Water, Fat Loss, And Six Pack Abs: What You Should Know

                      

Craving six pack abs? If you’ve been putting in the time and effort at the gym to get one step closer to seeing those abs showing through, you need to make sure that you are tending to your diet as well, including hydration.

Many people completely neglect the hydration requirement of their plan since they’re so caught up in analyzing what foods they’re eating. But, make no mistake about it, how much water you’re drinking – or not drinking as the case may be, will definitely influence the results that you see.

Here are a few things that you need to know about proper hydration for fat loss.

Why Water Helps

First let’s discuss why water can help you see faster fat loss progress.  First, it keeps your metabolic rate high, as was noted in a study where researchers saw a 30% decrease in metabolic rate upon chronic water restriction in test subjects.  While this is unlikely in a real world situation, even slight amounts of dehydration can slow your metabolism down, making it harder to burn calories all day long.

This in turn means sluggish fat burning.

Second, water also helps to prevent hunger. Many people often mistake thirst for hunger, eating when they really just need to drink. By having more water in your day, you prevent this from happening.

Finally, water also helps to flush out the body, cleansing toxins and waste that would otherwise drain your energy levels. This means you have more to give with each workout session that you do, improving how you feel on a day to day basis.

How Much Water To Drink

So all of this said, how much water should you drink? Can you drink too much?

The answer is yes.  Hyponatremia can occur if you drink too much water, which causes a lower than normal level of sodium in the body. This can get quite dangerous if left untreated, so you do need to be careful.

Most people will not willingly drink enough water to cause this however, so it is of little concern to most. Just note that there is such a thing as too much water and you’ll be fine.

In more cases, too little water is the problem, so your aim should be to bring this up.  Aiming for around 8-10, 250ml glasses of pure water each day is a great place to start and on days you are especially active of when it’s warmer outside and you may be sweating more, increase that to 10-12 glasses.

If exercising, drinking one glass for every 20 minutes or so of physical activity is a good way to get your water needs met and replace those lost fluids.

Keep in mind that the more you are sweating – if the exercise is much more intense – the more water you are going to need to drink accordingly.

So don’t overlook your hydration status any longer.  Find ways to get pure water in throughout the day.  Your health and fat loss depends on it.

Reference:

Haines, H. & Reese, J.B. (1977).  Effects of dehydration on metabolic rate and fluid distribution in the jackrabbit, Lepus Californicus. Physiological Zoology. Vol. 51, No. 2. April.

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How Lemon Can Help With Your Fat Burning And Health

            

One food that often goes overlooked or just used simply as a garnish is that of lemon.  But, if you aren’t not making use of this more regularly in your meal prep, you’re missing out.

Lemon is a very healthy addition to any diet and offers numerous benefits you need to know about.

Here are a few of the big ones.

Boosts Your Immune System

First, lemon can help to boost your immune system, keeping you feeling more energized and well. This is important if you are going to give 100% in each workout that you do, therefore increasing fat burning results.

Cleanses Your Body

Lemon is also great for cleansing your body. It helps to eliminate excess toxins, purifying your system so that it functions properly again.

There’s a reason why lemon water is often included in detox programs – it works very well as a natural remedy to clean up your body.

Improves Your pH Balance

Lemon also helps to improve your pH balance. Most people think that lemon is very acidic in nature, and it is, but as it goes through the process of digestion, it actually becomes very alkaline.

Since most people are walking around in a very acidic state due to their high meat and grain with low produce consumption, adding lemon to your day helps to balance this out.

Maintaining an ideal pH balance is important for regulating your energy levels, keeping your fat burning in high gear, and even preventing disease.

Improves Digestion

Lemon is also going to be ideal for boosting your digestion as well.  Eating it with a meal may help you digest your food better, leaving you less at risk for gas and bloating.

Those who commonly suffer from heart burn may also find that lemon can relieve those symptoms.

Helps Fight Hunger

Lemon is a rich source of pectin fiber, the same fiber that’s found in apples and gives them their hunger-busting effects.

Adding whole lemon to dishes can help boost your fiber intake, making you eat less food overall in that meal. This will in turn reduce your calorie intake, helping promote faster weight loss.

