Tips on how to avoid putting on fat during Xmas

Xmas is coming fast and when the family and friends gather together it’s always accompanied by food and drinks. It’s a celebration, isn’t it? More often than not the food is not a healthy one and you might start panicking what to do to not to put on weight this season. Here are a few tips that might help you:

Stay active! Just because it’s Xmas it doesn’t mean everything stops – apart from your metabolism, that might stop if you are not active and overeat. Some of the gyms are open during xmas time, and even if yours is not, you can always go for a walk – slow or fast – after your meal or in the evening.

Get more Vitamin D3: If there’s no direct sunshine where you live – especially here in the UK, get some Vitamin D3 supplements. Vitamin D3 contributes to the normal function of the immune system and healthy inflammatory response and to the maintenance of normal muscle function.

Eat more protein and veggies: meat and vegetables/fibre help keep blood glucose and insulin levels down, help you burn fat and keep you from getting sick. Not to mention that they will make you feel full, too so you might eat less carbs.

Lower your sugar and carb intake: with the plates full with processed food and sugars/simple carbs, the single most effective thing you can do is watch your portion size of these foods. Don’t have a whole slice of cake, try only a bite. Don’t have a whole plate of pasta or other high carb food, try just a spoonful. If you watch your portion sizes you can probably try most of the xmas foods without being sick afterwards or feeling guilty for eating too much of them.

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For athletes: 9 science based ways to lose weight

Recently I’ve come across an article that talks about 9 science-based ways for athletes to lose weight. When you think about it, it’s always more difficult to lose weight when you’re always training, always eating clean. Humans need a certain amount of bodyfat to maintain basic functions. Too much bodyfat – however – can negatively affect an athlete’s performance. So what can athletes do to ‘step up’ their weight loss to be in prime condition and shape?

  1.  The first point this article suggests is to lose weight off season. We are talking about b athletes in general. It does make sense to try and lose the excess bodyfat offseason because it’s very difficult to reach peak fitness while dieting. When you’re not eating enough calories, your athletic perfomance will suffer. Losing weight offseason will give you more time to lose the excess bodyfat as well, so that you don’t have to rush the fat loss and can stick to the healthy pace of 0.5 kg / week – minimising the muscle loss.
  2. Avoid crash diets. I think we don’t really need to prove this point, athletes know that they need a certain amount of calories to be able to perform at the training sessions. Also drastically reducing your caloric intake will affect your metabolism and hormonal balance. Athletes should only cut their calories by no more than 300-500 kcal a day.

  3. Eat less sugar and more fibre. Low carb diets are proven to be the best for fat loss. However restricting the carb intake too much will affect your athletic performance. To reduce the carb intake cut out added sugars, and avoid cane juice, dextrin, maltodextrin, barley malt, caramel, fruit juice concentrate, fruit juice crystals and any type of syrup. Instead increase your intake of vegetables high in fibre.

  4. Increase your protein intake. Protein promotes fat loss in several ways: high protein diets increase feelings of fullness and the number of calories burnt through digestion. High protein diets also prevent muscle loss during periods of weight loss. Therefore athletes restricting their calories to lose weight should eat between 1.7 – 2.8 gr protein / kg of bodyweight / day.

  5. Spread protein intake throughout the day. 20-30 gr protein per meal is sufficient to stimulate muscles to produce protein for the following 2-3 hrs. Eating a snack containing 40 gr protein before bed can increase muscle protein synthesis during night. This may help prevent some of the muscle loss expected during sleep.

  6. Refuel well after training. Eating the right foods after competing or training is very important for the athletes, especially when trying to lose bodyfat. Proper refuelling is very important especially on days when you have more than 1 events with less than 8 hours recovery time. Carbs with protein can speed up recovery time and promote protein production in your muscles.

  7. Strength training can also help holding on to the muscle when trying to lose bodyfat. Research shows that both protein intake and strength training stimulate muscle protein synthesis and combining the two can produce an even better effect.

  8. After your diet, increase your calories gradually. It may be tempting to start eating normally again after you’ve reached your desired body fat percentage, but that would lead you to gain bodyfat back. Gradually increasing your caloric intake can help restore your hormone levels and metabolism better, minimizing the weight gain.

  9. Here are some other ways you can achieve weight loss:

    • measuring your portions and keeping track of what you eat is scientifically proven to help you get better results.
    • drinking before consuming a meal can help you consume 22% less calories
    • eat slowly, aim to take at least 20 mins for a meal
    • avoid alcohol
    • get enough sleep, not enough sleep can increase hunger and appetite by 24%. Not getting enough sleep will also affect your athletic performance.
    • reduce your stress. Having high stress levels will increase cortisol levels which promotes food cravings and drive to eat. Mental and physical stress can also prevent proper recovery.

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About Creatine

Creatine is a protein that is naturally made of 3 amino acids: arginine, glycine and methionine. It can also be found in meat and fish, and can be taken as a supplement.

