“spare me the madness…”

“What does good training and nutrition look like?”

That was a question from a vegetarian client who was wondering about the future, diet and training wise. It’s a valid question, with so many people trying to reinvent the wheel purely for the purpose of profit how do you identify what works and what is, well bullshit (or swissball barbell squats).

His wondering about how he would look select future diet and training lead me to try and explain as quickly and succinctly as I could how though your needs might, the basics rarely change. In other words what ‘clues’ to look for when evaluating a training or nutrition program. Really it is less about the specifics of ‘eat this not that’ and more about the qualities that make up the big picture.

An except from my reply email…

Needs differ (both with training and nutrition) between individuals and in the same person at different times but they generally differ only in the amount of the different ‘basic’ choices you use.

In other words: in between times remember that plans may look different but they’ll feature a lot of the same qualities… as far as nutrition goes it’s all about real food (unless around training or for convenience and only where really necessary)

• Varied types of garden veg
• Concentrated high quality proteins
• High quality food based fats
• Starch you actually have to chew
• Water mostly i.e. no diet soft drinks, easy on the tea and coffee
• Needs (carbs etc) will differ but always remember the quality of the foods consumed… minimal processed versions of all the above.

and as far as training

• Bodyweight movements
• Compound barbell and dumbbell movements (and kettlebells, clubs, sanbags etc – they’re all just tools) and
• Hard and fast varied ‘cardio’ type movements and circuits.
• Tissue work like foam rolling, mobility and only then stretching.
• Needs will differ (mobility vs strength volume) but always remember the quality in training, i.e. going hard but always with the right form and allowing for recovery and varied training

And of course sleep, relaxation and sunshine.

Keep this in mind when selecting training and nutrition and it’s easy to stay on track or at least close to it.

Drew

…..An n of 1, but then that is the point

The release of the Hour Body comes in a few weeks and I was lucky enough to get a draft copy and the final hardback from the publishers, Crown. Cheers Crown.  As I recover from a terrifyingly hot Bikram yoga session this morning I’ll just write a quick and dirty mini review here.

The book will no doubt garner a lot of attention; Tim Ferriss is a promotion ninja, but does the product stand up to the hype?

The first thing that strikes you is that it is quite big (552 pages) with a good deal of information. This means of course there’s a lot of places in this text that the exercise, performance and health community will start picking at. In fact I reckon there will be a bit of internet mud slinging when many get round to reading it – all good for sales though I guess – not least because there’s a lot of ‘pro tips’ in here that people like me like to keep to themselves!

Clearly one facet of the book that will come under attack is the personal aspect; there’s a huge amount of n=1, it is after all the journey of one man, Tim, conducting experiments on himself.

Another issue is that the whole book has the feel of  jumping around, it doesn’t feel too joined up, even within chapters, but this is not the point. As Ferriss points put in the book, it’s a shopping list of performance hacks, tricks and tips to work on specific details – a list driven by the readers of his blog; he asked them what they wanted to read about. So, identify your specific need or goal, go down the index and find the relevant section.

But does this mean it’s not right for a more general population? Actually there’s a lot of general useful info that if followed would help a MANY of those out there in gyms across the world struggling to get to health and fitness goals. A good example is the clear and concise nature of the info on the Slow Carb diet with a food matrix which will certainly make things clearer for many. The different levels of complexity of the information given [read: suggested protocols] will make it useful for all levels.

Finally it is very well written with light easy prose and lots of interesting anecdotes. For a book this size that is important.

a very late draft

For my own part there are sections I am not happy with for example the section on bodybuilding with ultra low volume type training a la HIT, is not one I like. I think the issues of Tim’s before and after shots, his ‘re-gaining’ of muscle versus building it from scratch etc have been racked over enough. For me I just don’t think that most people reading the book could follow the protocol working with the right intensity [effort], this though is an example of the kind of picking that I mentioned above! Ferriss’ advice will work for many and might be a useful start for raw beginners

This all said any review of this book is incomplete without reviewing the many many online resources – which aren’t up as of this moment so I’ll not say too much more at this point.

So, do I like the book? Yes.

Is it limited? Again, yes but show me a book in this genre that isn’t.

