fitness, diet and fatness myths and truths at last the truth

Ha ha. For those of you waiting to see the results of my excess eating recently, just hang on for the next post. I am almost back to my best weight ever. Pictures next week. In the mean time a little light hearted humour for those of you that take it all a little too seriously.
I took the time recently to discuss the concerns and myths around exercise and diet with one of the Worlds foremost experts on the subject, Professor Liam Daley, well known bon viveur and gormand.
The results will awaken new thoughts on diets. I'm astounded that we know so little. Thank God for the Irish.

Q: Are vegetables really good for my diet and how many should I eat on a daily basis?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn, vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering
vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. So cheers and good health.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening.... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach. (There is actually some truth in this)

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? Cocoa beans! Another vegetable. It's the best feel-good food around! Fill your face as often as you can.

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales, walrus and seals to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: What do you think round is? It’s a shape of course!

Hopefully this will clear up the misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember, life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Bollinger in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, “ What a Ride!"

how to get rid of the holiday indulgence

Ok I know I have been a slack devil recently. The reason is I've been on holiday and just wanted to show off my new shape. Problem is I got lazy and after two weeks of total debauchery have managed to plow five kilos of fat back on. Bugger!
I often get emails from those attempting to get rid of the fat and freshen themselves a bit, who are frustrated and pissed off. They aren’t achieving their goals and they tell me they have “tried everything”. Some are in the throes of giving the whole thing up and resigning themselves to being fat and un-attractive. Ready to throw in the towel on exercise and nutrition. They feel nothing works. They start to buy into the idea that “diets don’t work so there’s no point in trying”. And sometimes they are right! Sometimes we want to indulge- just as I have.
I was like that once. The most annoying thing was that I could not figure things out. I ate well. I felt I was active. Yet I was 30 kilos overweight
The worst part was exactly this "what the hell is wrong" part. I felt doomed by genetics. I felt out of control. I felt powerless to do anything about it. I knew that crash dieting wasn’t a solution but I didn’t know how to change my eating (or that I should change my eating – I thought I was eating perfectly well). I wanted to feel good but I didn't, and no amount of rationalising or ranting about the health and beauty conspiracy worked.
In my years of experience as and someone on the journey of physical culture what I have discovered is that human perception has only a loose connection to reality. We do not see ourselves -- or others -- as we really are. We may see ourselves as fatter or thinner, healthier or less healthy, more or less muscular and so on. but unless we are highly experienced professionals, we are generally not in any position to judge our food intake, activity levels, degree of fitness, or body composition. So having said that now I start again getting rid of the 5 extra bloody kilos I put on.
Just watch this space and we'll see how we do it. Just hang in and don't give up.

The Best free diet - Water

The singularly finest diet help you can have is free and does more to assist your weight problems than anything else- Good old water. Drink water as often as you can!

Water-the most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.
Don’t be under any mis-apprehensions – WATER. The ONLY permanent ingredient for weight loss!

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body flush out stored fat. Studies show, a decrease in water intake causes fat deposits to increase, while increasing water intake (drinking the stuff) really reduces fat deposits. Here's why:

Drinking plenty of water is the best treatment for fluid retention. When the body gets less water, it goes into survival mode! It perceives lack of water as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop.

Fluids are stored in extra-cellular spaces (outside the cell). Resulting in swollen feet, hands, ankles and stomach! Diuretics offer only a temporary solution at best. They force out stored fluid, the body perceives the threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. The condition, of course, quickly returns. The best way to overcome the problem of fluid retention is to give your body
what it needs- plenty of water. Only then will retained fluid be released. If you have a constant problem with fluid retention- excess salt may be at fault.

The more salt you eat the more fluid your system retains to dilute it. But getting rid of unneeded salt and other unwanted stuff, is easy -just drink more water. As it's forced through the kidneys it takes away excess sodium and fat.

