HOW TO OVEREAT AND NOT GAIN WEIGHT THIS CHRISTMAS!

This must be the strangest and most controversial advice I will give this year, but I just want to be real. A few of us are so dialled in and conscientious about our diet that we will never overeat or eat the wrong things, Christmas or no Christmas! However most of us (including me!) struggle to Passover all the wonderful goodies; fried, dripping with oil fat and totally laced with sugar.

So what am I advising? Well, since It is unlike that I can persuade you not to overindulge, how about we have a truce? I advise you on what and how to eat and you can eat as much as you like, let’s call it “TACTICAL OVEREATING”.  It’s a system of holiday overindulgence I came up with about 5 years ago, and it has served me well ever since. Trust me, it really works, you will enjoy all your Christmas favourites and still not gain weight and in the off chance you do, it will be in muscle and not fat. Are you ready?

HOW SIMPLE AND COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES AFFECT YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS

Let’s get this straight right off; a carb is not a carb. No matter what people might try to convince you to the contrary, there is a world of difference between how simple and complex carbohydrates affect your health and fitness efforts. What I want to do today is to let you know how simple and complex carbs can affect your weight, health and energy levels.

FAT AND SUGAR FREE FOODS? BE CAREFUL!

You are health conscious, you work out, try to lead a healthy life and you are very careful about what you eat. You know the consequences of too much fat and sugar in your diet; hence you are always careful to buy only foods that are labeled “fat free” and “sugar free”. You go home feeling happy that you are making healthy choices.

If the above description sounds anything like you then I have some bad news for you, you have been unknowingly sabotaging your efforts to stay fit and healthy! How you ask? Well the culprits are all that fat and sugar free food you have been consuming. First of all know this, fat and sugar occurs naturally and not all fats or sugars are bad, it’s in the nature of the fat and sugar as well as the quantity you are consuming.

Fat of the right nature and quantity is good for you, i.e . Omega 3 fatty acids are an example, as well as naturally occurring sugars such as fructose in fruits. What you have to be careful about is the quantity you are consuming to avoid unnecessary weight gain.

Fat and sugar free foods on the other hand, can be very detrimental to your health. Don’t be deceived by smart marketing techniques and clever labels employed by food companies to hide the truth! Good marketing can make products seem fat loss friendly while they do the complete opposite. Companies meanwhile are only there to make money; your health comes a distant second.

So don’t be fooled, the following are common foods we all loved, disguised as healthy but are really not. Read through and know the truth and it shall set you free!

POT BELLY? THESE ARE THE FASTEST FAT BURNING AEROBIC EXERCISES!

We all could do with less body fat right? An extra incentive to lose body fat is the dreaded pot belly or beer gut, its unsightly, embarrassing and makes you wish for the days when you used to play football for your school team! Now I can’t promise to turn back the hands of time and recapture your teenage years, but I can help you get rid that extra tire you have been carrying around with you. This article is for both the guys and the ladies; we will explore the meaning of aerobic activity, the different types available and their fat burning potential. I know that at the end you will be motivated to take up the cardio exercise that suites you the most, and be rest assured, if you stick to it, you can say good bye to that pot belly forever!

Have a great day!

What the hell is aerobic exercise? Now that’s the burning question, well  basically it’s a sustained form of exercise that is repetitive, long and hard enough to challenge the heart and lungs to use oxygen as a fuel source to sustain the body over a longer period (15-20 mins or more). Aerobic activity by its very nature requires fat to be used as a primary energy source with carbohydrates and proteins being used to a lesser extent. Basically if you want to cut your gut, you have to do cardio!

Modern research has shown that to burn fat effectively you need to exercise in the now mythological “fat burning zone”. To cut the crap, what you need to do is to exercise at 75% or more of your MAXIMUM HEART RATE (MHR).

5 TIPS FOR GETTING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR WORK OUT!

Now that's a workout!

