal a little more. 

ONLY Choose the calories that will nourish your body

It might be obvious to you yet, important to note;  whilst some foods are extremely nutrient dense for their ratio of calories  others have hardly any use for your body, and can wreck havoc on your hormones thus preventing fat burn. 

For example you could eat a 200kcal ice-cream or you could have a bowl of chopped carrots plus dip, (assuming this also equates to 200kcal). The calories in the ice-cream are nutrient empty, i.e ;full of the bad type of fats and sugars), whilst in the second choice of carrots and dips these are packed with nutrients which your body can use more effectively. So best to stick to the mother nature type of foods rather than anything packaged and chemically laced before it enters your mouth, so that you nourish your body as much as possible with the foods that you consume.

 Record Assess, Plan and Prepare. (RAPP)

Do the RAPP. An essential part of your transformation plan is to record and assess all your meals for at least three days and ideally 7 days. After each meal and beverage you need to describe how you feel. Also you should record your activities around your meals to make a more accurate distinction of your average daily intake Vs daily activity. Ge the ball rolling- download my FREE BODYWIZE 7-DAY NUTRITION DIARY HERE. It is fundamental to do this so your coach and/or yourself can assess your different reactions to the foods, your timings of foods around your activities, and your energy levels, so you can adapt your nutrition in order to lead to awesome results. This exercise is also an excellent way of keeping you accountable for your goals, so always a great idea to repeat this exercise regularly to keep you on track. Once you have recorded your nutrients over 7 days, and calculated your ideal calorie consumption, factoring in your optimal macronutrient intake for your goal, plus activity level you can then plan your grocery shop accordingly and prepare you meals ahead of the week. This will help you to stay focussed and get you to your goals much quicker. You can download a FREE copy of a Meal planner and shopping list here.

Nutrient Timing

Ever heard of the 'anabolic window of opportunity'? This sentiment refers to nutrient timing and its effects on establishing body composition improvements and exercise performance. The ' opportunity window' alludes to a lim

ited time exists after training to optimise training-related muscular adaptations. Worth considering,  as your training regime takes a significant ramp up, you should manipulate your protein and carbohydrate intake,  in particular around your training times.

Pre-training session-There are many interesting variables for this influence, such as exercise type.  For example, Studies have shown that minimising simple sugars before your workout will maximise fat oxidation- i.e you will burn more fat during your workout by reducing and/or eliminating sugar intake, in particular before an endurance training session. 

The post-exercise period is often considered the most critical part of nutrient timing (Aragon and Schoenfeld, 2013)  Our body tends to be much more sensitive and receptive around 1-2 hours post training, due to the events controlled by insulin (Levenhagen et al 2001). Nutrient selection is largely influenced by exercise type. Packing in particular macronutrients, around a resistance training session,  would differ from cycle class, for example.  So clearly we need to ingest the correct nutrients, at the correct times in order to achieve our fat loss goals within our timeframe. Providing your body with the perfect blend of carbohydrates protein as opposed to a mish mash of nutrients and calories  seems to allow for unequivocal results.  An example of this theory was found by Ivy et al.(2002). The authors  found that consumption of a combination of protein and carbohydrate after a 2+ hour bout of cycling and sprinting increased muscle glycogen content significantly more than either a carbohydrate-only supplement of equal carbohydrate or caloric equivalency. Argon and Schoenfild (2013) attribute the synergistic effects of protein-carbohydrate to a more pronounced insulin response.

Meal Frequency- Nibble or gorge?

Ever heard people yarp on about the fact that you must graze on 5-6 meals per day if you

want to improve your body fat percentage? I think this the biggest pile of dogs dinner the health and fitness industry wants you to believe, and its all a falsity. I know if i ate 6 meals a day i would blow up like a hippopotamus having a fat day. I know that I work much better with three meals. This isn't to suggest that 6 meals or 11 meals, might not work for you. This is my biggest piece of advice; find out what works best for YOU! Everyone is a different person,  with different reactions. Are you a nibbler or a gorger, what gives you the best results?  During a detailed review of the possible mechanistic explanations for a metabolic advantage of nibbling meal patterns, Bellisle et al (1997) failed to reveal significant benefits in respect of energy expenditure. In summary, consider your total amount of food consumed to determines the amount of energy expended during digestion. For example, eating 3 meals of 800 calories will cause the same thermic effect as eating 6 meals of 400 calories. There is literally no difference.

Mindset- consistency and PATIENCE!

I see people go charging into a fat stripping muscle building  routine all guns a-blazing, so to 

speak  yet, with-out setting themselves up for consistency as they have failed to plan properly. At the end of the day, your goal is to reduce body fat whilst increasing muscle mass AND you surely want to be able to maintain the results that we achieve from our hard work, therefore going in with the right mind set is a totally essential part of your plan so that you can stick at it through the tough stuff. Some clients fall into the trap of training and eating well for a couple of days then slacking off for a couple of days.  Always be mindful of the fact that a spasmodic approach to training and nutrition will slow your progress down. The more you can assess your weaknesses and strengths, the more you can create the right strategies for yourself,  so that you achieve success. There is no doubt that the mind will flip out sometimes so it's up to remember that you are in control and to tame yourself in to the course of action that will lead to your desired changes. Get your self on track by recording your goals in detail. Download your free copy of the Bodywize health fitness and goals assessment.

If you like this blog post you will LOVE to know more about the macronutrients in further

 detail and how you can manipulate the correct amounts of macronutrients according to your body composition goal in your transformation routine. 

You can download your FREE copy of my report explaining everything you need to know about how to lose fat and build your fitter healthier, firmer body in the kitchen here: