Hollywood diets

Dear readers,

this is going to be a loose collection of articles regarding Hollywood diet fads and showing off their stupididty (given my evil nature, I take it nobody will be surprised)
First up, the HCG diet!
HCG??? Isnt that what got Manny Ramirez into trouble?
Indeed, but read on....
The protocol for the HCG diet calls for daily injections of HCG, sometimes combined e with Vitamin B12 and a 500 cal/day diet. HCG is a glycoprotein hormone, made during pregnancy in order to maintain progesterone production. It is often used amongst bodybuilders to restart testosterone production after a steroid cycle, when the HPTA is shut down.

I am rather critical toward the HCG diet, since there is no scientific evidence of HCG having any effect on lipolysis.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/595585

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1365103/?tool=pubmed

This one is a criteria controlled meta-analysis, the key phrase being"
We conclude that there is no scientific evidence that HCG is effective in the treatment of obesity; it does not bring about weight-loss of fat-redistribution, nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well-being." Dr.Simeons also cured malaria, on a side note...

Basically, it is the 500 calories per day diet which makes for the weight loss. However, this could be had with just a simple protein-sparing diet without going into a medical grey zone. If you a re looking for a fat burning agent, the combintation of caffeine and yohimbine has proven itself many times and you do not have to go to Mexico.....
The take home message is that Hollywood stars are as prone to fall for dubious science as the rest of us.
Next diet will be: the baby food diet.
As Homer S. would say: Dont get me started...so angry!!

Top 10 most effective diet foods

When it comes to diet foods, I consider two things essential:
1. do they cover your nutritional needs?
2. how filling are they are?

During a diet, it is critical to consume foods that will curb your hunger for an extended period of time.

Here are my most effective diet foods:

1. Chicken breast: a lean protein that can be prepared in a variety of ways and it is easy to eat in office or on the go. An alternate would be tilapia.
2. Flank steak: red meat is often being shunned during a diet but it has its benefits. Iron, zinc, and creatine will enable you to make it through your workouts with greater intensity, further leading to greater fat loss. The fats in red meat are also critical since they are building blocks for hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, that play a crucial role in maintaining a high metabolic rate.
3. Eggs: I highly recommend eating eggs during a diet. They are a complete protein with many vitamins (D, E) and stearic acid. If your calorie count doesn't allow for many whole eggs, mix them with egg whites in a 1:2 ratio. In general, all proteins are a great hunger-suppressant so it is advisable to consume them during a diet at every meal.
4. Oats: a very filling complex carb, that is easy to prepare and even be kept at the office (just add water)
5. Brown rice: a good alternative to oatmeal. It complements most meats and will keep insulin levels stable. By doing so, the dieter will not experience any hunger pangs.
6. Nuts: it is critical to take in the right fats such as mono- and polyunsaturated. Nuts are a great and an easy way to achieve this. They also provide a certain amount of protein, which makes them an interesting choice for vegetarians. As for calorie content, granted it is high, but there is a loss of about 30% in the calories in nuts which can not be fully explained. The best available explanation is that their thermic expense is rather high during digestion.
7. Avocado: another source of good fats and a good addition to salads, omelets, etc.
8. Broccoli/lettuce/spinach/califlower: I label those free foods; due to their low caloric content, they can be consumed in unlimited quantities and they provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Plus, most of them are alkaline and will balance out the typical western diet which is more acidic.
9. Asparagus: hardly any calories, very filling and a mild diuretic. The initial water loss can be very motivating for people to stay on the diet since they already lost a couple pounds.
10: Grapefruit (whole fruit, not juice): there is some evidence that grapefruit itself is promoting fat loss but the evidence is questionable. However, grapefruits contain nargenin, which is a substance that blocks the metabolization of caffeine in the liver. Caffeine has fat burning properties which is why it is the main ingredient in many commercial fat burners. If consumed with grapefruit, one extends the active life of these products by 2-3 hours which over time sums up to greater fat loss.

In summary, the best diet is one you can stick to. If you can not stand chicken, find another lean protein. And yes, calories matter most, as there are no magic foods.
So keep cooking and training!
Maik

Fasted cardio as a fat loss tool

When it comes to cardio and fat loss, it really is a case of the blind leading the blind. Most trainees have been made believe that cardio burns only fat and weight lifting builds muscle, hence you must combine the two to create a perfect physique.
Aside from the fact, that weight lifting is very similar in its results for fat loss than cardio when viewed over a 24 hours period, it also offers the potential of reshaping the body which cardio doesn't.
Still ,cardio can be used as an additional energy expenditure to lose more weight as long as a proper weight lifting protcol is being followed.
For a long time, it was very common to get on the stepper/treadmill fisrt thing in the morning to "burn only fat". The reasoning is that your body doesnt have any nutrients to burn so it will use fat for fuel. Sounds logical but doesnt work that way.
WHen looking at fat loss, one has to look at a 24 hour time span not just the actual exercise time. Studies have shown that a pre workout carb feeding did not decrease fat oxidation in any significant manner. But it did two very important things: it allowed the athlete to train with great er overal intensity, meaning more overall energy was used and it acted as a protection for the muscle and prevent catabolism>
If you are on a very low-carb diet and simply do not have any room for carbs, simply consume some whey protein before the workout for a similar effect.
Till next time
Maik
Sources
Melanson EL, et al. Resistance and aerobic exercise have similar effects on 24-h nutrient oxidation.. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Nov;34(11):1793-800.
Ahlborg, G., and P. Felig. Influence of glucose ingestion on fuel-hormone response during prolonged exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 1976;41:683-688.
Coyle, et al.. Carbohydrates during prolonged strenuous exercise can delay fatigue. J. Appl. Physiol. 59: 429-433, 1983.
Horowitz JF, et al. Substrate metabolism when subjects are fed carbohydrate during exercise. Am J Physiol. 1999 May;276(5 Pt 1):E828-35.