We have all been there before, and the results can be frustrating! You exercise, you eat right and you try to live a healthy lifestyle but you are just not getting the desired results, does this scenario seem familiar? If it does, then don’t get frustrated, don’t give up, it simply means you need a boost to your workout. Today I want to give you 5 wonderful tips that will improve your performance.

Human beings love routine, it’s familiar and safe. Unfortunately routine plays havoc with the mind and we get bored and stale. These harmful routines can have a negative effect on your workout experience, so I would like you to incorporate the following tips into your routine; before, during and after your workout. If you do, I promise you noticeable improvements in a very short time.

 Happy reading and do have a wonderful day!

1.       SLEEP! START YOUR PREPARATION FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE:

Have you ever exercised after half a night’s worth of a sleep? How did that work out feel? If I had to guess I would say it was a wasted work out. Make sure you get at least 7 hours’ worth of quality sleep the night before you exercise, how you sleep will positively or negatively affect your workout so do yourself a favour and get a good night’s sleep because that’s when hormones associated with muscle growth work to repair your body. To ensure you sleep well turn your TV and smart phone off at bed time, I know Facebook and whatsapp can be addictive!

BODY TRANSFORMATIONS TO MOTIVATE YOU!

Most of the time when we look at pictures of fit men and women we think ; no way that cant be me, i could never be that slim, muscular or good looking and that's where you are dead wrong! you see, most of the time that person that is so much better than you used to be you and that's a fact.

The human mind and spirit are wonderful things, but to easier habituated to their programming, if you keep on feeding them the negative, they will accept the negative and if you keep on feeding them the positive then that becomes reality too. From my personal experience you can have the health, fitness and body you desire, the question you have to ask yourself is how badly do you want it?

MY WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY; OTIS BARLETT

Before aged 23, weight 410 pounds, after aged 31 weight 200 pounds!

looks incredible right? Incredible but not impossible, I love stories of personal triumph over adversity, I mean who doesn’t. However, when it comes in the field of fitness and weight loss it becomes extra special to me because I can relate to it personally. Today, I decided to feature a story that I read online about someone who decided that enough was enough; he was going to do something about his weight no matter what it took i.e. get fit or die trying! He wasn’t going to use tiredness, stress, work or family commitments as excuses, he got angry, got motivated and got fit.

This is the story of Otis Barlett, he isn’t a star or a celebrity, just an ordinary person like you and I, who took an extraordinary commitment to better himself. His story has inspired me and I hope you find it inspiring…..

HOW TO BOOST YOUR TESTOSTERONE LEVELS AND FEEL YOUNGER!

Remember when you had it all? Strength, stamina and vigour?  You could do it all and you were afraid of nothing! It’s safe to say you have probably mellowed a bit since then, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, if you feel low, weak, anxious, and sluggish. If you feel all these and are not really interested in life then you probably need a testosterone boost. Tell me honestly, how is your sex life? Still the stallion you were in your twenties and early thirties or are you now a mouse! Have you noticed the unsightly fat in all the wrong places? Remember when you could burn it off with just a week or two of football? If you are having difficulty with some or all of the above then it’s time to reclaim the raging bull you once were, the culprit is a known one; low testosterone.

IT’S A LONG JOURNEY; BUT YOU WILL GET THERE!

Who was that guy?

Can you spot the difference?!

A wise man once said “the most important step to achievement is showing up!” I agree wholeheartedly with that statement and would like to add TAKING ACTION! You can have the best plans on paper or in your head but if you don’t take the plunge, that leap of faith, feel and taste your fear, make mistakes and learn then my friend you will never conquer.  What am I going on about today? Motivation.

JUST 10 MINUTES DAILY TO LOSE BELLY FAT AND BUILD YOUR ABS!

Right off I have to let you know that your abs are primarily built in the kitchen, I subscribe to the saying with all my heart! However, what you eat is about 60% of losing belly fat, and while eating the right things will help you drop fat, the journey can never be complete without abdominal exercise.

