Cutting Calories

Sometimes I cannot believe how some people manage to make it through life. I am referring to their lack of intelligence.

We all know smoking WILL kill us eventually right? Yet still thousands upon thousands of people smoke.

We all know that we need to eat right to maintain our health also, yet many people choose to ignore this and eat whatever they want. This one is a bit tougher, there are no warning labels on packaged foods, but I think there should be just like on cigarettes!

I understand that learning to eat properly does take time, but there are some very obvious choices that can be made that don't require the brain of a mental giant.

I love to read News Of The Weird by Chuck Shepherd. It's always a very small little tidbit of stupidity that either makes me laugh or shake my head in absolute wonder!

Here is one that made me wonder:

Tennessee, the second fattest state, according to a recent foundation report, continues to pay for obese Medicaid recipients to have bariatric surgery (at a cost of about $2,000.00), but to deny coverage for an overweight person to consult, even once, with a dietitian.

Weird huh? I can honestly tell you that the money I spent consulting with a nutritionist was the best money I have ever spent in my life, and I wish I had done it years and years ago!

I recommend consulting with one who specializes in the area of your needs, if you are obese, then seek a specialist who has had successes with obese patients, if you are an athlete, seek out one who works with athletes. 

Like a trainer, you need to carefully select your nutritionist or dietitian!

Vinegar to fight fat

I turn to vinegar as a flavoring for food quite often, especially when I am dieting. I will use lemon or vinegar and stay away from soy sauce or other sauces that often contain sugars.

I am quoting a blog below that states that vinegar fights fat! I don't know how extensive the study was that is discussed, and it doesn't really matter to me because I like vinegar and I put it on my food already, I am not planning on changing anything or perhaps start drinking it or anything silly like that.

Just some interesting tidbit to file away and think about. Maybe you want to try vinegar on your food? It's a great change when you are reducing calories as most condiments really add up!

This is from a website called Technorati. Technorati was founded to help bloggers succeed by collecting, highlighting, and distributing the global online conversation. Founded as the first blog search engine, Technorati has expanded to a full service media company providing services to the blogs and social media sites and connecting them with advertisers who want to join the conversation, and whose online properties introduce blog content to millions of consumers.

This particular blog was written by Hector Corsi

Some exciting research on vinegar proves that it really does reduce body fat levels, triglycerides and sugar in humans.  I will outline the exact doses you need to achieve these beneficial effects, and when to use it to achieve them.

Fat and Sugar Busting Effects in Mice AND Humans

If you’ve ever had a high carbohydrate meal, or worse, one that was also high-glycemic, you already know that these sugars will convert to fat.  If you use vinegar after a high-glycemic meal, your glucose levels will not rise, according to new research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study examined the effects of a high-glycemic meal with and without vinegar on diabetic humans.  Those who also had vinegar experienced lower glucose levels after their meal.  Previous research has also shown this effect in healthy people.

Another study, but on mice who were on high fat diets, also shows that acetic acid, the active component in vinegar, enhances fatty acid oxidation and thermogenic proteins such as UCP-2, and prevents body fat accumulation.

Vinegar Reduces Body Fat and Triglycerides in Obese Humans

The most interesting research though,  is a study published in the journal Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, performed on 175 obese patients who were administered different doses of apple vinegar, but did not change their diet or exercise patterns.  One group received a low dose of vinegar, another a high dose, and the placebo group got a beverage that tasted like apple vinegar, but had no vinegar.

The 500 mL beverage (about 2 cups), contained mostly water, with the low dose group getting 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of vinegar mixed in the water, and the high dose group getting 30 ml (2 tablespoons).

Subjects drank 1 cup of the mixture after breakfast, and another cup after supper.  After 4 weeks, body fat levels decreased significantly in both the high and low dose protocol. The higher the dose, the greater the body fat decrease.  After 8 weeks, waist circumference decreased in the vinegar groups.  Body weight, visceral (belly) fat mass and triglyceride levels also decreased in the vinegar groups.

The study reported no side effects, and it suggests that you have to keep drinking the vinegar mixture to keep the beneficial effects.  The good effects go beyond weight reductions, and so vinegar could be an easy, safe, and effective compound to fight fat, and enhance health.

Breakfast

Breakfast is very important, you should never skip it! I know you hear that all the time, but there is a good reason. Study after study has been done on subjects who ate breakfast and those who did not, and the "eaters" come out ahead every time.

When you wake up, you have been "fasting" for many hours, your body needs fuel so you have energy, fuel so your brain can function.  It is a myth that you burn more fat on an empty stomach, it is absolutely not true. 

Believe me, if the only magic trick to burning fat was to exercise on an empty stomach, we would not be a country of obese people!   And, if your body turned to burning fat every time you had an "empty stomach", then again, society would be awfully slim because most people go way too long in between meals anyway!

So just what does your body burn when you are exercising on an empty stomach? Hard earned lean muscle mass.... 

And what happens when you finish exercising and you don't consume a carbohydrate rich meal? Same thing, anything you thought you were building up is being thrown right out the window and you still have that layer of fat hanging about.

So many people are afraid of eating a healthy, balanced diet for fear of gaining weight, but by incorporating this one meal, you could actually start losing weight!

I love steel cut oats (above) and I sprinkle flax seed on them. How much do you eat? Well, they just so happen to tell you what a "serving size" is right on the box, and they are correct. Yes it has lots of carbohydrates!

I make a batch of several servings and put them into the refrigerator, so I can just pull one out and heat it up as soon as I get home from the gym. Don't microwave those plastic containers! Transfer the contents to a glass dish first. By making batches you ensure you have breakfast ready and made so you won't be tempted to stop at Starbucks or a fast food restaurant.

I will top my oats with splenda, and sometimes some peanut butter if I am not prepping for a competition. Serve with a bowl of scrambled or microwaved egg whites and I am set for the morning.