The Paleo Diet

The Paleo diet is based on the same dietary principles followed by our ancestors. 
During the 2.6 million years that our Paleolithic ancestors inhabited the earth, they depended upon nutrition from lean meats, fish fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
As a result, our ancestors were lean, fit, and free of the chronic diseases that plague our society in epidemic proportions today.

Diets changed considerably in the space of a few thousand years, owing to the dawn of agriculture and the introduction of cereal grains. Today, a concerted effort is required to avoid highly processed foods containing minimal nutritional value and chemicals with cumulative, adverse effects. 

Given that there has been little change in the human genome since Paleolithic times, our nutritional requirements remain similar to those of the Stone Age hunter-gatherers. Thus, a diet that espouses Paleolithic principles — a balanced ratio of low net carbohydrates, high quality proteins, and essential fats — may be the ideal route to the attainment of robust health, energy, and vitality.

Optimum nutrition, hydration and supplementation are absolutely essential if you want to perform at the highest level. It makes no difference what your sport is, HEALTH is your foundation, that's why I only recommend Organic food and clean water. 

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A Days Food Planning to control Insulin and Achieve Your Fat Loss Goals

Learn how to get oganised for the whole day so you can contol your blood sugar, keep your insulin release under control and achieve your fat loss goals:
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What does a True Fat Loss Breakfast look like?

For true weight loss, avoid low fat cereals and low fat milk. Have a proper breakfast! This will stabilise your blood sugar for longer and prevent insulin spikes which encourages the body to increase the size of your fat cells.

Grilled Grass Fed Rump Steak with Avocado and Steamed Purple Broccoli, then a handful of Organic raw cashew Nuts and Goji Berries.

This breakfast is the fastest way to lose fat!

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Not All Vitamins Are Equal!

Ask yourself this question:

Do you believe that cheap commercially produced food is the best for your body?

If you believe the answer is no, then we are in agreement. So here's another question, would you put cheap commercially produced vitamins aminerals in your body?


It is important to ask these tough questions when looking for the best multivitamin for you. You know you are not getting all the nutrients from Mother Nature anymore with the increasing usage of fertilisers robbing the soil of nutrients. But, you realise you need a multi-vitamin to help detoxify your body of toxins called free radicals especially if you are in a fat loss program as fat stores toxins and as you lose fat, you are releasing your toxins.

Studies in fat loss patients in America found that those patients who lost in excess of 150lbs of bodyweight died within 18 months since all these toxins were too overwhelming for the body to deal with. So it becomes more important to make a knowledgeable decision.

This becomes a very hard task when large, corrupt supplement manufacturers prey on theaverage consumers' lack of knowledge regarding supplement quality and nutrient absorption. They are more interested in the bottom line, their wealth as opposed to your health. They realise that you may not be a competitive athlete interested in maximising your performance and speeding up your recovery. Instead, they know that your buying decision will be based on two things: taking one tablet a day and price.

In order to keep the price down, they use cheap synthetic raw materials and cut corners in order to keep the price down. They are relying on you to see the cheap price and to say "that's good enough". So, it is a real challenge for you the average consumer to go a health food store and select a quality multi-vitamin/mineral supplement.

Did you know that some of the "Big Pharma" buy vast amounts of sea-salt; extract the trace minerals (of which there are over 80 present); then sell the wastage as salt to us (sodium chloride) the extracted minerals are then used as fillers in cheap supplements!

To help you make a better decision for a multi-vitamin, here are four tips that can help you to get your money's worth.

1: What type of magnesium does it have?
A sign of a poor supplement is the inclusion of magnesium oxide. If it contains this ingredient, avoid that brand as it is found in 80% of multi-vitamins. Here is a simple tip - if the magnesium is good, it should a word attached to it that ends in "ate" (e.g. magnesium taurate, magnesium fumarate, magnesium glycinate etc...)

2: All minerals should be chelated.
Chelation means that they are bound to an amino acid, which facilitates absorption. The gold standard in the industry is Albion chelates (check for it on the label.)


3: Check for the levels of manganese.
Your daily dose should not give you more than 5-7 mg of manganese. High dosages of manganese are neuro-toxic i.e. toxic to the brain. That is why giving soy-based formulas to infants has been linked to the increased incidence of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD.)


4: Balanced in iodine and selenium content.