The overweight person needs more water than a thin one. Larger people
have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism,
it follows that the over weight need more water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone assisting the muscles’ natural ability to contract by preventing dehydration. Water also helps to prevent the sagging skin that follows weight loss - shrinking cells are buoyed by water which supports the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of - all that metabolised fat must be shed. Water in adequate supply flushes out the waste! Leaves you feeling clean!

Water relieves constipation. When the body gets too little water, it syphons what it needs from internal sources. The colon is the primary source. Result? Constipation. Drinking plenty of water, gives normal bowel function almost immediately.

REMEMBER! THIS IS WATER WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE. NOT SODA POP, COCA- COLA OR THE OTHER SUGAR RICH CRAP! LET’S BE CLEAR ABOUT THIS!

The body will not function properly with insufficient water and will NOT metabolise stored fat effectively. Fluid retention shows up as excess weight! To rid yourself of excess fluid - drink more water! Drinking water is essential to weight loss!

How much water is enough? On average, a person should drink 4 liters every day. However, an overweight person, needs one additional glass for every 10 kilos of excess weight.

The amount you drink should be increased with brisk exercise or if the weather is hot and dry, just drink water steadily throughout the day. Keep a bottle handy all the time.

When the body gets the water it needs to function properly, its fluids balance. You reach "breakthrough point".

Now you’re talking! Endocrine-gland functions improve. Fluid retention is alleviated as it’s no longer stored. More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolise stored fat. Natural thirst returns. There is a loss of the hunger feeling, almost over night!

WATER - THE GIVER OF LIFE

Tips on Fighting the Fat

I know how it feels to want to lose weight, but find it hard to stick to a diet. There are so many different diets with conflicting advice that you just don't know what to, or not to, eat anymore

For someone who can't afford the pricey Mediterranean Diet, or cringe at the thought of a carbohydrate starvation diet, here are a few great tips that work as long as you adhere to them. Common sense tips on how to get your weight down even if you are a weak devil, like me and cant keep to any form of diet.

If you are drinking lots soda-then stop now! Change to water and it is usually enough get rid of 10 kilos a year! On average a can of soda contains 150 calories! If you stopped drinking just one a day, that's more than 50,000 calories annually. Seven kilos of calories, the sugar, plus the carbonated water gives fluid retention weight. Get rid of the carbonated soda drinks now!

Drinking lots of water, apart from reducing liquid calories ( for some people this makes up around a third or even half of their daily calorie intake), drinking five glasses of cold water in a day burns about 50 calories. It's not much, but it is about 3kilos a year. Switching from one or two cans a day to five glasses of water; you make over a ten kilo shift in one year! Easy eh?

Now, we mentioned this in earlier blogs but for Gods sake get off your backside and go for a walk! It’s is one of the best ways of burning calories and increases your metabolism. It’s easy on the joints, great for toning the muscles and believe it or not very natural. Just forty-five minutes a day not only burns loads of calories, but it simply makes you feel wonderful. Go before breakfast, early, before anyone is around!

Replace "bad fats" with "good fats." Bad fats are especially found in junk food, processed foods, and red meat. Good fats are found in nuts, fish, and olive oil. While you do not want to go to a high fat diet, the fats found in nuts, fish, and oil tend to fight the bad fat and bad cholesterol, and generally contain less calories than beef, for example. Lighter meats are generally better than dark. Get rid of the skin on chicken. Its only fat- doesn’t change the taste and halves the calories!

Use the stairs. Everyone likes elevators, but a few flights of stairs is muscle and aerobic exercise simultaneously. Since more muscle equals a higher metabolism, climbing the stairs has benefits well after you finish.

Fruit and Vegetables are the best because they contain vitamins, have very low amounts of calories, but are filling. A steak fills you up, so does a large dish of broccoli, cauliflower, or musk melon. Care to guess which one puts on less weight? Fat is non existent another plus.

