Turn healthy, turn fit

Apples

Amazing fruit, it will really help your body in all aspects...

 Surprising Health Benefits of Sleep

Sleep makes you feel better, but its importance goes way beyond just boosting your mood or banishing under-eye circles. Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and more.

Improve memory

Your mind is surprisingly busy while you snooze. During sleep you can strengthen memories or "practice" skills learned while you were awake (it’s a process called consolidation).

Live longer?

Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan—although it’s not clear if it’s a cause or effect. (Illnesses may affect sleep patterns too.)

In a 2010 study of women ages 50 to 79, more deaths occurred in women who got less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per night.

Sleep also affects quality of life.

Curb inflammation

Inflammation is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and premature aging. Research indicates that people who get less sleep—six or fewer hours a night—have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins than those who get more.

A 2010 study found that C-reactive protein, which is associated with heart attack risk, was higher in people who got six or fewer hours of sleep a night.

People who have sleep apnea or insomnia can have an improvement in blood pressure and inflammation with treatment of the sleep disorders, Dr. Rapoport says.

Have a healthy weight

If you are thinking about going on a diet, you might want to plan an earlier bedtime too.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that dieters who were well rested lost more fat—56% of their weight loss—than those who were sleep deprived, who lost more muscle mass. (They shed similar amounts of total weight regardless of sleep.)

Dieters in the study also felt more hungry when they got less sleep.

"Sleep and metabolism are controlled by the same sectors of the brain," Dr. Rapoport says. "When you are sleepy, certain hormones go up in your blood, and those same hormones drive appetite."

Diet Hacks

Diet Hacks

1.    Eat a Big Breakfast

2.   Macronutrient Timing

• Eat low fat/ high protein/moderate carb meals in the morning – fruit smoothies with protein powder, oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins & protein powder, grilled chicken fruit salad, etc…

• Eat low carb/high protein/moderate fat meals in the evening – soups, salads, stir frys, etc…lots of veggies (the crunchy kind) but no grains

• Lunch can go either way.

Part of the theory behind macronutrient timing is that carbs are used for energy. As your day winds down, your need for carbs is reduced. And if you’re not burning carbs for energy, the will turn to fat.
So, if your afternoon is going to require lots of energy, opt for a carb/pro meal. If your afternoon is kind of lazy, then go with the pro/fat meal.

3.   Eat Protein at Every Meal

I’m not saying you should eat a huge 24oz. Porterhouse steak for breakfast, lunch & dinner.
What I am saying is that you should have half a chicken breast or a couple of eggs or some tofu or a scoop of protein powder at EVERY meal.

4.   Fiber at Every Meal

You don’t need to buy any supplements to get your fiber. Real food sources like oatmeal, vegetables, legumes, fruit, and a handful of ground flax seeds in your smoothie is an easy & natural way to get the fiber that you NEED.

In addition to reducing your appetite and killing carb cravings, increasing your fiber intake improves your gut he
alth, providing your microbiome with the stuff it needs to improve your overall health, eliminate chronic leaky gut symptoms and quite possible prevent colon cancer.
Note – Feel free to use soluble & insoluble fiber supplements if you want to. I prefer to get my fiber via my diet, but going the supplement route is fine with me too.

5.   Stop Drinking Your Calories

Seriously…pay attention to the calories that you are drinking. High calorie beverages don’t fill you up like solid food, and they are usually high in sugars, which stimulates insulin release which increases the likelihood that those liquid calories WILL be stored as body-fat.
And it’s not just the Starbuckian calorie-bombs that I am warning you about – soda, fruit drinks, fruit juices are just as bad.

6.   Stop Eating Bread

I love bread…

• I love the smell of a freshly baked loaf of bread.
• I love the springy texture and tang of a fresh loaf of sour dough rye.
• I love popping a couple of slices into the toaster to have with a fried egg in the morning.
• I love a slice of thin crust pizza.
• I love grabbing a Banh Mi sandwich as I walk through Chinatown.
• I love french toast dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar.