Creatine combines with phosphorus to form phosphocreatine (PC) in the muscle cells. This fuels your muscles during high intensity training, such as sprinting or lifting weights. Creatine raises PC levels around 2%, which means you can sustain all out effort for longer and recover faster between sets.

Protein promotes muscle hypertrophy and protein manufacture. Lot of studies show that short-term creatine supplementation increases body mass. Studies found that creatine supplements improved strength, the number of repetitions performed to fatigue, and the ability to perform repeated sprints.

How does creatine work?

The gains observed are partly due to the increase of cell volume and partly muscle synthesis.

Creatine cause water to move across cell membranes. When muscle cell creatine concentration goes up, water is drawn into the cell an effect that boosts the thickness of muscle fibres by about 15%. The water content of muscle fibres stretches the cell’s outer sheaths.

In aerobic sports there is less evidence for creatine use. This is probably due to the fact the PC energy system is less important during endurance training.

Who should use it?

If you train with weights, or do any sports that includes high-intensity movements (sprints, jumps or throws: rugby, football, hockey, gymnastics, tennis etc), creatine supplements may help increase your performance, strength and muscle mass.

Taking carbs with creatine can be beneficial, as carb intake increases insulin which helps creatine uptake by the muscle cells.

Creatine monohydrate is the most widely available form of creatine. It comprises a molecule of creatine with a molecule of water attached to it. It requires a loading phase. One way to do it is to take about 20-25 gr / day in 4-5 doses for 5 days. After the loading phase the dosage is 2 gr / day.

The side effects of Creatine:

The main side effect is weight gain. This is partly due to the extra water in the muscle cells, and party to increased muscle tissue. It could be disadvantageous in sports where there’s a critical ratio of bodyweight and speed (like running), or in sports where there are weight categories. 

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About L-Carnitine

L-Carnitine is one of the naturally occurring amino acids. It is often used as a weight loss supplement. It transports the fatty acids into the cells’ mitochondria where it gets burnt off to use as energy. Your body can produce L-Carnitine from the amino acids lysine and methionine. You can also obtain small amount of L-Carnitine from your diet by eating meat or fish.

L-Carnitine L-Tartrate is the most common form of L-Carnitine that is used in most sport supplements, because of its fast absorption and it may help with muscle soreness and recovery.

In human studies, taking acetyl-L-carnitine daily helped reverse the decline in brain function associated with Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.

Some studies have demonstrated a potential benefit for reducing blood pressure and the inflammatory process associated with heart disease.

L-carnitine may benefit:

Recovery:It may improve exercise recovery.

Muscle oxygen supply: It may increase oxygen supply to the muscles

Stamina: It may increase blood flow and nitric oxide production, helping delay the “burn” and reduce fatigue

Muscle soreness: It may reduce muscle soreness after exercise

Red blood cell production: It may increase the production of red blood cells, which transport oxygen throughout your body and muscles.

L-carnitine has also been shown to reduce symptoms of type 2 diabetes and its associated risk factors.

The main foods high in L-Carnitine are:

  • – beef
  • – pork
  • – fish
  • – chicken
  • – milk

 L-Carnitine has a greater absorption rate from food than from supplements.

Doses of 2 grams or less per day seem to be well tolerated and safe for most people. Some people have reported nausea or other digestive side effects, but no serious issues have been found.

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About ephedrine

The main ingredient in fat burners or thermogenics is ephedrine, a synthetic version of a chinese herb ephedra, or also known as ma huang.

Ephedrine is a drug, rather than a nutrition supplement. It is also used in low concentrations in flu and cold remedies (pseudoephedrine).

Ephedrine is chemically similar to amphetamines, which act on the brain and the central nervous system.

There is some evidence that ephedrine helps fat loss: partly due to an increase in thermogenesis, partly because it suppresses your appetite and partly because it makes you more active.

When taken as an ECA stack (ephedrine – caffeine – aspirin) ephedrine has a greater effect in terms of weight loss and thermogenesis. However the fat burning effect of ephedrine seems to decrease over time.

Ephedrine is judged to be safe in doses between 18-25 mg, that’s the amount that’s used in cold remedies. Doses more than 32 mg a day may triple your risk of bleeding in the brain. Prolonged use and higher doses combined with heavy exercise increase your risk of side effects, like increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, palpitations, anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, headaches, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.

Ephedrine is addictive, and people can develop a tolerance to it, which means you will need to take more and more to get the same effects. 

