THE KETOGENIC DIET: BURN FAT AND SAVE MUSCLE AS YOU AGE!

Hi all, if you have ever read any of my posts, the one common thread you will find is that I am not a friend of diets especially fad diets. I belong to the school of thought that believes in making healthy food choices in all categories and not over or under eating. There is nothing I dislike more than a diet that seeks to eliminate a major nutrient i.e. carbohydrates.

However I will make an exception today, and I have good reason. It’s the popular, misunderstood and much misapplied KETOGENIC DIET, and if you have never heard of it, then you’d better crawl back under the rock you came from! Seriously speaking, the Ketogenic or “Keto” diet is very simple in its approach; it is a diet very high in fat, low in protein and ultra-low in carbohydrates. Below is an illustration of the ideal keto diet:

DEFY THE ODDS, FITNESS TIPS FOR YOU AT 40!

I have put off writing this piece for about a month, why? First of all i can’t believe I actually turned 40 in February and second I’ve had this niggling pain in my knee for about a month so I have been feeling like crap and have trained very little. However the show must go on folks, so today’s piece is dedicated to everybody who has joined the big 40 club in the last couple of years or are about to. Now life really does begin at 40 folks, you better believe it! However in my mind I am still only 22 regardless of what my creaking knee says!

HOW TO REALLY MAKE RESOLUTIONS THAT STICK!

Resolutions, again! Yes my friends, I am still on resolutions and why you shouldn’t make them in the New Year. However in the off chance that you still believe in and make New Year resolutions, I have decided to give you a helping hand. Today’s topic is all about how you can make resolutions and stick to them! (Note resolutions, not New Year resolutions!)

Research has shown that most new year resolutions fail within the first 3 months of them being declared, like I said last week, the first culprit is usually the fact that these resolutions are usually emotional and externally motived, with little thought as to how to execute them.

Today I am going to give you my take on how you can get your resolutions to stick way beyond Easter. I guarantee that if you can follow this advice you will see major gains in your health and fitness journey and your resolution will become your life!

Read on and have a wonderful weekend!    

HAPPY 2017! HERE ARE 12 TIPS TO MAKE THIS YOUR FITTEST YEAR EVER!

Happy New Year!  Its 2017 and we all just have to be thankful for being alive to witness it, great things are in the pipeline, I can feel it in my bones! My first idea for 2017 was to write a proper rant article about how much I hate New Year resolutions; I personally consider them an exercise in futility! However I decided to save that particular rant for next week’s article and instead go with something more positive and uplifting, hence the twelve tips of New Year, but if you still want to see me rant about resolutions, please click on the video below.

Moving on, I was inspired to write down these 12 tips by the fact that we all make new year resolutions of one kind or the other, and we mean them for good. The problem is, a lot of the time we make them based on emotions and they end up not being practicable. These tips are not resolutions, they are basic guides to achieving fitness and life goals and I assure you that they will work for you if properly implemented. Apply them and you will not be disappointed, thanks and have a great year everyone.

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.