The book is a menu to dip in and out of, it’s a useful, practical a journal of one man doing things to himself so that you don’t have to – you just have to remember both these factors as you read through it…

Another one for the useful, fun reads, pile:

NB

Though I have had the draft for a while I’ve been holding off until seeing the final published version of the 4HB. I’ll also update with more specific info after the book is on general release

___________________

ABOUT THE 4HB AUTHOR

TIMOTHY FERRISS, nominated as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People of 2007,” is author of the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek, which has been published in 35 languages.

WIRED magazine has called Tim “The Superman of Silicon Valley” for his manipulation of the human body. He is a tango world record holder, former national kickboxing champion (Sanshou), guest lecturer at Princeton University, and faculty member at Singularity University, based at NASA Ames Research Center.

When not acting as a human guinea pig, Tim enjoys speaking to organizations ranging from Nike to the Harvard School of Public Health.

For a more extended bio and other odd credentials, please click here.

Having trouble getting your head round the ways to build a Paleo meal? Perhaps you’re an experienced paleo eater but getting bored? This is the one resource you need…

This post was spurred on by a client who, despite doing well was confused enough to come seem me seeking guidance on the ‘what’s, when’s and where’s’ of the different, high quality, food choices available to those going Paleo.

She was not alone however; common issues with the paleo diet I am asked about are:

• Getting bored with food combinations,
• Understanding the food quality issue but not understanding when you eat the different food types,
• What to make the core of your eating and what to have every so often, an why,
  
• Breakfast choices, sadly it turns out coco-pops aren’t paleo.
  

So, in an effort to do myself out of even more potential clinical clients here’s a LARGE number of choices for you. It’s not complete by any means but it will keep you in novel combinations for literally years so have a look at the below THREE tables, follow the instructions, namely:

• Combine for the foods from table 1 for most meals,
• sometimes add some things from tables 2 and,
• leave the foods in table 3 for when you’re doing really well or training

Table 1. CORE FOODS

The first choices are your CORE choices, combine a protein, some vegetables and some herbs or spice and cook in a solid oil or olive oil and/or add a splash of fat or fatty food afterwards

Table 2. DAILY FOODS

These are ‘occasional foods’ that can be eaten every day but dependent upon how you’re going with regards to health and body composition. Eating these will increase the amount of carbohydrate and omega 6 fats you’re eating. Obviously those two things come with many other beneficial things though, so do eat them, just not so much…

Table 3. CONCENTRATED STARCHES AND SUGARY STUFF

These are dense sources of carbohydrate, mostly quality carbohydrates, yes but ones that will lead to faster, higher rises in blood sugar. These are foods that are best suited to:

• those who are very lean and/or those who need to put on weight
• those who handle carbs well
• those looking at foods to consume around training

Consume in minimal amounts and/or and around training only

So there we go, I hope you find this useful,

Happy hunting,

Drew

UPDATE: I have just seen Robb Wolf who’s book I reviewed has released his own ‘matrix’… great minds and all that, the format is similar as well, you can find it here:

http://robbwolf.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/thePaleoSolution_FoodMatrix.pdf

… sorry, what do you mean is that it? OH! You want the list of stuff you’re not allowed… here we go:

]]> http://drewprice.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=571 18 http://drewprice.co.uk/blog/?p=553 http://drewprice.co.uk/blog/?p=553#comments Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:18:05 +0000 Drew Price http://drewprice.co.uk/blog/?p=553 Just a quick one about this:

Eat like the caveman, sleep like the caveman,… get drunk like the caveman

Diabetes, cognitive decline and dementia, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, poor gut health, stroke…. what if they all had the same cause? Robb Wolf says they do, what’s more he not only has the evidence to support his case, he’s got a plan so you can do something about it.

It’s not often I read a book concerning health and fitness or diet and nutrition that I actually like, but this is one of those rare moments. I was lucky enough to receive a pre publication copy of The Paleo Solution and the author Robb Wolf has done a real top notch job with this book, amongst the highlights we have:

• Extensive science behind metabolic derangement, GI track health etc
• Clear and accessible explanations on the causes of multiple related ‘lifestyle diseases’
• Guidance for the reader on tracking health info and metrics like blood test results.
• Exercise plans
• Thoughts, tips and tricks on sleep
• A 30 day meal plan with recipes
• 20 pages of (peer-reviewed) supporting references
• A recipe for a low cal, insulin suppressing, gluten free, renal acid load balancing tequila cocktail, designed to get you drunk fast and recommendation on how to use it for best effect… all bases covered.