Both trace minerals must be present in the correct order for thyroid health to occur. Imbalanced intake of iodine and selenium should be avoided as this may impair thyroid function.

Please consider these tips when buying your supplements. They may provide you with the edge you are seeking.

Click here for info on the best 5 Supplements to help you with your fat loss goals. Read More!

9 Reasons Why Women Have Bingo Wings!

A common question I am asked constantly is how to get rid of the "Wings"?

The key lies in our lifestyle habits, in particular these areas:

1. Alcohol Consumption: it's part of our social life, ease off on the booze
2. Refined Carbs in our diet: everyone is guilty! Eat more veggies instead of the butties!
3. Tobacco: past as well as present smoking, do I really have to tell you?
4. Low intake of protein: common in today's mythology of low fat, low calorie diet fads, eat 2.4g per kilo of lean body weight every day
5. Dehydration: very few people really drink enough water for health and detoxification drink 0.04 x your bodyweight in kg every day in litres of water, e.g. if you weigh 68kg, drink 2.7 ltres each day
6. Anaemia: common in women and vegetarians who consume very little or no red meat
7. Adrenal Dysfunction: we have 200 times more stress today than we had 100 years ago
8. Aromatisation: with toxins constantly in our environment, our body's are absorbing every type of estrogen possible like xeno-estrogens from plastic food containers and bottles and phyto-estrogens from so called health foods like soy and peanuts
9. Poor Sleep: get to bed on time, get 8 hours good quality sleep, need I say more?

Sort these factors out and see your "Wings" Flap Away!!!

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5 Quick and Easy Fat Loss Breakfasts

When I analyse the diet diary of a new patient, I am still shocked at the lack of quality of food, if any, for the most important meal of the day.

So what is a typical breakfast?
Low fat cereals is the norm with low fat milk. Bagels, croissant and pastry's, fat free yoghurt and pesticide sprayed fruit. All washed down with a skinny latte.
If you're lucky you might opt for porridge, but then laced with honey and dried fruits to ensure you get that Insulin spike.

Some will opt for a protein breakfast, but I don't believe anyone would call fried eggs, sausage and bacon actually healthy.
Then there are those that don't eat anything, in the belief that they can't eat any food, before their morning coffee or even until lunchtime.

The responses I get when I ask why they have such a poor breakfast:
"I am on a low fat diet"......I have no appetite"......."I need my caffeine before anything else"........."I get a longer energy release"......"I don't have time to eat in the morning"

Let's look at some facts.

>If you want to lose fat you need to stabilise your blood sugar first thing in the morning. This is only possible with proteins and fats. Sugar no matter how complex whether it be cereal,a bagel, fresh fruit, or porridge will still cause the pancreas to secrete insulin as a response. Protein and fats prevent this.

>Having no breakfast, well you might as well buy all of your clothes 2 sizes bigger, because that's where you are heading.

>We are acidic when wake up in the morning. All processed foods are acidic as well. Cereals, bagels, porridge, and yes even quality protein is acidic. If you are in an acidic state, losing fat becomes impossible.

So what's the solution?

>Have a alkaline green vegetable drink immediately upon waking up. If you can make your own, great, otherwise use "paleogreens" drink.

>Have a quality protein breakfast soon thereafter. 5 ideas below.

>Having 2 protein feedings before 12 noon will gaurantee fat loss.

Instead of staying up late watching TV or browsing the internet, go to bed a little earlier and leave yourself enough time to prepare a good quality fat loss breakfast. You can even prepare your food the night before to be certain you are ready.

Here's 5 of the best:

> Grass Fed Steak, with Raw Broccoli, Garlic Butter, handful of Cashew Nuts

>Wild Smoked Salmon with Cottage Cheese, Black Pepper and Raw Spinach, handful of Almonds

>Poached Organic Eggs with Free Range Ham,Chilli Oil, Raw Watercress, handful of Brazil Nuts

>Free Range Turkey Breast, Tomato Ragut with Raw Carrots and handful of pistachios

>Grilled Free Range Chicken Breast,Pesto, Rocket Leaves, handful of Walnuts

Quality, nutritious, full of minerals, antioxidants, protein, good fats and designed to allow to lose fat as though it was melting off you as you eat! Read More!

