| ||||||
|
Saturday, 31 October 2015
How To Drop 3 Dress Sizes In A Week
Friday, 30 October 2015
The weight loss LIE that’s keeping you from having incredible sex . . .
| ||||||
|
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Why getting in shape isn’t enough to make him love you . . .
| ||||||
|
COFFEE - 3 Tricks to Make it Super-Healthy
COFFEE - 3 Tricks to Make it Super-Healthy
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-sellers: The Truth About Six Pack Abs
& The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging
Mmm, coffee... almost everybody drinks it... some people have 3-4 cups per day or more.
But most people don't think of it as a "health drink". And it's certainly NOT healthy the way most people make it with loads of added sugar or artificial sweeteners and artificial creamers.
But I'll give you my tips here on how I make a healthier cup of coffee and what to watch out for...
First, you may have seen debate in the past about how coffee has some compounds in it that could have negative health effects such as some tars or other possibly inflammatory compounds in brewed coffee. But, the good news is that coffee has such high concentrations of beneficial antioxidants, phenolic nutrients, chlorogenic acids, and other healthy compounds, that it more than counteracts any bad compounds.
In fact, coffee provides the biggest source of antioxidants for most Americans. Although a lot of that has to do with the fact that many Americans don't get enough antioxidants from fruits and veggies, so coffee ends up being their biggest source. You should try to diversify your sources of antioxidants from fruits, veggies, spices, berries, beans, unsweetened organic cocoa, teas, and yes, even coffee if you like it.
So what's the best way to make a healthy cup of coffee? Well, here's my 3 most important tricks to maximize the benefits of coffee and minimize the negatives:
1. First of all, you need to AVOID adding any refined sugar or harmful artificial sweeteners. What I do instead is use either a very small touch of organic maple syrup or a half packet of natural stevia to just lightly sweeten my coffee. If you like your coffee black with no sweetener at all, that's the healthiest way.
If you're getting your coffee at a coffee shop, make sure to avoid all of those fancy specialty coffees (sweetened flavored lattes, frappuccinos, etc) as they are almost ALWAYS loaded with extra sugars or artificial sweeteners. Some of those fancy coffee drinks at Starbucks or other coffee shops can have 300-400 calories in just one coffee! Definitely not good for your body or your blood sugar or insulin levels.
A latte or cappucino can be okay as long as you make sure to ask for it unsweetened, and then use your own stevia if you need a light sweet taste.
2. You also should try to AVOID at all costs any of those crappy artificial creamers (liquid or powder), which are usually made with corn syrup solids and hydrogenated oils (harmful trans fats). Instead, use a little bit of REAL full-fat cream (organic grass-fed if you can find it, as the CLA in grass-fed cream is very healthy).
Or, better yet, what I've been using for a while now is coconut milk/cream as one of the healthiest creamer alternatives. I get this by buying cans of organic coconut milk, and then after opening the can (shake the can well before opening), I store the coconut milk in the fridge in a container. Note that the cans of coconut milk are much creamier and better as a coffee creamer than those cartons of "coconut milk drink" which are just watered down coconut milk.
The thick creamy coconut milk is the healthiest option for coffee creamer because it's loaded with super healthysaturated fats called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are known to boost your immune system and your metabolism! Plus, coconut milk in coffee is just plain delicious! It's the best healthy creamer option by far.
When people visit my house and we make a pot of coffee, I'll have them try the coconut milk/cream in their coffee and almost everyone always comments how much they love it!
3. If you want to load your coffee up with more healthy antioxidants and good taste, consider trying some added cinnamon to your coffee (cinnamon can help control blood sugar and has many other health benefits). It's also really tasty in coffee!
I also sometimes like to add a teaspoon of organic cocoa powder (non-sweetened) to my coffee to make my own sort of mocha coffee (but without the loads of sugar in a typical mocha you'd get at the coffee shop). The added cocoa powder also gives you great taste and a good dose of extra healthy antioxidants (and cocoa is also known for helping to lower blood pressure!)
I personally only drink coffee about 3-4 times per week, because I'm sensitive to caffeine and don't want to get addicted to caffeine like some people are. I see people that drink 3-4 cups per day that get a massive headache if they don't have their daily coffee due to caffeine withdrawal. I choose to avoid this addiction by only drinking it about 3-4 times a week, and I drink various teas like green, oolong, black, and white teas most other days, which are much lower in caffeine.
But despite the caffeine content, there is loads of data that show the high antioxidant levels and health benefits to coffee.
Lastly, it's extremely important to choose organic coffee beans, as conventional coffee is one of the most heavily treated crops with pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. Remember that one of the many health risks with these chemicals is that some pesticides can act as "xenoestrogens" in your body, disrupting hormone balance for both men and women. Chronic xenoestrogen exposure can also be one cause of "stubborn abdominal fat" in both sexes as well as "man boobs" in men... so choose organic as often as you can with most foods, but especially with coffee!