The main thrust is the 30 day plan, the argument is this:’read the science bit at the front by all means but please just do what I ask you for 30 days, you don’t have to understand the science you just have to do the plan to the letter.’ He promises real change in that 30 days with nothing to loose.

‘Life changer’ plans aside, from my point of view the value of this book is not the ‘diet’ information but the way Robb brings together a variety of health issues that can be seen as very separate issues and gives them not only a place in the larger context of ‘health’ but connects them and shows the reader how to address these problems in one go. The science is well argued and well presented and the instruction clear and concise.

Is it perfect? Well, stylistically though an engaging read it runs the risk in sections of coming over morelike a scaremongering opinion piece, and obviously given this it’s important to understand the authors motivations, but the explanation of his background of ill heath that lead to his work in the field of nutrition and coaching  runs the risk of leaving you with an ‘n=1′ taste in your mouth as your read on. However, answering both these criticisms are rational mechanistic info and quite a few pages of references, included so the reader can start their own review of the literature. A welcome addition and one that adds a lot more weight to the finished product.

A bigger issue in my opinion are the problems common to more ‘cutting edge’ health/medical writing; there are a few leaps (usually admitted by the author) and obviously with much of the science being cutting edge there is sometimes the danger that the evidence  supporting certain positions can be of good quality but thin. Finally the old issues with ‘paloe nutrition’ writing remain, namely that much currently is unknown and there’s is no overarching paleo diet so a ‘paleo prescription’ is not possible; show an inuit an avocado…

So, on the one hand this is a thought provoking read and a great source of quality information and references for anyone interested in taking a little control of their own ‘health destiny’, or looking to read up on the physiology and biochemistry underlying nutrition and health. However this is not the focus of the book, it’s not what Robb wants you to concentrate on; ‘Make what you want of the science, give me 30 days and I can make you feel better, you can only talking from the position of experience if you DO IT’ It’s a tough position to argue with.

Draw your own conclusions about the ‘paleo’ or primal approach to health, this is a strong well researched and well supported book with clear take-aways for the reader. Is this the best diet, health and fitness book this year? Yes, in my opinion very probably the best one in years.

If you’re interested you can get a copy from Amazon HERE

Robb Wolf’s site is HERE with podcasts and other info aplenty

The Paleo Solution incorporates the latest, cutting edge research from genetics, biochemistry and anthropology to help you look, feel and perform your best. Written by Robb Wolf, a research biochemist who traded in his lab coat and pocket protector for a whistle and a stopwatch to become one of the most sought after strength and conditioning coaches in the world. With Robb’s unique perspective as both scientist and coach you will learn how simple nutrition, exercise and lifestyle changes can radically change your appearance and health for the better.

I’ve got two articles in UK magazine at the moment, one nutrition feature and one training feature.

MEN’S HEALTH, 83 BEST FOODS FOR MEN

The experts tell you what they do to get results

With different goals and so many diets and foods to choose from how do you know you’re following the right plan, and not just being duped into buying a money making diet product someone has dreamed up? Simple, do what the real experts do, those people who you may not have heard of but that are at the top of their game in the food and nutrition world.

——————–

HEALTHY FOR MEN: SMASH HIT

Few hours in the gym but more muscle?

With less less time for ‘extra curricular activities’ now-a-days we don’t all want to be stuck in the gym for hours and hours each week. SMASH HIT explores the brief high intensity training techniques, looking at the pros and cons and detailing their history behind the HIT training methods.

Hope you enjoy them…

PS: FREE MAGAZINE ARTICLES

I’ll be adding some pre – edit drafts of some older magazine articles that are now out of print and unavailable so you can get all the goodness for free. Topics covered will include:

Testosterone: Lifestyle and dietary changes to boost it

The Big Three: Squat, Bench and Dead, how to do them and how to incorporate them into your training

MetCon: why and how it works. Sample workouts and how to build your own

…and so on.

UK National Diet Nutrition Survey: Still a little misguided?

The stats are out for the first of the yearly rolling reviews of the nutrition picture in the UK and it makes interesting if slightly depressing reading. Yes, we are tending to better diet but there’s still a long way to go with the populous still consuming too much in the way of salt, sugar and too little vegetable matter, fibre and omega 3 containing foods. You can read about it HERE at the Food Standards Agency website.