Combats Depression

Lemon may also help to combat depression and boost your mood.  Even just the scent of lemon can help you feel better, so next time you’re feeling low, consider burning a lemon scented candle or sipping on a glass of lemon water.

Helps Guard Against Viral Infections

Finally, lemon can also help to you combat viral infections, further boosting immune health and keeping you health, especially through those cold winter months.

Take lemon daily in order to reap this benefit.

So next time you’re getting a glass of water for yourself, consider adding a few slices of lemon to it,  or even try adding a ¼ whole lemon, including skin, to your blended smoothie.  This fruit has far more benefits than most people realize and will definitely help you move one step closer to reaching your health and weight loss goals.

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Are Oats The Secret To Flat Abs?

Looking to flatten your midsection? If so, you may need to look no further than your pantry each morning. One of the best six pack ab foods that too often goes missed in many people’s diets is oatmeal.

Now, I’m not talking about the ‘Peaches N’ Cream’ or ‘Apple Cinnamon’ oats you see on your grocery’s shelves, all subdivided into ready-to-eat packets for your convenience.

I’m talking about good old-fashioned steel cut oats.  Oats that take longer to prepare and don’t come with any ingredients other than, well… oats.  Pure. Simple. Nutritious.  This is what real oatmeal has to offer.

Most people don’t realize just how powerful of a food oatmeal is when it comes to getting flat abs, so let’s walk you through the benefits.

Low Sugar

First, as long as you do go ahead and purchase the plain oats as just mentioned and not the flavored varieties, you can expect to receive a very low sugar option that’ll keep your blood glucose levels stable.

As anyone who’s serious about getting flat abs knows, keeping your sugar intake under control is step one for success.

Oats help you achieve this.

While being low in sugar, they’re also carbohydrate rich, so this means they work perfectly for the post workout period.  They’ll quickly replenish lost energy, helping you recover from that hard workout session.

High Volume

Next, another big benefit to oatmeal is that it’s a high volume food, meaning you can eat a larger volume of it without worrying about weight gain.  This is ideal since most people who are dieting often feel like they’re living off very little food.  They look at their dinner plate and just wish they could eat more. Doesn’t matter what the food is in most cases, they just want more food.

Oatmeal again comes to the rescue here.  Per 100 calories of oatmeal, you will get more total food volume than if you had eaten say rice or another grain.

This means you won’t feel like you’re dieting, even though you are.

Rich In Fiber

The next big benefit to eating oatmeal is that it’s also rich in dietary fiber.  This is important because not only will it help to keep your digestive system healthier, but it also ranks low on the GI scale because of this benefit.

Adding mostly all low GI foods to your diet is one of the best methods to promote better abs.

The higher the fiber content of any carbohydrate, typically the better for you it is.

Satisfying

Finally, simply put, oats are satisfying.  There’s nothing quite as hunger-busting as a bowl of hearty, warm oats, so this breakfast really earns top marks for fat loss diet plans. 

Just be sure that you are only adding healthy ingredients to flavor it if you so choose to.  Cinnamon, drizzling on a little sugar-free maple syrup, slicing on a banana, stirring in some natural peanut butter, or mixing in your favourite protein powder are all healthy options that will keep your diet intact.

So keep oats in mind next time you wake up and are hungry for your morning meal.  Even as a snack, they work fantastic as an energy boosting food, particularly post workout,  that will help you get one step closer to six pack abs.

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4 Foods That Turn Fat Burning On Low

If you’re on a fat-loss mission, one thing that you must keep in the back of your mind at all times is the type of foods you are eating. Most people already know the importance of getting the right number of calories into their day, but few realize just how important that actual foods are that they eat.

Eat the wrong foods and you can actually turn down the dial on fat burning, essentially sabotaging your progress.

Here are 4 foods that you should be avoiding at all costs.

Deep Fried Anything

If the food is deep fried, step away. Most people realize that these are not to be included on a healthy diet plan, but they don’t realize just how bad they are.

Not only do you often have carbs, which will spike blood glucose levels, but then you also add fat into the picture, which gets quickly transported to your butt, thighs, and lower abs when blood sugar is high.