Unless you are gifted with abs of steel like Cristiano Ronaldo then you have to work at it, while everybody wants to have a six pack or at least a flatter tummy, there are two major impediments that we face. The first is how do I go about losing this gut and the second more pressing one is how in the world do I find the time to do it! Well today you my friend are in luck, I want you to know that there is a program tailor made for your busy schedule, it’s intense enough to help you burn fat and build you core and it takes the minimum of time as well. This is the 10 minutes core workout; it consists of 6 exercises done quickly and efficiently with no rest between them. I don’t care how busy you are, you can fit this into your schedule, either in the morning or evenings, whatever suits you.

 In the morning its great as it will help wake you up and it works great in the evenings too as a stress relief.

THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST EXECISE!

Straight off I have to admit that I stole a lot of the ideas for this post! I read an article a while back about walking that blew my mind and I just had to share what I had learnt with you! Walking is probably the most ancient exercise out there and also the most taken for granted, so much so that here in naija walking long distances is considered a form of suffering and not the great beneficial exercise it really is.

corefitnessngr: 5 MOST ESSENTIAL WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS

corefitnessngr: 5 MOST ESSENTIAL WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS: Working out should be straight forward right? You lift the iron, sweat; feel the pain and the burn and your muscle burst out! That’s the ge...

5 MOST ESSENTIAL WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS

Working out should be straight forward right? You lift the iron, sweat; feel the pain and the burn and your muscle burst out! That’s the general idea, but in reality it’s a bit more complicated. Lifting the iron only gets the job done about 40%, the remaining 60% of building the body you want can be split between eating right and taking the right nutritional supplements. Let’s get this straight, supplements are not just for those giant bodybuilders and they are not just for men. The right supplementation is key to your physical efforts and your clean diet, whatever your goal and I always stress this, be it to burn off excess fat or to gain muscle. You need the right supps to help you get there.

Today, I would like to focus on five supps that I believe are key to your success, I have taken them all at one time or the other and I know they have been beneficial to me, remember they are to supplement your efforts at the gym and in the kitchen. They are not shortcuts! So if you want to train better and smarter then read on, I hope you find this post useful.

Thanks and have a great day!

WHEY PROTEIN:

6 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER EAT OR DRINK AT NIGHT!

If you have been paying attention, you would have noticed that I’ve been hammering away about food for the past few weeks! Well today is no exception and I have a very good reason for this, food is important! Whatever your goal is ; weight loss, optimum health or building a muscular body, what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat it can make or break your program. Today I would like to talk about when to eat certain foods. Ordinarily the items on my list are very healthy and powerful foods that give you strength and help you grow and lose weight, but when eaten close to bed time they can become a hindrance to optimum health and fitness.

So if you want to avoid these nutritional pitfalls then read on, if you want to promote fat burning and lean muscle growth then you need to read on and stop the late night blunders that have been impeding your progress.

Thanks, and do have a great weekend!

MILK:

I know, I know! How in the world can milk be harmful, right? Well in certain circumstances milk should be avoided, and late night is one of them. While milk is a relatively healthy source of protein and calcium, the issue with milk is the lactose content which can give you digestive issues at night, and if you are lactose intolerant you should totally avoid it as bloating and gas will make your night very uncomfortable. Second, milk is high in lactose which is still sugar, and you should not be downing sugar just before sleep if you hope to lose fat or build muscle.

6 NUTRITION MYTHS YOU SHOULD NEVER BELIEVE!

When it comes to dieting and nutrition there is a lot of old, outdated and just plain false information floating out there. If you are here in naija like me them the misinformation gets even worse as there’s nothing we love in naija more than old info masquerading as the gospel truth! Just start a casual conversation with family and friends about food and health and you will be amazed how misinformed we all can be! I bet you my last one Naira that you will hear things like “eating fat will make you fat, too much protein will ruin your kidneys” and my personal favourite: “eggs yolks are the Devil”.