If you follow the link you’ll see that they have kindly given bullet points of the main findings, starting off with this little beauty:

“The key findings of the survey are:

• People are eating less saturated fat, trans fat and added sugar than they were 10 years ago, when the survey was last carried out.”

Yes, saturated fat, the perennial pariah…

The problems with gathering large quantities of dietary data are well known but surely, if we do nothing more than build public health advice on dogma rather than up-to-date, credible science, we’re just going to perpetuate the issues of poor health related to diet?

The saturated fat issue is a classic example, highlighted by the FSA and then jumped upon by the British Heart foundation, Mubeen Bhutta the policy manager there stating:

“While it’s encouraging that the amount of saturated fat people are eating has reduced, it is still too high and exceeds recommendations.”

Yet very little mention is made of research seeming to demonstrate that saturated fat intake is a red herring. For example this newest paper in the growing body of evidence HERE at the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition the conclusion from the abstract summing it up with a punchy line :

“there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD”

This from a meta analysis including over 340000 participants. Now, epidemiological data is never clear cut and meta analysis can be skewed , but surely cause for concern? Surely something to discuss? Remember focusing on a non issue potentially draws focus off the real issue.

Two problems: Reductionism and saving face

There’s two main problems here, the first is Of course that reductionism doesn’t seem to be helping us too much when it comes to the study of diet related disease.

Clearly much more work needs to be undertaken to build up a better picture of causes of cardiovascular disease, however in my opinio broadening our focus and looking at the issues associated with the sat fat intake needs to happen. Indeed this is happening in research circles, but an acknowledgment of these issues to be forthcoming from the health bodies advising us, ASAP.

Of course these people aren’t suffering from some form of mass delusion and the second real issue is this: how do you change public advice when it has been so vehemently swung in one direction?

How slowly do you have to change in order to retain some sort of image of authority and thus respect from those you seek to advise? A myopic focus on one nutrient may be ineffective, even foolish. However continuing to focus on, and basing health advice around  out of date research and conclusions is criminal no?

I’d better file this one under ‘Rants’

New years resolutions rethink:

Successful goal setting

Every week I see people in clinic with goals. Some may not know they have goals, others have definite goals but they may be the wrong ones for that moment. I often spend a lot of time with people focusing on their aspirations and plans and sorting through what they want to achieve, the motivations for these aims and how they fit into the big health and lifestyle picture.

A goal is the picture you have in your head of where you want to be. Taking them from merely thoughts and notions and making them reality means first defining them in a few ways, giving them the qualities they require to be of use to you. This means asking a few questions and giving your goals some important characteristics; transforming them from just hope and dreams on a piece of paper into a lynchpin of long term success:

Are they pointless?

Giving up crisps and cakes for January may be a healthy gesture, but what in the great scheme of things is this going to accomplish other than a) making you want crisps and cakes a LOT more and b) using up all that willpower that could be better spent.

If however, it changes a behaviour long term i.e. eating a lot less snacks foods then it has been beneficial but ask yourself, is it really going to achieve this?

Are they the right ones?

It’s a simple question, I know, but a very important one and the one that most people gloss over. Should you really be focusing on this? Is this going to play the main role in the big picture? Is there some more rewarding AND important aspect that you could be considering?

All these questions need careful level-headed consideration. You only have some much time so focus on the things that matter.

Are they attainable?

If your goal just isn’t one you can reach then you’re going to have to make peace with that idea. Note I didn’t say ‘get a realistic goal’ – there is something to be said for ‘shooting for the stars and getting the moon’. For example you could think one of two ways:

Un-attainable: ‘I will loose 50lb or (3.5 stone) by Easter’

Un-attainable but constructive: ‘I will endeavor to loose 50lb by Easter using only safe methods. If I don’t get there then, so be it, but I will try.’

Be ambitious but be constructive and safe.

Are they attainable AND realistic?

Getting to the Olympics is not a reasonable goal for most people. Of course if it were the Olympics wouldn’t be worth watching, however some goals that on first inspection seem to be reasonable may not be realistic. The problem often isn’t the task itself but the other resources like time or mental bandwidth they take to achieve. Sometimes you have to temper your, quite doable goal because of your circumstances. You see, whilst most people could learn to sail, not many live by the sea and can afford a boat.

Are they well defined?