Why People Fail to Achieve Their Fat Loss and Fitness Goals

I consulted recently with someone who wanted to lose some body fat, sort out her digestive system as she often felt bloated. She wanted to tone up, and generally feel healthier and fitter.

When I explained that what she had been doing as far as diet, lifestyle and exercise wasn't working for her and that she needed drastic changes, she initially agreed with what I said.

When we discussed the finer details with what was required, and advised the need for supplementation, that's when the wall of ignorance came up.

If you have constant bloating, then the food that you are putting in your mouth isn't right for you. If you aren't losing fat then your exercise program isn't right for you.

If your body is tired, stressed and generally acidic then you aren't getting enough water inside you, your sleep is poor and you need to reduce your stress levels.

It isn't rocket science," the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expect different results".

Using supplements is not a crime. in order to get results it is my belief that everyone needs a good quality whey protein, toxic free fish oils, green vegetable drinks, a good quality multi-vitamin, and needs digestive enzymes.

These items are not really supplements, they are essential items of the diet. Where we are all now is a totally different place to where we were 100 years ago. The world is different, our food quaility is different.

Don't wear blinkers, open your eyes. Read More!

Secrets to Nutrition: 10 Steps to Balancing Your Diet:

The Facts!

The human body is the same now as it was 10,000 years ago.

• All people were hunter-gatherers.
• Gathered various fruits and vegetables to eat 
• Hunted animals for their meat
• Ratio of meat and vegetables varied with season
• Rarely drank milk past infancy
• Rarely ate grains

Changes in the last 100 years

• Refined carbohydrates
• Use of chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers
• Margarine
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Microwaves

Men vs. Women

• Women need more fat to keep fertile
• Women have more Lipogenic enzymes
• Women's fat cells are bigger
• Men 10x Testosterone
• Men have 40% more muscle cells 

Dieting

• Increases Lipogenic enzymes
• Reduces Lipolytic enzymes

  

Female Lower-Body fat cells

• Larger
• More fat storage enzymes (Lipogenic)
• Less fat releasing enzymes (Lipolytic) 

1. You can’t drown from the inside:

Drink (0.04 x your bodyweight in kilos) Litres of Good Quality Water Daily (filtered is best) Example: bodyweight is 75 Kilos then drink 3 litres per day. Water is important for good concentration, mental health, radiant skin and optimal digestion. Monitor how much you need by checking the colour of your urine, which should be champagne (i.e. pale) yellow.

  

2. Quality vs. Quantity:

Eating Organic Food is best choice – you will lose body fat quicker!! And you will stay lean!!!

  

3. Get your digestive system working: assimilation of quality nutrients is improved.

   

4. Control the FAT Hormone – INSULIN:

  

Eat breakfast every day: and early in the day, ASAP after waking up to stabilise blood sugar levels. if you normally have cereal try porridge with a sprinkling of ground almonds or walnuts, or if you are keen on a full English try having poached eggs with baked beans (with no added salt or sugar) and grilled tomato.

Eat lean sources of protein: Males 3-4g per kilo of lean body weight (LBM). Females 2.4 g per kilo LBM every day. Protein is essential for balancing our hormones, mood, concentration and healthy skin, hair and nails. It is also vital if you want to tone up your muscles and maintain a healthy weight. Protein-rich foods are lean meat, fish (oily & white), beans and pulses, nuts and seafood.

Have 5-6 Feedings per day: eating every 2-3 hours will increase your metabolic rate and keep your blood sugar levels constant. Nuts, seeds, boiled eggs and cold meats are ideal.

Use cinnamon in your hot drinks, acts as a natural blood sugar stabiliser.

Not all carbs are equal: remember only 25% of the population can tolerate more than 50g of carbs per day. 2 slices of bread has the same amount of carbohydrates as 500g of vegetables.

5. A net alkaline diet is healthier for us: eat alkaline foods at every meal to balance out the acidic foods. Therefore aim for around 100g -150g of fibrous vegetables per meal and certainly more vegetables than protein on your plate. Eating more vegetables is the easiest way to improve your health, as they are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Try to eat at least 5-7 portions vegetables and 1-2 portions of fruit every day. A portion is actually much smaller than you think here are some examples: ½ cup or (3 tbsps) vegetables (raw, steamed); 1 desert bowlful of salad; 1 medium apple or pear 15 berries/cherries. Aim for a rainbow selection of vegetables or fruit at each meal. You can choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced; though fresh or frozen are best. Also, drink no more than one glass of juice a day. Potatoes are seen as a starchy food, not as a portion of vegetables.