5 EXERCISE MYTHS STOPPING YOU FROM BEING FIT!

Let’s face it, everybody either wants to lose weight or gain weight in order to achieve some form of fitness. You could be in either category, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is your motivation to achieve your goals, and motivation is closely tied to the set of beliefs you carry around with you as mental baggage when you work out. Unfortunately the world of exercise and fitness is littered with a lot of beliefs that are misguided and some patently false! Unfortunately a lot of people buy into these beliefs and it negatively affects their efforts to achieve their goals be it fitness, weight loss or muscle gain. These negative beliefs apart from limiting you, can also act as a crutch to lean on and an excuse to not get off your ass and give 100% effort. Today, I want to give your fat Ikebe a kick by destroying some key myths that may be hindering your fitness progress or giving you an excuse not to work out.

I want you to read this post and take a good, honest and critical look at yourself, your motivation and your output. If you recognize yourself as having fallen victim to any or all of these exercise myths, then now is the time to reclaim your mind and shake off any mental baggage that might be holding you back. I promise you that if you read this post, the five most compelling yet false exercise ideas will be revealed to you and things can only get better from there.

FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU!

Fat! The very mention of this word will send a shiver down anybody’s spine, nobody wants it and those that have it are trying to get rid of it! When I say fat is good for you, I am not talking about the fat you’ve got around your mid –section (sorry but that has just got to go!)

First of all we should establish that we need fat in our diet, but note that all fats are not created equal, some fats are so essential that your body cannot function properly without them, while some fats should be avoided like the plague! The purpose of this post is to take us back to school and remind us of the good the bad and ugly of fat. So if you want to know how to have a healthy relationship with fat and gain all the benefits this nutrient has to offer then please do read on.

Basically there are six kinds of fats:

Saturated Fats

Mono unsaturated Fats

Poly unsaturated Fats

Trans fats

Omega 3 Fatty acids  

Omega 6 Fatty acids

SATURATED VS UNSATURATED VS TRANS FATS:

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, i.e. Butter and Coconut oil, Mono unsaturated fats i.e. avocados and nuts are relatively stable at room temperature, while polyunsaturated fats like vegetable oil and corn oil are mostly unstable and liquid at room temperature. Accumulation of saturated fat in the body has been linked with the buildup of plaque in the arteries and the development of cardiovascular diseases. Some experts have advocated replacing saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats, while some studies claim that there is no evidence that this practice will reduce the risk of heart disease. Your best bet would be to limit your consumption of saturated fats as much as possible as they are a source of inflammation in the body.

There is no such ambiguity when it comes to trans fats, trans fats come about as a result of the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. This is a purely commercial process that helps the oils have a longer shelf life , your basic margarines like blue band etc are examples of trans fats. You should avoid them in your diet as much as you can!  Trans fats are commonly found in pre packaged baked goods like biscuits and packaged pastries and cakes are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. The good thing is that they are relatively easy to identify, look out for the phrase “partially hydrogenated oils” on any packaged food before you buy anything and avoid them at all costs.

OMEGA 3 VS OMEGA 6:

(image of omega 3 and 6 foods)

What makes omega 3 different from omega 6? Well nothing much except for how some carbon bonds are arranged, yet this can have a serious impact on what it means to our bodies. Omega 3 fatty foods help prevent blood clotting and have anti inflammatory benefits while omega 6 fats are believed to cause inflammation and lead to blood clotting and narrowing of arteries. Omega 3 fats are thought to promote healthy levels of HDL “good cholesterol” while inhibiting LDL, “bad cholesterol. The reverse is the case with excess Omega 6.

BENEFITS OF (HEALTHY) FATS:

1.       Fat is calorie dense, 1 gram of fat contains about 9 calories of energy compared with 4 calories for protein and carbohydrates, hence having some healthy fat in your diet will give you the energy you need to function properly, and don’t worry it is easily burnt off in vigorous exercise.

2.       Good fat also acts as natural body armour for your internal organs, but up to a point! We all need some fat inside to cushion the impact of our daily activities on our organs; this is known as visceral fat. The fat under our skin is known as subcutaneous fat and it’s useful as an insulator to keep us warm, fat also helps us regulate our cellular functions and improve the speed and efficiency of our nerve conduction. However, too much of a good thing can be deadly! Too much fat whether good or bad can have the reverse of the above benefits. So watch it!