Goals are all very well but they should be a bulls-eye you can aim at not an ill-defined cloud you can only shoot in the general direction of. Please give yourself something to aim at. What exactly do I mean?

An example of an ill defined task: ‘I’m going to loose some weight’

Well defined task: ‘I will loose 10lb of body fat’

Get specific and then you can make yourself properly accountable.

Is there accountability?

Making a resolution is one thing but telling others so that they may mark your work, means that you’re accountable. The fear of failure just got more serious but it is a tool that you can use for your own gain. A little fear and trepidation can be a real motivating force for when the process gets tough or just plain boring.

Tell loved ones, tell colleagues (actually very useful), and write your goals down somewhere public or semi-public, like I have at the end of this post.

Are they measurable and testable?

Of course with any project you’ll want to know where you are and how far you have to go. Having a measurable and testable goal is obviously intimately connected with a defined goal but there is a subtle difference. Being able to track progress along the way will aid motivation and lend a little perspective to your goals, because getting the work done and getting it done in a reasonable time are two different things.

Is there a time frame?

Put yourself under a little pressure, it helps. Just enough though, not too much. Without a defined time frame the project can rumble on and on which is not very satisfying and may mean more work and guilt, in the long term. Compare for example the following goals:

By June 2010 I will loose 30lb

I will loose 30lb

Which one of those goals is going to keep you motivated? Which is going to mean a greater level of accountability and fear of failure? Loosing 30lb of fat is still a worthwhile task but if it takes you 10 years then health wise you’re going to get a lot less out of the process.

Do you have a plan for when you reach your goal?

Seems silly, but having a plan for after your plan is a good idea. Too many people clean up their diet, loose the fat and then go back to their old ways.

A very useful trick is to plan a project which will feed into and upon the first. If your original plan was to loose some body fat, the second could be some form of athletic endeavor or vice versa. Changing the task dramatically keeps the mind engaged, but making it a connected activity builds upon the habits and success already in place, solidifying them.

Bottom line

Define a realistic goal, plan and then get it out of the way in a timely fashion and then reap the rewards by focusing on an exciting goal you couldn’t have even dreamed of before.

In PART II I’ll go over the steps for putting this goal making into action.

Food pyramids can be a useful tool for both advising people on what they should eat and also to represent what people actually ARE eating. Here’s some from around the world…

This is the bog standard food pyramid (source USDA).

I’m sure most of you are familiar with this. It’s the old USDA food pyramid giving the weightings of the foods to be consumed in the day based upon number of portions.

However it was felt that is needed to be redrawn to emphasize variety in food as well as throwing some emphasis on exercise as part of the picture. All very commendable but as far as I am concerned it’s neither use nor ornament.

Why?

Because you usually get this:

The new USDA ‘Food Triangley Thingamebob’

But to make any sense out of it at all you need the notes:

The USDA ‘Bit That Makes The Triangley Thing ame Make Sense’

Which of course you rarely see added, ah and another thing…. TOO MANY WORDS PEOPLE! A tool has to be right for the job, this is not right for public education. If you like a read you can see more detail HERE.

So these two are graphic representations of what the health profession think we should be eating (though of course not everyone agrees…)

(from the paleo diet newsletter)

So if this is what we should be eating what are other healthier people eating? What other examples are there from around the world and what can they teach us? Healthier peoples include:

The Mediterraneans

Sound east Asians

The Japanese

Graphically very Japan I think you’ll agree. This is an education tool common in Japanese schools though thoughtfully someone has shown what a government sponsored food pyramid might look like

(Both from iamaviking.com lots of good beer info there if you’re into that)

Here’s an interesting representation of a healthful south American diet

Latin dietary pyramid

The enlightened folks of the Ivy League came up with this one

Harvard food pyramid (source: wikipedia)

So lots of fruit and veg, whole grains etc would seem to be the way forward for health, or would it…..?

Pyramids the dieticians hate

Like every set of rules though there are examples that don;t seem to fit the mold. If I asked you to name a population famed for the low incidence of heart disease then you might mention the Inuit of northern Canada. Heart disease rates are going up now they have started to adopt a western diet, the only problem as far as standard dietary advice goes is their traditional diet looked a little like this

The Inuit food Igloo (from second-opinions.co.uk)

Keep eating that low fat diet people!