I LOVE BREAD

• What I don’t love are the gluten sensitivities that me & my clients didn’t even know that we had…until we gave up bread.
• And I don’t love the extra body-fat that never went away…until I gave up bread
• And I don’t love the headaches I get if I re-introduce bread back into my diet

And I don’t love that there is such a thing as bread back…and bread face…and bread belly

7.   Drink More Tea

Your body needs fluid. Odds are, you don’t get enough. And if you do, it’s probably in the form of soda, juice and other high-calorie, high-sugar beverages…which as you might remember from Diet Hack #5 is not a good thing.


Not only does drinking tea take care of your hydration needs, there are a ton of valuable micronutrients to be found in a cup of white, green, oolong, black and/or herbal tea.
Just about every day, there is another study which indicates the amazing health benefits of drinking tea.

8.   Supplement with Omega 3 Fish Oils Every Night before Bed

Every month, there is new research highlighting the health benefits of Omega 3s.
We are told that Omega-6 fatty acids are the cause of many of our Western diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The researchers believe this for a few reasons…

1. Because of how Omega-6 fatty acids are broken down by your body, they are more likely than the Omega-3s to produce pro-inflammatory ‘eicosanoids‘. In fact, many of the drugs used to treat and manage these conditions work by blocking the effects of the potent Omega−6 fat, Arachidonic Acid,
2. The eicosanoids made from Omega-3 fatty acids are mainly anti-inflammatory.
3. Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids have to compete with each other in order for them to be transformed from fatty acids into eicosanoids. So, when the ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 was 1:1, it was a fair fight. Now that it is 15 or 16:1, the Omega-6s win the fight and the result is increased inflammation and disease.

It’s not that Omega 6 oils are inherintly bad…it’s that our modern diet has thrown the balance of 3s and 6s out of whack. And our health is suffering as a result.

Here are your best sources for Omega 3 oils…

• Cold Water Oily Fish (be aware of mercury levels)
• Fish Oil, Krill or Omega 3 Algae Supplements (Third Party Purity testing required)
• Flax Seed, Flax Meal and Flax Oil Supplements
• Omega 3 supplemented Eggs
• Grass fed Beef or Lamb 

9.   Get Smart about Peri-Workout Nutrition

Diet Hack #1 says that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Diet Hack #9 says that the nutrients you put in your body before, during and immediately after your workout is just as important.

• Carbs before workout – GOOD
• Carbs during workout – GOOD
• Carbs & Branched Chain Amino Acids immediately post workout – GOOD

These suggestions are based on the theories that…

1. Carbs raise your insulin levels, increasing the efficiency of nutrient absorption.
2. Your workout inflicts micro-damage on your muscles.
3. During and after your workout, your muscles are screaming for nutrition to build newer/stronger/faster muscles.
4. Sugar before & during your workout is going to be directed almost exclusively to your muscles
5. Sugar + protein + supplemental branched chain amino acids supercharge the re-construction of your post-workout muscles

And voila, your body recovers faster & more efficiently from your workouts. Without spending a ton of dough on exotic & expensive supplements

10.   Always Carry Healthy Snacks

Our society thrives on junk food.

If you want to eat healthy in order to lose weight, live longer, etc, you need to be prepared.
Like ……a good little boy scout, you need to spend a little time every night preparing your healthy lunch & snacks.

• Put some protein powder / meal replacement powder in a sports shaker bottle. Add water when you’re hungry
• Put some nuts & seeds into a sandwich bag and shove it into your coat pocket
• Put a bunch of those baby carrots into your briefcase
• Throw some BCAA tablets into another sandwich bag and choke them down with your afternoon coffee break.
• There is no excuse for eating junk food and ruining your diet

 

balanced

Cardio Workout

Who needs gym now? Here's a short killing workout as a great starter for the week. Let's pump up that cardio.