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About caffeine

Caffeine was once classed as a banned substance but was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list in 2004. Caffeine is a stimulant and has pharmacological action on the body therefore is classed as a drug rather than a nutrient.
Caffeine is found in everyday drinks and foods, such as coffee, black tea, green tea, cola, herbs such as guarana, both dark and white chocolate and it is added to a number of energy drinks and sports drinks and gels. 
Caffeine acts on the central nervous system, increasing alertness and concentration. These effects reduce the perception of fatigue and allow exercise to be maintained at a higher intensity for a longer period. 
Large number of studies show that caffeine intake can enhance performance at doses of 1-3mg/kg. There appears to be little increase in performance above 3mg/kg. for a 70kg person, this would be 210mg = 2 cups of coffee or 2 cans of caffeinated energy drinks.
Performance benefits occur soon after consumption, so caffeine may be consumed just before exercise, spread throughout exercise or late in exercise as fatigue is beginning to occur.
Although caffeine is a diuretic, a daily intake of less than 300mg caffeine results in no larger urine output than water. Taking caffeine regularly builds up your caffeine tolerance so you experience smaller diuretic effects.
Caffeine consumption likely causes a short-term spike in blood pressure after consumption, with the spike being more pronounced in those who don’t normally ingest caffeine and in those with hypertension. However, the evidence concerning the long-term effects of caffeine and caffeinated beverages on blood pressure is mixed.
Caffeine may raise eye pressure, but only in those who have pre-existing eye conditions like glaucoma.
Coffee contains oily substances called diterpenes, and the 2 main types are cafestol and kahweol that increase the cholesterol levels. Coffee filters trap most of the cafestol and kahweol though, so instant or filter coffee don’t contain much of these, only boiled coffee. 

About BCAAs

BCAAs are the most popular amino acid supplements. They contain:

  • Valine
  • Leucine
  • Isoleucine

 These 3 amino acids make up to one third of muscle in the body. The body breaks down muscle to get energy, especially during strenuous exercise, to get these amino acids.

 BCAAs are converted into 2 other amino acids:

  • glutamine and
  • alanine,

which are released in large quantities during aerobic exercise. They can also be used directly for fuel, especially when muscle glycogen is depleted.

 Foods high in BCAAs:

  • Meats: red meat is the highest in BCAAs. Other meats (poultry etc) are high in BCAAs, too because they’re primarily protein. Choose lean cuts, chicken breast without the skin etc
  • Eggs: they are packed with nutrition and BCAAs, and easy to add to your diet.
  • Dairy products are high in BCAAs: low fat cheese, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, frozen yogurt. Additional dairy options could be: cheese, cream and butter.
  • Liquid and powder protein: very popular source, easy to prepare, drink and digest. If you mix your whey protein with milk, you boost the BCAA content of your shake.

Taking BCAA supplements before and during exercise can reduce muscle breakdown. They may also help preserve muscle in athletes on a low carb diet. It will probably not boost your endurance, however taking 6 – 15 gr of BCAAs daily may help improve your recovery.

 Side effects: BCAAs are relatively safe because they are normally found in protein in the diet.

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About the hormones: Cortisol

Cortisol is one of the stress hormones that is produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. Stress increases cortisol levels which can be a good or a bad thing. Cortisol is needed in the body to maintain certain physiological processes during time of stress. Without it the body would be unable to respond to stress effectively.
The functions of cortisol are also important to control mood and well-being, immune cells and inflammation, blood vessels and blood pressure, and to maintain connective tissues like bones, muscles and skin.
With effective cortisol metabolism during the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism we can either run away or fight, because cortisol secretion releases amino acids from the muscles, glucose from the liver and fatty acids from adipose tissue in the blood stream to use for energy. So cortisol is good.

Cortisol-like drugs help with inflammations and certain skin diseases because of its anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressing properties.

When we encounter a stressor, either in a physical or psychological senses, the endocrine system tries to set things right by the coordinated actions of the pituitary and hypothalamus in the brain and the two adrenal glands in the kidney. These hormonal signals involve the epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine, cortisol and numerous intermediary hormones to interact to help regulate important aspects of physiology, like cardiovascular function, energy metabolism, immune-system activity and brain chemistry.

Generally speaking, cortisol turns ‘bad’ when you either have too much of it, or you’re exposed to it on a regular basis.

Unfortunately many people’s adrenal stress response overreacts by secreting too much cortisol. Cortisol stimulates certain metabolic processes that increase concentrations of glucose in the blood. These metabolic effects are:

  • stimulation of gluconeogenesis, that converts amino acids into glucose,
  • mobilization of amino acids from the muscle tissue, so that it can provide the ‘material’ for gluconeogenesis,
  • inhibition of glucose uptake in muscle and adipose tissue, which increases the blood glucose levels even more,
  • and stimulation of fat breakdown in adipose tissue.

Unfortunately the fatty acids that are released by the fat breakdown (lipolysis) reduces the cellular sensitivity to insulin.

Back in the caveman days when a stressor was a tiger or other predator, the stress response was a vital survival technique:

  • a brief increase of energy levels,
  • and hormone levels,
  • and the ability for forceful muscle contractions: the fight or flight mechanism.

Unfortunately nowadays, when we face a stressor, like a deadline at work, or a traffic jam, our bodies undergo the same metabolic stress changes, which leads us to increased disease risks.