What is odd about this of course is

1. the huge amount of fat

2. tiny amount of vegetable matter ( < 10% with ~0% wholegrains)

3. the near absence of cardiovascular disease in traditional populations

This traditional diet moves us into the realm of Paleo Eating. In a nut shell eating as close a diet as possible to those of our forefathers long before the (first) agricultural revolution transformed our meal times.

The Paleo pyramids

Paleo people are a proactive bunch and never shy about coming forward with pyramids of their own. No one seems to mention that there were as many paleo diets as there were places to live on the globe. Anyway, here’s one meant to ape the old USDA standard format:

Basically very very little in the way of grains or dairy as these are foods consumed mostly post agricultural revolution. This is another nice example with some helpful advice included for making this a little more practical:

Too much veg for you? Too busy chucking spears at wilder-beast to worry about plants? No worries, here’s a more meat heavy representation, remember these go by servings so actual volumes may be different:

I quite like this one from a blog post HERE

….. yes, you’ll have to replace the joy of spaghetti with the joy of sex.

Of course we all know a vegetarian or even a vegan:

Vegan Pyramid

And of course there are many more too choose from in the diet industry many of which of course have their own food pyramids, from A-Z, here’s an example from the nice folks at Atkins.

Or The Zone, which helpfully reminds us that water is also important

(not an official Zone graphic by the way!)

My take?

I waver somewhere between The Zone in terms of amounts of foods and Paleo in terms of food choices however everyone has their on needs and of course exercise is important:

The CrossFit pyramid

Of course groups and belief systems have their own guides as well. Here’s one from the nice metempyrions.

Metempyrion pyramids

‘Who or what is a ‘Metempyrion’!?’ I hear your cry. More info HERE don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Now as we know not all diets and not all peoples are healthy. The USDA food pyramid is what the US government would like it’s population to eat sadly for many it is closer to this:

The real food pyramid?

(source: curioussigns.blogspot.com )

Except on Saturdays of course when something like the following is more appropriate:

The Game Day Pyramid (source: www.wizznutzz.com )

Of course you’re wondering, ‘what does my paranoia about the sometimes questionable food industry practices in the developing economic superpowers mean for the graphic representation of the foods I eat’?

Glad you asked.

Paranoia pyramid

…or what about the zombies? No one should be left out

OK I’ll stop now.

"January, sick and tired, you've been hanging on me
You make me sad with your eyes
You're telling me lies"

Last night I was having dinner with a mate of mine, he was telling me about the great advice his wife received from a colleague at work, it was this: any time you eat something naughty (a doughnut, in this case) just have a glass of water after and it cancels all the badness out.

Great. That’s me out of a job then. Nutrition problems solved.

Or maybe not.

This got me thinking about all the bad advice you get and further to my 10 fat loss tips post yesterday, here’s 10 tips I have found around the web that you would be a fool to follow…..

1. Drink 5 liters or more of water each day – this helps flush your body of fat.

WHAT THE F…?!

Hear me now: This. Is. A. Lie.

Hydration is of course important but 1) too much water is not good for you and 2) no,  it won’t flush out the fat from your body. It simply won’t.

2. Just eat fruit for fat loss

Right, this and any extreme diet is not going to work. Sorry. Yes, you may loose some weight but no, you won’t keep it off and in the long run these crash, fad or extreme diets don’t work. You end up fatter than when you started.

3. Skip the weight training, it will bulk you up and when you stop it will turn to fat.

Ladies: you won’t get huge weight training, you will speed up your metabolic rate, using up more calories and potentially burning a lot more fat, you will also improve many many facets of your health like bone density.

Gents: just lift, it’s good for you but remember to squat – ladies don’t like the lightbulb look.

Oh and the biochemical pathway from muscle (protein) to fat only really works on paper. That muscle it won’t turn to fat, I did a biochem degree, I guarantee it.

4. Decrease your fat intake – try for no more than 20 grams per day.

Oh please! ‘The 1970′s are on the phone, they want their dietary recommendations back’ Fat doesn’t make you fat, eating the wrong things makes you fat. Fats are very important for health but concentrate on your whole diet and getting plenty of omega three fats and monounsaturated fats.

5. Concentrate on long steady cardio

Exercise, any exercise will help burn calories but long easy cycles or walks are an incredibly round about way to lose fat, they simply aren’t effective given the time they consume. Weight training, intervals etc. are all very effective for fat loss, more so that long stead (boring) cardio.