Organic foods- is it worth the extra money?

Organic foods are all the rave, Farmers markets, Whole foods even supermarkets all offer some variation of organic. The question remains: is it really better for you? For the most part , yes. Ea specially meat, eggs and milk coming from animals that haven't been treated with anti-biotics, steroids and growth hormones do make sense for a natural bodybuilder.
Organic vegetables do not carry more vitamins than their counter parts but they carry much less pesticides. Produce with a hard peel such as avocados etc can be bought conventionally, the difference in residue is not significant.
Another good idea is to buy locally, many cities offer 100 mile markets. The farther a food has to be transported, the more it has to be treated (which is why strawberries in January are not a good idea).
Where many people go wrong however, is caloric content. An organic calories is still a calorie. This holds especially true for sweeteners such as honey or agave syrup. While their are definitely better than sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, they still provide 4 calories per gram so use with caution!
All natural bonbons can still make you heavy.
Till next time
Maik

Weight loss shakes-yay or nay?

This is a pretty hotly contested topic amongst dieters so I thought we should address it. There are a plethora of diet shakes flooding the market: Slim fast, Oprah's new shake, Atkins shakes and the list goes on. Most of them contain some protein (often the cheap kind) a mix of vitamins and sugars, coloring agents, etc.  

So do they work for weight loss? Not so well, I am afraid.  

While protein shakes are a great asset for every athlete in order to make sure there is enough protein in his diet, they don’t work too well for weight loss purposes. The reason is not only that the nutritional quality of most of these products is poor, but also that shakes do not satisfy your appetite for a long time. The vitamin mixes are unbalanced and they contain no fiber, which is the substance that will keep you satisfied and full during your diet. Compared to foods like brown rice or chicken they take up very little stomach volume and are digested much quicker, meaning the athlete will suffer more hunger pangs. The average American consumes about one third of his calories in liquid form, which is one of the reasons why the nation is facing an obesity epidemic (hello fruit smoothie!) 

Liquid calories are much easier to consume than whole foods, making it harder to keep track of your actual intake. If you rely on shakes, you will simply never learn how to prepare foods in order to lose weight. A liquid crash diet will create weight loss, but it will be mostly muscle that is lost since your metabolism shuts down within days. As soon as the dieter goes on a more sustainable lifestyle, every calorie consumed will be stored as fat because his body assumes that a horrible famine has just passed and it wants to be prepared for the next one. This sets up the dreaded yo-yo effect and it is the single reason why 90+% of all dieters gain the weight back and then some. They simply destroyed their metabolisms with crash diets. 

Also, whole foods require more digestive work than liquids do, so they use up energy and keep the metabolism elevated. Studies have shown that test subjects consume twelve to twenty percent more calories when they consumed a liquid food as opposed to eating a solid meal. Their hunger responses were also worse, even the day after the liquid meal. Whole foods also provide a wide array of phytonutrients which simply can’t be duplicated as of yet. These nutrients will help to ensure optimal health and maximum fat loss. 

If you are very time-constricted and you simply have to use a shake, try to find some high-end whey protein and add some fats in the form of nuts or oil to it, which will increase satiety and slow down digestion. If you are on a very strict weight loss diet, just have some steamed vegetables with it—albeit not very tasty, the fiber will keep you full without adding any considerable calories.

Weightlifting makes you better at the things you like to do

On Sunday, I went to the US Open to watch a day of tennis and it was a lot of fun. What struck me most was the incredible leg development of the players. If you take a look at Kim Clijsters quadriceps, you can bet that she lifts some weights. In fact, every sport today has incorporated some sort of resistance training which is quite a change from even 15 years ago when coaches prohibited their athletes from training with weights, saying it would make you stiff and bulky.

The opposite is true: training through the full range of motion will increase your flexibility and as for bulkiness , that is solely a matter of food intake. It takes energy to build muscle, so if you don't consume it, it won't happen. As an example the high jumper Ariane Friedrich can deep squat 200+ lbs and she doesn't seem too blocky to me.

So whatever sport it is you are doing, adding weight training will make you better. You will be more explosive, powerful and less prone to injuries.

Train hard

Maik

Brown fat- what is it really?

Recently, there has been a lot of hoopla surrounding brown fat, such as "fat that helps you lose fat".

First off, what is brown fat? The human body contains two types of fat: white and brown (orange to be precise). White fat is what hangs over America's waistline, whereas brown fat got his name from the fact that it contains mitochondria, which regulates the body temperature amongst other functions. Since it has mitochondria (which is also responsible for the darker color), brown fat is easier to access as an energy source for the body. So should you join the Polar bear Club to get lean?

Unfortunately, its not that easy.

Newborns have a lot of brown fat, since they are not yet that adept to regulating their temperature. As we age, we posses less and less brown fat; the majority of it sits in the neck and upper chest region. So even if you drop all your brown fat, the fat in the "problem zones" such as thighs, hips and lower back is...you might have guessed it... white.

So keep sticking to your diet!

Till next time,

Maik