3.       Vitamins A,D,E and K are fat soluble vitamins, the body cannot absorb, store or use them without adequate stores of good fat.

4.       Finally, fat tastes damn good! It adds a certain texture to food and makes it more satisfying. Remember that 1 gram of fat has 9 calories? This helps aid satiety and you feel full quicker and for much longer and are less likely to snack on junk with some good fat in your diet.

MAN BOOBS! HOW YOU GET THEM AND HOW TO GET RID OF THEM!

Man and boobs!  These two words seem like a natural fit unless you are a man with boobs! It’s a very common condition and afflicts males across all age groups, hell I suffered from this affliction for a time in my 20’s , so if you’ve got man boobs don’t be ashamed brother, I’ve been there and survived it.

Read this post carefully and I assure you that in the not too distant future you too will be a “Man Boob” survivor!

                                                                                                                                                                       

WHAT ARE MAN BOOBS?

Ideally your chest should be nothing but rock hard muscle, but statistics have shown that at least 30% of males will develop man boobs in their lifetime.  Technically called gynecomastia, they are excess fat deposits in the male pectoral region (chest!) Man boobs can afflict a man at any age from puberty, while it is uncomfortable to have man boobs, they do not put your life in any danger. Psychologically though, man boobs are another matter entirely.

Men with gynecomastia are more likely to suffer from anxiety and stress issues, panic attacks and social phobias. They feel ashamed and embarrassed and feel they are lacking in masculinity and while men with this condition are generally overweight, they still feel ashamed of the fat in their chest region. Man boobs can stem from overall obesity or from a hormonal imbalance in some men, which lead to estrogen levels going up and testosterone levels going down. That is, the female hormones dominate the male leading to the growth of man boobs. This hormone imbalance could be triggered by; radiation, chemotherapy, toxin exposure, alcoholism, drug abuse, genetic etc.

TONE AND BURN FAT OFF YOUR THIGHS WITH THE BODYWEIGHT SQUAT

Our thighs are hands down the bulkiest parts of our anatomy, meaning a lot of your muscle and fat (unfortunately!) are situated there. If you have hard muscular and well-toned thighs, you can stop reading now; this article is not for you! However if you are pissed off at how your thighs wobble, shake and dimple then I have got just the thing for you.

The bodyweight squat is a wonderful exercise and anybody can do it, male or female it doesn't matter, it will work well for anybody who wants to burn fat and lose weight off their thighs or build some muscle. Ladies, if you want to burn off that unsightly cellulite off your thighs then this is for you, I highly recommend this exercise because it needs no special equipment, it is not time consuming and the movements are so basic, anybody can master them. All you have to do is go down and come up, its that simple! You can burn up to 100 calories a day in a single 10 minute squatting session and that includes the rest breaks!

THESE MOTIVATIONAL TIPS WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT AND GAIN FITNESS!

It’s a little bit weird writing about motivation in April, most people will say “where the hell were you when I needed you in January?!” Well its better late than never, statistics show that 90% of all New Year resolutions (and gym memberships) are abandoned within the first three months of the year, so i think a big dose of motivation is needed right about now!

We all start a new year full of hope, enthusiasm and a can do anything spirit. You are literally ready to climb mountains and swim seas to achieve your goals and targets for the year. Some want to lose weight, others build muscle or simply be fitter. Your target could be to just find the motivation to jog twice a week! Then something insidious called “life” happens, life is the enemy, that saboteur that strikes at the core of your determination.  Like the devil, Life has many agents to do its dirty biding; work pressure, family commitments, financial demands etc. They keep at you until you are forced to put your health and fitness goals on the back burner.

Don’t let it happen! Fight life! (You heard right!) You can achieve your goals in 2016, being slimmer, fitter or healthier does not have to be a trade off with success in other facets of your life. Like everything else in life you have to strategize, plan and execute. Life is a marathon not a sprint, and if you start the year in a rush looking for miracle diets, pills and workouts i.e. short term success, then you are likely to be disappointed.