Total Human Performance

Category: Adult Nutrition

  • The Truth About Fat Burners

    The Truth About Fat Burners

    Fat Burners refer to the hundreds of products on the market today that can be purchased over the counter. Their purpose is to somehow burn off the fat by speeding up metabolism, or blocking fat in foods, or other methods.

    The companies that sell these products employ savvy at marketing techniques to hook you, with bold print ads and sometimes less than believable before and after pictures.

    Are these products safe?

    Fat burners are not regulated by the FDA so companies can put whatever herb, vitamin, or mineral in them as long as the substance isn’t illegal. I don’t know of any long term studies on any one of the hundreds of fat burners on the market.

    Do they work?

    Many of these products have been shown to be effective for weight loss, though they may have negative side effects. Be aware these products can cause side effects such as rapid pulse, increased blood pressure, constipation, nervousness, sleeplessness, and lack of appetite.

    Are they healthy to you and your weight loss goals?

    The jury is still out on the health benefits of any fat burner. These products should be looked at as temporary fixes to weight loss. Most of them cause a decrease in appetite, which can lead you into a situation of not consuming enough calories on a daily basis.  Fat Burners ARE NOT a replacement for a sound nutrition and exercise plan.

    If you aren’t eating enough daily calories, your body responds by slowing your metabolism, storing fat, and using muscle for metabolism. This can result in you losing weight, but muscle weight instead of fat. The goal in any weight loss program should be to keep the muscle, lose the fat.

    Fat burners might help you lose some weight in the short term, but once you stop taking them you run a high probability of gaining the weight back, especially if you aren’t following a healthy eating plan and moderate exercise program.

  • Proper Nutrition for Martial Artists

    Proper Nutrition for Martial Artists

    The majority of martial artists and athletes take their sports nutrition seriously so they can reap the benefits of their intensive training. They also want to make their nutrition plans as effective and sufficient as possible because the physical demands of the workouts can be quite strenuous and stressful on their body. If not backed up by proper nutrition, your workouts and training sessions could possibly have an adverse affect on your entire body, so it’s always in your best interest to implement a proper nutrition plan.

    There is no one standard that will clearly identify exactly what an optimum sports nutrition plan is. Although there are several products on the market that are advertised as being the single answer for your nutrition needs, in reality they cannot give you the results you are looking for. In other words there is no “magic pill” or one size fits all.

    The reason these products can’t live up to their hype and can’t supply you with everything you need is because each person is different and consideration has to be given to the condition of every individual’s body. Only after identifying and realizing what your body’s current physical status is, will you be able to know which nutrition product or plan is best for you.

    The basics of an effective athletic nutrition plan that best fits your training and fitness level, consists of three fundamental requirements:

    First, there has to be an adequate intake of enough fluids, which may or may not contain additional components that are equally beneficial, such as electrolytes. Second, there must be a proper diet plan to provide your body with the necessary nutrients. Third, certain supplements and vitamins must be combined with the first two to further boost their impact on your body.

    An effective nutrition plan for one person may not work for someone else mainly because every person has different needs, physical characteristics and other unique circumstances. These need to be carefully considered prior to implementing any type of nutrition plan.

    The nutrients that are usually beneficial for the martial arts athlete are carbohydrates and protein. These two play a major role in enabling your body to cope with the extreme stress that comes with martial arts workouts while at the same time boosting your immune system. Since most martial arts are explosive in nature, most energy consumed by the body comes from carbohydrates. Also, protein is the key component in building muscle. Although there are food supplement suppliers that claim to have a sufficient supply of these nutrients included in their product, the real foods that you eat are usually the best source.

    Tips for an effective nutrition plan:

    • Try to eat five times a day. Space your meals out with three balanced meals and two healthy snacks.
    • Try to eat for the following three hours. If you know you are practicing at 4pm, plan to have a large lunch to supply the fuel you will need for your intense workout.
    • Eliminate junk food! It is your worst enemy!
    • Drink 8-10 glasses of water per day to maintain adequate hydration.
    • Consume foods that are high in fiber.
    • Try to plan your meals with one part fat, two parts protein, and three parts carbohydrates (in grams).
    • Plan ahead and track your intake. By planning your meals in advance and tracking what you are eating, you can easily gauge what works and what doesn’t.
    • Increase your lean body mass and you will burn fat faster. More lean muscle means a higher metabolism!!!

    When meeting with a nutrition specialist to discuss what may be best for your particular nutrition plan, bear in mind that a significant part of a professional’s recommendation depends on what you tell them. Provide them in detail what your training consists of, as well as your eating habits, will help a lot in guiding their recommendations.

    Simply identifying what the best nutrition plan is not enough to expect results. To be successful, like anything else you do in life, you must commit yourself to your plan. It needs to be in constant partnership with your fitness training and workouts.

    An irregular nutrition program will not give you the results you’re looking for and may cause adverse effects since your body may get confused with the intermittent amounts of nutrients being ingested.