Some foods also have natural thermogenic properties (increases our metabolism) - ginger, black pepper, garlic, chilli, curcumin and green tea.

  

6. Consume plenty of Omega 3 fats: These are crucial to our health and must be obtained from the diet. They are important for a healthy heart, balancing our hormones, improving our mood and optimising cognitive function and weight. Oily fish (wild salmon, trout, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, and pilchards), walnuts and linseeds are good sources of omega 3. Do remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt. Other good sources of fats include almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and vegetables. 125g of wild salmon has approx 1g of omega 3 fats. Consumption of fish like shark, swordfish, tuna and marlin should be kept to a minimum due to potentially high levels of mercury.

  

7. Reduce your caffeine intake: limit after lunchtime and avoid in the evenings

  

Did you know a Regular Skinny Latte contains 131 calories, 150mg caffeine, 7mg cholesterol and 18g sugar!

 

8. Cut down on poor quality fats, sugar and salt:

Fats:

To stay healthy we need some fat in our diets. What is important is the kind of fat we are eating.

Good or Smart Fats = olive oil, oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds.

Bad Fats = meat pies, sausages, hard cheese; pastry; cakes and biscuits.

How do I know if a food has bad fats?

Look at the label to see what type of fat a food contains.

Sugar:

Most people in the UK are eating too much sugar. We should all be trying to eat fewer foods containing added sugar, such as sweets, cakes and biscuits, and drinking fewer sugary soft and fizzy drinks.

Having sugary foods and drinks too often can cause tooth decay, especially if you have them between meals. Many foods that contain added sugar can also be high in calories so cutting down could help you control your weight.

How do I know if a food is high in added sugar?

Take a look at the label. The ingredients list always starts with the biggest ingredient first.

But watch out for other words used to describe added sugar, such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltodextrin, maltose, hydrolysed starch and invert sugar, high fructose corn syrup and honey. The food industry use different types of sugar so they can hide how much sugar is in a product.

Another way to get an idea of how much sugar is in a food is to have a look for the 'Carbohydrates (of which sugars)' figure on the label. But this figure can't tell you how much is from added sugars, which is the type we should try to cut down on.

  

Salt:

Lots of people think they don't eat much salt, especially if they don't add it to their food. But don't be so sure! Every day in the UK, 85% men and 69% women eat too much salt. Adults – and children over 11 – should have no more than 5g salt a day. Younger children should have even less. Three-quarters (75%) of the salt we eat comes from processed food, such as some breakfast cereals, soups, sauces, bread, biscuits and ready meals. So you could easily be eating too much salt without realising it.

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. And people with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than people with normal blood pressure. Avoiding processed foods means you will avoid excessive amounts of salt in your diet.

  

9. Get to bed on time: 8 hours undisturbed, improves our metabolism of carbohydrates.

  

10. Have a treat: 25 g of Organic Dark Chocolate and 125ml glass of good quality red wine (Pinot Noir, Merlot are best as they are high in Resveratrol and Melatonin)

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Post Workout Nutrition

What Happens After Exercise? The Bad News

Immediately after aerobic “cardio” exercise the body makes a dramatic shift to a Negative Protein Balance. There is a large increase in Protein Breakdown (muscle loss) and a big decrease in Protein Synthesis (muscle building). Research has also shown that you can remain in a severe Negative Protein Balance for 8 hours or more after endurance exercise and possibly never climb into a Positive Protein Balance before your next exercise session. Say goodbye to the muscle.

Immediately after a strength workout, Protein Synthesis (building) either stays the same or slightly goes up but Protein Breakdown (muscle loss) goes way up. This will also lead to a Negative Protein Balance and a loss of muscle. The prognosis for weight trainers is a little better than our endurance friends because within a few hours Protein Synthesis (building) starts to climb and Protein Breakdown (muscle loss) starts to fall. Within 24 hours (dependant of nutrition, rest, stress, etc) the body will try and achieve a Positive Protein Balance where Protein Synthesis is greater than Protein Breakdown (MUSCLE GAINS).