Don't eat before bed time. This food is less likely to fully digest, meaning it goes straight into fat storage. Now this is the hard one because we all like to go out for dinners. It’s part of our social culture. Just be careful not to stuff yourself with too much junk. If possible, take a long leisurely walk before you go to bed

Drink green and other fruit teas. Other than water, there is no better drink. Tea is full of anti oxidants, it helps your organs run more efficiently, and your body requires calories to burn it. For those people getting off the soda, this can also ease caffeine headaches and other withdrawals.

Eat slowly. Many people grab seconds after wolfing down a first plate. If you are used to taking two or more plates and you eat slowly, you may be surprised after half an hour to realize that you aren't quite done, but you're already full!

Remember the apple pie versus an apple calculation? Apple pie gives 540 calories and takes 150 calories to burn! Meaning you store 350 calories as guess what –FAT.

An apple contains 50 calories and requires 150 calories to burn result- your fat reserves supply the needed 100 calories. Makes sense doesn’t it. It ain’t easy but persevere. For you and for your families sake.

I made it! 17 kilos in 10 weeks easily!

Well, I always thought that these lose” 10 kilos in 8 weeks and look fantastic” was an easy call.

But lets get something straight, I am not about to become an elite athlete or an ultimate fighter. The chances are you are not either.

If you are just interested in loosing a few pounds and then reverting back to sitting on your fat backside watching TV stuffing your face with giant portions of chips, ice cream and pizzas then don’t bother reading any further. Just carry on, suffer the consequences. High blood pressure. Heart attacks.etc. Put your family through the trouble of looking after you until you die of obesity. All you will be remembered for is your size and your great sense of humour, because you laugh a lot and make jokes to hide about how you really feel about being fat.

I’m fat and proud! Rubbish! You are ashamed and you know it. But you haven’t figured out how to fix it.

So in the interests of research I decided to try myself and let you people out there judge for yourselves.

I looked long and hard for realy good common sense advice and found this book called Burn the Fat What attracted me about this plan was the fact that I could eat 6 times a day! Cynical as usual I decided to at least give it the benefit of the doubt.

Would it work?

On the 1^st of May I weighed in at 102 kilos (220 pounds for our American friends). Strangely enough that sort of weight doesn’t look too bad on me because I’m tall, 6 feet 2. Just that I don’t feel good at that weight and it was in fact creeping up a bit at a time.

I don’t drink excessively but I love a drink and good food and I am not about to make any stupid radical changes that I can’t continue with but I stopped alcohol completely for a month. So, it might be difficult saying no to that beer or glass of wine after work but believe me I felt and feel absolutely wonderful without it.

Do you know what, when you are looking and feeling better you don’t need to take the edge of the day with a couple of beers or a joint” do you? Make sense? I decided that there would be no other radical changes that stupid fad diets encourage but something that I could carry on with easily the rest of my life and enjoy doing. Just an acceptance that something has to change but gently.

The problem most people have is putting the body though massive shock treatment. Trying to change years of bad diet over night is a killer for anyone and impossible for most

Let’s do it the easy way...

Did you ever see a fat person have the courage to walk into a gym?

Too daunting.

So what was I to do? Find something that anyone can do, on their own, when they want or with someone else...

You don’t even need to buy any expensive gym equipment! You will need some iron and vitamin supplements though and I would highly recommend that you get some.

All that is required is that you get off your arse in the morning go for a 45 minutes walk and do 30 minutes of light weight workout three or four times a week at home or the gym if you prefer.

Now it may be that you can manage more. And good for you. What I want to tell you about is how you can continue for ever without getting fed up.

You can also go three or four days without the exercise as long as it is no longer than four days. Just get yourself and Burn the Fat together. It works and I don't starve. Take a look at these pictures and tell me.

Today ten weeks later I weigh in at 85 kilos (190 pounds), have got rid of the unwanted fat, shaped up, jettisoned 17 kilos (36 pounds). Not bad eh?