Question of the Week: What about a cheat day?

Question of the Week: What about a cheat day/week/month?

Trainer's often tell us that the occasional cheat or treat does no harm when focussing on a healthier nutritional lifestyle. However psychologically these words just reinforce the mistaken belief that healthy food is boring, unfulfilling and something we eat only because we should. 

The context as well as the meaning of these words are equally important. No wonder it is difficult to motivate ourselves to eat well when we can take the 'naughty step' and indulge in all those treats instead.

There is just food, with some food being much healthier than others. No need to feel guilty about cheating, no need to feel as if you are missing out when not eating treats - but being satisfied with the benefits gained when eating healthy food.

Think of 'rich' food as foods that are abundant in nutrients, 'treat' yourself to good quality foods that we were designed to eat and remember why 'cheating' never works in the long run.  There is always a cost.

Question of the Week: Where Can I Get Grass-Fed Meat in London?

Darryl:  Where can I get grass-fed meat in London?

I am often asked about buying grass-fed meat in London.  For those who follow primal or paleo diets meat - that is closer to how animals are naturally reared is a preference.  There are many health benefits including: an increase in meat quality and nutrient-density, better good fats and less bad fats, and an improved omega 3:6 profile.

There are numerous health benefits to grass-fat meats as opposed to grain-fed meats and at the very least you are unlikely to encounter growth hormones and antibiotic contamination of the meat.

I am fortunate to have a butcher 5 minutes work from me that sells naturally reared and permanently pastured meat.  I can question the butcher on the source of the meat and I would personally prefer this to ordering frozen meat online but not all of us have this option.

For those who live in London there are numerous weekly farmer's markets.  Here is a list of farmer's markets in London

Health: Fat-Loss vs Weight-Loss

Fat-Loss vs Weight-Loss

The 3rd in a series of blog posts based on a recent question of the week:

1. Calories-In vs Calories-Out;
2. The Role of Insulin;
3. Fat-Loss vs Weight-Loss

Looking at most health and fitness magazine covers around the end of the year.  There is primarily one focus: Losing Weight

Whether this is because of the likelihood to indulge oneself during the festive season, or because of the annual renewal of vows to be fitter and healthier.  It is bound to be a mixture of the two.  Indeed most of the my clients state this as the number one goal they wish to achieve.  My clients are often shocked when I state that actually they don't need to lose weight: but to lose fat.  Sometimes a combination of the two is required but it is highly unlikely just to be weight-loss.

So what's the difference between weight-loss and fat-loss?

Well the two should not be confused.  Weight-loss is the overall loss of body weight for example going from 70kg to 67kg (154lb to 147lbs) whereas fat loss is based on reducing overall body fat as a percentage of total body composition - this is usually factored as a percentage reduction.  For example a loss of 5% body fat from 25% to 20%. 

Here's a few reasons why weight-loss usually fails or is the wrong approach:

If you are dehydrated you can appear to lose a few lbs or kilos of weight very easily.  Water-loss will directly lead to weight-loss.  In fact most people can lose over a kilo of 'weight' overnight whilst asleep throught respiration (water vapour whilst breathing) and transpiration (loss of water by sweating).  The scales will be fooled, but of course once you drink to replace lost fluids - the scales are back to where they began.

You can also restrict calories for a period of time, via a calorie-controlled or crash-diet to lose weight.  These can be successful in the short-term but are usually very unhealthy as in severe cases they can lead to malnutrition (robbing the body of essential nutrients), and can create the yo-yo diet effect whereby you constantly gain and lose weight for lengthy periods: a vicious cycle of success and failure.

If your body fat percentage remains constant but you have lost weight.  Then this can mean you have lost precious lean muscle mass, a loss of bone density as well as the above mentioned loss of hydration levels.

Have a low body weight with high body fat percentages can also lead to 'skinny fat' individuals.

Two individuals could be exactly the same weight and height - but have different levels of body fat.  A 60kg woman with 35% body fat (clinically obese), will look, feel and perform differerently than someone who is 60kg with 17% body fat (lean and athletic).

Based on these differences one can see that fat-loss is a completely different proposition to weight-loss.  Once the concept is crystal clear then you begin to realise that maintaining a healthy body fat percentage is more beneficial than an arbitrary ídeal weight.

Nutrition: The Role of Insulin

Nutrition: The Role of Insulin

The 2nd in a series of blog posts based on a recent question of the week: 

1. Calories-In vs Calories-Out;
2. The Role of Insulin;

Ever wondered why even though we consume foods that are fat-free one can still store fat?  

Well given we are bombarded with messages that "eating fat means we get fat" or "a low-fat diet leads to weight loss" - how could a zero fat food (for example a bag of sweets such as Skittles) increase levels of body fat?  

Well the answer is pretty straightforward: an excess of carbohydrates (glucose) provided by your diet will be stored as fat.

So how does this happen?  Well let's get back to (not thinking about) eating those bag of Skittles.  Once digested the carbohydrates are released very quickly into the blood stream via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract otherwise known as the digestive system.  Your body has to remove this blood glucose, as high concentrations of blood glucose are dangerous.  This detection of blood glucose triggers secretion of the hormone insulin which is released by the pancreas.  

Insulin signals to the body that muscle and liver cells should accept and absorb this blood glucose.  This blood glucose is then converted by the liver into glycogen.  Glycogen is a stored form of energy that can easily be converted to glucose and used by the body as required.

Glycogen levels will continue to increase - however there is a upper limit to how much we can store.  Once the glycogen reservoir is full the body has an alternative mechanism for managing excess blood glucose.  The excess blood glucose which can not be converted into glycogen is decomposed into smaller molecules by the liver which are then reassembled into fat.  This is then dispersed into the bloodstream and inserted into adipose (fatty) tissue cells around the body.

Due to high levels of regular refined and processed carbohydrate consumption in the modern diet - wheat, orange juice, processed snacks, sodas, etc  - many people live with full glycogen levels for 24 hours a day.  Any exercise performed are also usually countered by consumption of istotonic or sugar based drinks or justification to 'treat yourself with desert' which maintains this highly glycogenic state.  

In the presence of full glycogen levels and an excess of insulin in the body (hyperinsulinemia) any carbohydrate consumption (even a small bag of Skittles) will lead immediately to fat storage and a difficulty in the body of utilising it's fat stores for energy.

This is one reason a paleolithic type diet is renowned for it's success in reducing body fat, as it is more likely to maintain healthier blood sugar levels - with less reliance on carbohydrates as the main source of food.