Triple Threat Post-Workout Trauma (Aerobic and Weights)

1. Protein breakdown is increased, the bodies tissues start to degrade
2. There is a Negative Protein balance, body losing muscle not building muscle
3. Glycogen stores are low, less cellular energy for daily life, less energy for recovery or for the next workout.

Failure to replenish stores leads to

• Prolonged muscle soreness and fatigue
• Reduced performance
• Symptoms of overtraining
• Minimal or no fat loss and muscle gain, despite having a good exercise program
• Lowering of metabolism and loss of muscle mass
• Increase in injuries

The "Charles Poliquin" Post Workout Shake

Post workout meal should be consumed within 1 hour after exercise. Liquid is better absorbed and nutrients are delivered faster than a solid meal. It is more beneficial if taken within the 10 minutes of finishing.

Note: aerobic exercise depletes Glycogen stores more than weight training.

Recipes:

This varies dependant on the body composition of the individual>

Male above 10% body fat and female above 14% body fat:

Amounts per Kilo of Lean Body Mass

0.6g Whey Cool Protein
0.33g L-Glutamine
5-20g L-Glycine (start at 5g work up to 20g, those with poor liver function will not be able to tolerate 20g)
Example: someone who has a lean body mass of 60kg then the recipe is 36g Whey Cool, 20g Glutamine, up to 20g Glycine.

Male below 10% body fat and female below 14% body fat:

The same as above but with the addition of

1.2g VITARGO carbohydrate per kilo of Lean Body mass Read More!

Man Boobs, Beer, Peanuts and Soy; whats the link?

Its 6 weeks to Christmas! As we approach the countdown to the festive season I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss the subject of alcohol and its effects on your fat loss program. When a client embarks on a fat loss program I stress how important it is to make lifestyle changes. If my clients are serious about getting lean one of the lifestyle factors that must be reviewed is the consumption of alcohol.

The reality is that people kid themselves about how much they drink. Those trips to the bottle bank can be a sobering experience when you are faced with the evidence of your weekly indulgences. The london social life revolves around bars, restaurants, corporate entertainment, golfing events, Ascot, Henley. Lords, Twickenham etc. So it is a significant lifestyle change that you are being asked to consider in pursuit of your goals.

I always recommend that my clients keep diaries of what they eat and drink. A common entry on my female clients' diaries is the obligatory glass (or glasses) of white wine at the end of a stressful day. Before keeping the food diary the same clients were convinced that they only drank one or two glasses a night when in reality they are consuming on average half to three quarters of a bottle of wine a night. It's all very well sitting on the veranda sipping that glass of wine that you heard is good for you but what is good for you is a single glass of red wine (Pinot Noir, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon).

These wines are rich in resveratrol, which is reputed to have anti-aging properties. So Ladies, if you are wondering why you can't lose weight, remember that alcohol is high in calories, which are generally in excess to your needs. This results in these excess calories being stored as fat, primarily on your love handles.

Alcohol is no friend to men either despite the fact that it gives you an increase of confidence! Beer contains xenoestrogens that mimic the estrogens in your body. The same toxic compound is found in peanuts and soy!

Your body recognises these and it doesn't excrete them, which lead to an estrogens overload and the conversion of your testosterone into estrogens. This results in that "He-She" look that is currently in vogue. The increase in sightings of man boobs is not helped by the fact that Man boobs develop because alcohol lowers testosterone that builds fat burning muscle for the next four days . If you are fat, know that fat stores toxins and so the more body-fat you have the more toxic you are and the more prone to diseases you will be.

If you are serious about your fat loss or a strength-building program, you need to curtail your intake of alcohol. Alcohol can affect your body's perception of hunger and drinking can also stimulate additional eating.

You either stop off for the kebab on the way home or comfort eat on the couch the next day. It also affects your ability to train. If you have over indulged at the weekend you will notice that it will take you a few days to get back to being able to lift the heavy weights that you lifted the previous Friday. Alcohol makes you weaker. It has a detrimental effect on the quality training needed for achieving fat loss.

You are 100% responsible for the position you find yourself in today and YOU are the only person who has the power to change it. There is no better time than today to make that lifestyle change. So drop the can or pint, pick up your pride and do something that isn't temporary like beer, get fit because fitness is for life." Read More!