Busting belly fat

Just last week I reminded you all of the different types of body fat; subcutaneous or peripheral fat (pear shape) and belly fat of visceral fat which accumulates around the internal organs behind the abdominal wall (apple shape).  You need to remember that this type of fat is the dangerous kind.  Abdominal fat releases proteins and hormones that can cause inflammation, which then goes on to damage arteries and sets up camp in your liver; which affects how your body processes sugars and fats.  Belly fat is also linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes and other chronic diseases.  But now you can do something about it!

Diet is key - obviously.  A poor diet causes the body to accumulate fat and to hold on to it, so changing your diet will change your body shape.  You really need to sit down and take a close look at your diet and decide what changes you need to make.  An effective way of doing this is to maintain a food diary for a week or two.  EVERY TIME you eat or drink something... write it down - don't wait until the end of the day to do it - you'll forget a lot of it!

Two major changes you'll need to incorporate to make your belly blitz work are:

1. INCREASE healthy fats in your diet.  There has been a lot of noise in the press lately about low fat diets NOT helping with weight loss - and they don't.  Fat is no the baddy - MUFAs (Monounsaturated Fatty Acids) found in nuts, olive oil and avocados have been shown to promote abdominal fat loss.
2. QUIT ADDED SUGAR - all forms.  This includes all processed foods - sweet or savory, honey, agave, all grains including organic, as they quickly break down into sugar in the body.  When you think food think natural - fruit, vegetables, animal protein and as organic as possible.  Forget processed meats such as hot dogs or hamburgers.  Forget soft drinks and alcohol, french fries, ketchup and mayonnaise.

Think - fresh vegetables, salads, homemade burgers, baked fish.  Think fresh produce and go as organic as you can.

Even for me, as a nutritionist, I find the immense amount of information about diets very confusing.  For example:

• You have to eat 3 meals a day
• Never skip breakfast
• You should eat 5 small meals a day
• You should drink 3 liters of water every day
• etc.. etc..etc..

I believe that no one diet fits all.  It depends on you, your lifestyle, your body.  Some people can't face breakfast - others can't live without it.  Some people are constant grazers and need to eat all the time - others don't.  However, there is a lot to be said for fasting - you can read my post about the science behind fasting here.  It really does help your body to do what it needs to do on a celular level.  If your mechanics are working well then your weight loss plan will work better.  So consider skipping breakfast and making lunch your first meal of the day... think about that.

Obviously we are all human, and as humans we all make mistakes.  Here are the most common mistakes that lead to your belly fat in the first place:

1. SOFT DRINKS:  Obviously drinking sodas packed full of sugar will make you fat.  But did you know that drinking DIET soda can double your risk of obesity compared to drinking none?  Research has shown that drinking diet soda gives you a higher risk of weigh gain than drinking regular soda.  Water is your best friend - the only one you can rely on.
2. MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY:  This mineral is extremely important as it is used by every organ in your body, especially your heart, muscles and kidneys.  Investigators have discovered that people who consume higher levels of magnesium tend to have lower blood sugar and insulin levels.  Low levels of magnesium have been found to be the culprit for unexplained fatigue, or weakness, abnormal heart rhythms, muscle spasms, and eye twitches.  Lots of vegetables are great sources of magnesium: swiss chard, spinach, nuts and seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds, some beans, avocados and seaweed.
3. STRESS:  If you are stressed your stress hormone levels will be elevated and this can hamper even the most diligent of weight loss programs.  You must find a stress busting program that suits you.  As with dieting it depends on what works for you, some people prefer a physical activity like running, boxing or cycling.  Others prefer meditation, yoga, listening to music, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).  Or a combination.  Personally I have had great results from sophrology and Yoga - especially when combined with running - which brings me to my final point.
4. EXERCISE:  Movement - any type of movement.  Our sedentary lifestyles are killing us.  The human body needs constant movement.  If you are stuck at a desk, in and office for 9 hours a day - 3-5 visits to the gym every week will do NOTHING to counteract the negative effects of sitting down all day.  So try and incorporate as much movement into your daily life as possible.  Stand up and stretch every half an hour, use the stairs instead of the elevator, get off the bus or subway a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way.  Don't park right outside where you are going.  Park a little further away and walk.  MOVE ALL YOU CAN.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

The NO sugar fad

Yes... I have spoken many times about the dangers of sugar in the diet, and they are true.  Sugar causes obesity and a whole host of other problems such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer, to name but a few.  There is a huge anti sugar movement going on with the United Nations warning that sugar is the "new tobacco" and lots of people are radically cutting all forms of sugar from their diets.

I would like to stress that the no sugar focus should be on REFINED SUGAR and ADDED SUGAR.  Naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables and whole grain cereals are a necessity for the body.  After all the brain needs glucose to function properly and the body needs a certain amount for energy.

The problem with sugar is that over the past couple of decades it has been silently added to so many products you'd probably be very surprised.  Mass produced foods such as bread, bacon, hot dogs, potato chips, salad dressings, juices, etc all have added sugar, even low fat processed foods have added sugar as sugar does not CONTAIN fat.  When fat is removed from a food to make it low or no fat a lot of taste is also removed so the manufacturers add sugar and salt to make it more palatable.  Sugar also extends the shelf life of lots of processed foods.  And then of course there are the sweets, chocolate, biscuits, desserts, etc., which we all know are packed full of sugar.

This is the sugar you need to eliminate from your diet.  I challenge you to go to your kitchen and check the foods you have stored there and see just how many contain sugar.  You should also remember when reading an ingredient list on a food package that the ingredients are listed in order of quantity starting with the most and continuing down the list as the amount decreases.  So, if sugar is listed as one of the top 3 ingredients this means there's a lot of sugar in it.

Mother nature has a way of supplying all our bodily needs.  As I have said many times before eating natural whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, etc., and healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and even organic butter are what the body needs.  We are omnivores (don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking vegetarians or vegans) and should have a diet that is as varied as possible.  Our diets should be primarily plant based with just a little animal protein - we really don't need as much animal protein as we are accustomed to eating.  In fact, if you read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II, MD you will discover that we only need our diet to contain 5% protein from animal sources.  Now plant protein, that's a different matter!

As I have often said before, our digestive systems have not changed in 10,000 years yet our eating habits have changed beyond recognition.  10,000 years ago our ancestors the hunter-gatherers ate what they could gather - fruit, vegetables, nuts mostly, and every now and again they would be able to catch an animal for meat.  They would then pretty much have to gorge on meat for a day or two as there was no way of preserving it, before returning to their diet of fruits, vegetables and nuts.

I don't believe in exclusion diets unless there is a medical issue.  I would never recommend a gluten free diet to a person unless, of course, the were diagnosed with Celiac Disease or had been tested positive for intolerances to gluten.  I, therefore, do not recommend a completely sugar free diet... just make sure that your sugar intake is in the form of fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.

Nothing refined or processed should ever form a part of a healthy diet.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com