Enjoy your coffee and these additions that we talked about in this article, knowing that it can actually do your body good in moderation!
Health Alert:
These 23 "health foods" CAUSE weight gain
(avoid them!)
Other popular TruthAboutAbs.com articles:
7 "fatty" foods that flatten your belly
3 veggies that help you to get a flat stomach
The #1 WORST food that HARMS your brain (you consume this daily)
PS: As a thank you for reading this article - You qualify for our FREE Giveaway - - CLICK Here for your Free Entry..
|
|
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
What he thinks when he sees you naked . . .
| ||||||
|
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Strategies for a flat stomach & 6 pack abs
Strategies You MUST Know if You Ever Want to Stand a Chance of Getting a Flat Stomach with 6-Pack Abs
by Mike Geary, author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs, interviewed by Craig Ballantyne - CSCS, Men's Health Magazine Training Advisor
Below is an interview that I did with world-famous trainer and Men's Health Magazine Training Advisor, Craig Ballantyne as he grilled me on the top secrets for fat loss and six pack abs. Check it out...
CB: Mike, give us a brief background about yourself
MG: Sure Craig. Well, I'm currently a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Certified Personal Trainer. I've been dedicated to improving my knowledge of fitness, both training techniques and nutrition aspects, for over 15 years now, and I never stop trying to learn more each and every day. I've also been a contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine, and I'm the author of the popular internationally-selling book, "The Truth about Six Pack Abs" which has had hundreds of thousands of readers in over 150 countries currently.
I just love helping people with this area of their lives, as not only does it improve their outward appearance and confidence, but more importantly, improves how they feel and their internal health, helping them to live longer and healthier lives. It's something I'm very passionate about.
CB: Okay, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when it comes to training abs?
MG: Ok, most people are probably going to be surprised with this answer. In their quest for 'six pack abs', the biggest mistake I see people making is wasting WAY too much of their time training their abs directly... pumping away with all kinds of different abs-specific exercises.
I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. The person is trying so hard to get those abs to show, that they're spending almost all of their time in the gym with hundreds of reps of various crunches, leg raises, twisting exercises, etc. Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly training the abs could have been better spent on a properly designed full body workout program that would elicit a much better metabolic response and increase the fat-burning hormone levels in their body as well.
After all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is the MOST important aspect for most people to finally be able to make their abs visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches and leg raises does NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal response. This is the main focus of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book... full body training programs and proper nutrition to strip off that stubborn belly fat and reveal the six pack that's hiding underneath!
Of course it wouldn't be an abs book if I didn't focus on ab development too, but I make sure firstly that the most important concepts for lasting body fat reduction are understood.
CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And more importantly, do you see any gender differences in the response to various types of ab training?
MG: To be honest, I don't really see any need for men or women to train differently. Bottom line... the best exercises are the best exercises regardless of gender.
However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders... Yes, I tend to see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight training with anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most effective way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to maximize your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as working that muscle hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.
It's important for women to realize that regular strength training using heavier resistance will NOT "bulk them up" (as long as caloric intake is controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing body fat and staying lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females that I've trained over the years are the ones that aren't afraid to work hard with the weights.
I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too much time with slow cardie exercise. This is simply not necessary, and the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body routines provides enough of a "cardio" workout in itself usually. We'll get back to this in a minute though.
CB: What about ol' school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good, bad, or does it "depend"?
MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don't think they're good or bad per se, but rather "in between". I didn't include them in my program. I simply don't feel they are necessary, and I think there are much more effective abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every now and then.
CB: Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days per week? What are a couple of the best exercises you'd pick? How many sets? Reps? Rest?
MG: Well, first I'd like to point out that the full body movements that make up the majority of my programs indirectly work the abs and the entire "core" area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do include abs-specific exercises into the routines generally about twice per week. The "abs-specific" portion of the workouts generally only take about 5 minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.
Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial ab strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that are too easy, where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is frequently common with standard crunches. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance exercises that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a much greater degree. One example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises with a proper "pelvic curl up".
It's funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time with hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only do a few solid reps when they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises. We also make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as some work for the deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.
CB: What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio? Or both? Any gender differences here? Or differences between fitness levels (beginner vs. advanced)?
MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals... or as I like to call it "variable intensity training". In general, I think slow steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.
I think people need to get away from this thinking about "fat burning zones" and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the bigger picture of what you're doing in your workout to stimulate the greatest metabolic response in your body... and the best metabolic and hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio.
Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can't handle higher intensity exercise routines just yet, this still doesn't mean that they can't simply use lower intensity routines, but still use it in a "variable intensity" fashion, by alternating between higher and lower exertion levels throughout the workout.
CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips for carving out those abs. Open your vault of info!
MG: Well Craig, I think you'd agree that there has never been a more confusing time regarding proper nutrition for consumers. Every so called "expert" out there seems to disagree and contradict each other on what's the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.