6. Consume lots of whole grain based foods

This – like the ‘reduce the fat’ tip – is a little out-dated and also ignores the whole diet. Too much of any calorie containing food will lead to you gaining weight.

7. Don’t eat that late night snack – Try not to eat for at least 2 hours before going to bed.

Unless it effects your sleep then it really doesn’t matter. You MAY want to reduce or eliminate the carbohydrate content of late night meals due to the changes in insulin sensitivity through the day but veggies, lean meats and a little healthy fat is still on the menu if you wish.

8. Listen to your body – your body will tell you when it is full, hungry, stressed, tired. Learn the signs and obey what your body is telling you.

Unfortunately, though this sounds nice in a -  spiritual/natural/primal/fill in the blank – type way, the effect of food processing (e.g. loss of fibre) and also modern life with all the stress and time issues that go with it means that our bodies either don’t or can’t send us the correct signals, or if they do we don’t listen. Cut the stress (exercise, meditate, draw up a to-do list and sleep) and eat the right foods (whole foods rich in nutrients and fibre) and then you might be getting closer.

9. Do 1000 sit-ups every day for that 6 pack

No, this isn’t going to a) give you a 6-pack and b) make you slimmer. It might damage your back, it certainly will be a waste of time. Fat loss is a whole body issue: diet, exercise, lifestyle.

10. Cleanse and detoxify. ‘Rid your body of harmful toxins and chemicals, while allowing it to function normally with this detox kit, only £29.99′.

Do I even have to talk about this? Your liver and kidneys have evolved over millions of years to handle this job. They are much much more effective than any detox kits or detox diet products humans can come up with. Oh, the hubris…

Anyway, support their proper function by ensuring your health and make their life a little easier by not ‘toxing up’ in the first place. How? The answer to both parts is the same: eat whole foods, drink water, exercise and relax.

There you have it, tips to ignore and the reasons why. Remember there’s a lot of so-called experts on the web trying to push their view but take it with a pinch of salt and always look for reasons behind the information.

My 10 top tips for fat loss

It’s that time of year again. Oh yes,  New Year’s resolutions.

Too much turkey? Feeling guilty about all that Christmas cheer/beer? Feeling the need for renewal and refocusing of goals?

It seems everyone is looking at how to shift a few pounds and make themselves feel a little better after the over indulgence of the holidays. And of course around now there’s a plethora of ‘top tips’ floating around the web giving you suggestions for ways to loose fat, but often they’re not much more useful than ‘cut the carbs’. So what counts? Let’s get to the bottom of the top tips.

Here’s the point: focus on WHYs and HOWs, not WHATs

Your health, fitness and body shape is the expression of your behaviours and actions and what they do to your body over the months and years. You have to change WHY you’re doing things, not just WHAT you’re doing otherwise you’ll fail in the end. Many ‘top tips’ don’t recognise this.

So in my years as a nutritionist, what do I think are the 10 ten tips? As I say it’s about actions, behaviours and habits.

Actions

1. Figure out why you’ve been slacking on the health and fitness front.

2. Write down goals and a defined plan and tell people about them.

3. Focus on the kitchen: clear the junk foods out of your house, go food shopping & refill your kitchen with the right foods.

4. Get some Tupperwear for lunches and storing healthy foods.

5. Think HARD about how you will make the changes practical and ensure consistency.

Behaviours

6. Explore your options diet wise at work and in restaurants – stay on plan.

7. Keep exercise fresh and effective. Explore new workouts and read up about performance.

Habits

8. Exercise daily.

9. Don’t skip meals.

10. Not finding excuses, stay on track: look to fill you plate first with fibrous veg and lean protein no matter where you’re eating.

So there you have it. This isn’t of course it, but these are the most important tips. There are some others I’ll throw in that you may find useful…..

Honorable mentions: OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS

Earn your starch

The white stuff on your plate is invariably starch and/or sugar. Generally this is low on vitamins and minerals and high in carbohydrate with little fibre. These foods (pasta, potato etc.) are often touted as health food “They’re low fat!”, but you must EARN these foods with extra activity.

Don’t put off change

Do something now, today. It doesn’t matter if it is buying some healthy food for dinner or going for a run but realise that you have to…

Focus on food

It has been shown again and again that it is your diet that makes the real difference when it comes to taking the fat off your frame and keeping it off.