Not a good combination.

High Sugar Breakfast Bars

Speaking of sugar, that morning breakfast bar you start your day with? That’s another one that has to go.

These ‘fruit’ based breakfast bars are simply too high in processed carbs, too low in protein, and contain no healthy fats at all.  Not an ideal mix to get your day off to a good start.

Not only that, but they’ll more than likely make you hungrier mid-morning than if you had skipped them entirely.

Opt for some good old fashioned eggs or oatmeal ( oats are best post-workout )

Processed Snack Foods

Likewise with processed snack foods.  Granola bars, crackers, low fat chips – anything of the like is all going to make reaching your goals that much harder.

Upon digestion, these foods immediately cause a surge of insulin to enter the body, which then takes up all that glucose and turns it into fat quickly.

Upon doing so, you are then left very hungry and irritable, and will more than likely reach for more processed foods.

This makes sticking with your diet next to impossible and soon, weight gain will follow.

Sugary Alcoholic Drinks

Finally, don’t overlook how bad sugary alcoholic drinks can be.  Not only is alcohol bad in itself as it immediately turns off fat burning as soon as you consume it, but in addition to that, with the added sugar you now have in the picture, that sugar will get converted to body fat immediately as well.

While a glass of wine with dinner once or twice a week typically isn’t a huge issue, if you’re downing cocktails every Friday after a long hard work-week, you can count on one thing: a stall in fat loss progress.

So keep these things in mind and make sure they aren’t making an appearance in your plan. If they are, you now know why you are not seeing the results you were hoping for. 

Stay solid

Lochs :-)

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The Most Common and Harmful Preservatives in Our Food

           

Preservatives in food are responsible for exactly what they are named for: preserving food. They are often added to foods that generally would spoil easily.  This includes canned foods, deli meat, yogurts, milk, dairy, and many items found in the refrigerator.  

While some preservatives are classified as antioxidants, they actually have been given a bad rep and for good reasons. As the food industry searched for ways to increase shelf-life for foods and other items that spoil easily, preservatives became common in our households.  There was great word when products had longer shelf-lives and when milk and dairy products lasted longer in the refrigerator. 

As time and research continued with these products, the more we learned that preservatives are not good for the body.  While consuming a product with a preservative will not immediately harm an individual, it can increase the risk of cancer and other illnesses with increased consumption.  This article lists some of the more harmful and more common preservatives that are found in foods known to have short shelf-lives.

·      Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT): These two compounds are antioxidants- meaning the primary role of these compounds is to fight oxygen atoms in the body from creating bad health.  Ironically, these compounds have been linked to cancer and tumors in studies with animals and some countries have even prohibited these preservatives in food.  While there are many countries and regions that have prohibited these compounds, there are still traces in certain foods, containers, and bottles that can cause harm to the body.

·      Sulphur Dioxide: This preservative is widely used in food and drink products, especially in dried fruit and vegetables, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages.  This preservative is considered to be harmful to individuals who are sensitive to asthma.  Research indicates that one in nine asthmatics state a prior history of asthma exacerbated by consuming soda beverages that contain this preservative.  While the UK regulates the amount of sulphur dioxide used as a preservative, it is still used in many dried fruit and vegetables.  Consuming high amounts of sulphur dioxide can add the gassy side-effect one may experience after consuming the preservative.

·      Sodium benzoate and sodium nitrite: These preservatives can generally be found in deli meat and other preserved meats. Coincidentally, these preservatives have been associated with increased mortality rates in pregnant rats, which could help decrease the human shelf-life for those who consume these preservatives.

·       

            Consuming preservatives is often something that is hard to avoid, but it is important to try to avoid consuming additives whenever possible.  Avoiding preservatives can often be as simple as reading a food ingredient label on a package or can.  Regulations on foods and preservatives mandate the listing of all products on such foods, which means that these compounds are often listed.  Finding key words such as “nitrate” or the previously listed ingredients is something that should be searched for when reading food labels.  

Stay Solid, Lochs :-)

References

http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_150/181b_eating_well.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7426352

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