One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet doesn't need to conform to any of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low fat", or high or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your abs. I like to try to simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).
In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions... a salad of poison ivy leaves is "natural and unprocessed" but certainly would not be good for us!
I'll leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition that help to get you lean for life...
1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it's a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle... And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.
2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I personally don't eat many grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I do use sprouted grain breads fairly regularly too.
I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.
3. Don't be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily.
Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saurated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that's way beyond the scope of this article).
4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:
- artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods and deep fried foods
- high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products on the market
Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.
I always contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points of your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.
CB: Thanks Mike! Check out the results that some of Mike's readers from over 160 countries are getting using the Truth about Six Pack Abs program
|
|
Sunday, 25 October 2015
Why Men Swear “Fat” Women Are Better in Bed . . .
| ||||||
|
Saturday, 24 October 2015
Michael J.Fox arrested for insider Sports Betting, predicts SA will beat NZ 24-12
| ||||||
|
Friday, 23 October 2015
These 4 Foods Accelerate AGING (beware!)
These 4 Foods Accelerate AGING (beware!)
Do you eat these harmful foods that AGE you faster? Some are even deceptively marketed to you as "healthy" by giant food corporations. Avoid or minimize these and look 5-10 years YOUNGER than your real age.
Authors of the best seller: The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging
Due to biochemical reactions in your body that occur with every type of food you eat on a daily basis, some foods age you FASTER than your real age, while other foods help to FIGHT aging.
Eat the wrong foods regularly, and you can look and feel 10 or more years OLDER than your real age (not fun!) ... but eat the right foods, and over time, you can start to look 5-10 years YOUNGER than your real age.
Three of the processes that go on inside your body that have a MAJOR impact on your rate of aging are called"glycation", "inflammation", and "oxidation". When we talk about aging, we're not just talking about wrinkles on your skin or how thick your hair is... we're also talking about factors that you can't see, such as how well your organs function, and whether your joints are degrading.
Yes, I'm sure you'll agree this is much more important than just how you look on the surface (although we'll show you how to improve BOTH!)
So let's dig right in and I'll show you how your rate of aging can be directly related to the foods you might eat every day, and how to protect yourself...
Food #1 that ages you faster: Wheat (yes, even "whole wheat")
This deals with "glycation" in your body, and substances called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). These nasty little compounds called AGEs speed up the aging process in your body including damage over time to your organs, your joints, and of course, wrinkled skin.
So with that said, what is one of the biggest factors that increase production of AGEs inside your body? This may surprise you, but high blood sugar levelsover time dramatically increase age-accelerating AGEs in your body. This is why type 2 diabetics many times appear that they have not aged well and look older than their real age. But this age-increasing effect is not just limited to diabetics. It can affect everyone.
So, let's get back to how "whole wheat" relates to this...
Here is a little-known fact that's often covered up by the massive marketing campaigns by giant food companies that want you to believe that "whole wheat" is healthy for you... but the fact is that wheat contains a very unique type of carbohydrate (not found in other foods) called Amylopectin-A, which has been found in some tests to spike your blood sugar higher than even pure table sugar.
In fact, amylopectin-A (from wheat) raises your blood sugar more than almost any other carbohydrate source on earth based on blood sugar response testing.
This means that wheat-based foods such as breads, bagels, cereals, muffins, and other baked goods often cause much higher blood sugar levels than most other carbohydrate sources. As you know now, the higher your average blood sugar levels are over time, the more AGEs are formed inside your body, which makes you age FASTER.
You've probably heard about the potential health-damaging effects of gluten (also found in wheat) in the news recently, but this blood sugar aspect we just covered is not talked about that often, and is yet another reason toreduce or eliminate wheat-based foods in your diet. Your body will thank you by aging slower and looking YOUNGER!
In fact, my own dad, who is in his mid 60's now, just removed 95% of the wheat from his diet about 3 months ago (aside from a little bit on 1 cheat day per week), and he's noticed that his chronic joint pain has completely disappeared! Not only that, he also commented that he's finally lost those "love handles" on his sides that have been plaguing him his entire adult life...All by reducing his wheat intake!
Another problem with wheat-based foods and aging...
As it turns out, baked wheat products contain carcinogenic chemicals called acrylamides that form in the browned portion of breads, cereals, muffins, etc. These carcinogenic acrylamides have been linked in studies to possible increased risk of cancer and accelerated aging. Note that acrylamides are also found in high levels in other browned carbohydrate sources such as french fries or any other browned starchy foods.
Don't worry though... There's a trick that you can use to protect yourself from these carcinogenic acrylamides, and it has to do with eating the RIGHT foods that COUNTERACT damage from these nasty chemicals. I'll show you how to find the EXACT foods that protect your body in a minute!
Go to the NEXT PAGE to discover so-called "healthy" Food #2 that accelerates aging in your body:
|
|
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)