    In any case, proper sports nutrition for a martial artist is what every practitioner should aim for at all times. Your body is at stake so really, there is no room for compromises. The best and most effective nutrition plan should remain your target at all times.

  • Choosing a Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Consultant

    Choosing a Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Consultant

    A personal fitness trainer and nutrition consultant can help you enter a race where there’s no engraved cup or money award at the finish line. Unlike the Thoroughbreds racing at the local park, you will be running for your very life instead. Fitness and nutrition are the keys to a quality long life.

    Racing for Fitness

    Almost 60% of people in the United States are overweight or obese. The consequences of having too much fat on your body can be severe. Obesity is a major cause of many serious illnesses including Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and even certain forms of cancer.

    It’s hard to maintain a fitness routine on your own. On top of that you are bombarded with advertisements selling unhealthy food and gadgets and inventions that actually result in less physical activity. The perfect examples are kids playing electronic games for hours instead of baseball or soccer. There are bigger and better computers and TVs promoting lifestyles with little exercise time included.

    Sedentary lifestyles are not good for the body, and neither is junk food. But everyone lives extremely busy lives and fitness and nutrition often take a low priority. A personal fitness trainer and nutrition consultant can help you rearrange your priorities so you place your health top of the list.

    When you are young, it’s easy to believe good health is forever.  But as you age, the truth is slowly revealed. Metabolisms slow naturally. Fat accumulates after years of eating meals with little nutritional value.

    Free radicals form unimpeded because the diet has consistently lack antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. Other diseases eventually take root. For example, lack of exercise increases the chances of developing osteoporosis.

    Finding Your Stride

    A personal fitness trainer and nutrition consultant can assist you in a number of ways beginning with an assessment of your current fitness level. A personal trainer will work with to establish mutual goals including measures of progress such as weight loss or inches loss.

    Personal fitness and nutrition consultation includes the following:

    • Evaluating current dietary habits and making necessary changes
    • Calculating the body mass index (BMI)
    • Establishing an exercise routine that fits your lifestyle
    • Develop a strength training program
    • Tracking progress and making necessary adjustments as you progress

    Using a personal fitness trainer and nutrition consultant can help you stay motivated as you begin the race for your life. The quality of your life in your senior years is directly related to the level of fitness you maintain in your younger years. It becomes clearer with each medical study that problems associated with aging are as much a consequence of poor nutrition as they are of the aging process itself.

    Utilizing the services of a personal fitness trainer and nutrition consultant only makes sense if you’re ready to get serious about your health. Racing for the grand prize of good health means finding your “fitness stride”.

    You don’t have to work out 8 hours a day to stay fit and healthy. You do have to exercise regularly and watch what you eat. A personal fitness trainer and nutrition consultant can be the key to your success.

    To start your adventure on the right path to fitness, please contact Total Human Performance for a free fitness consultation by using our contact form located at http://www.totalhumanperformance.net/about-us/contact-us/ today!

  • Do Low Carbohydrate Diets Lead to Weight Loss Success?

    Do Low Carbohydrate Diets Lead to Weight Loss Success?

    So your neighbor, co-worker, best friend, whoever just lost 10 pounds in only two weeks following the latest in high protein low carbohydrate diets. And now you’re thinking you should give it a go — have even started the search for high protein low carbohydrate recipes? True, high protein low carb diets seem to be leading many people to weight loss success. Trouble is, they seemed to do it 30 years ago, too. They were the rage in the early 70s, and look where many of us are today: growing fatter with each decade.

    The bottom line: Diets — low carb diets or not — simply don’t work for the vast majority of people. If that doesn’t convince you, look at some of the reasons why high protein low carbohydrate diets seem to create weight loss success stories — but really don’t.

    “I’m not hungry when I eat high protein low carb diets.”

    Many people say they feel more satisfied eating low carbohydrate diets. And indeed, studies show protein is the most satiating nutrient. Proteins and fat (which is usually in high protein low carbohydrate foods) cause your body to release cholecystokinin, a hormone that contributes to the feeling of fullness. Some protein in meals and even snacks may help us feel more satisfied and go longer between eating. But the key word is “some.” We don’t need an excess of protein, or low carb diets, to get these effects. By just eating balanced meals that contain grain/starchy foods, protein foods, vegetables and/or fruits and some fat, most people can achieve the same satiety. One other important note is that hunger control with low carbohydrate diets is often the result of ketosis (when your body burns fat for fuel.) Ketosis is very unhealthy, causing nausea, headaches, fatigue, even coma.

    “Results are results – I saw successful weight loss, didn’t I?”

    Many people do lose weight on high protein low carb diets. Instead of fat, however, they’re initially losing more water than anything else — and it quickly returns once off low carb diets. They seem to see successful weight loss, too, because low carb diets restrict many foods, resulting in eating less than usual.

    The big question is: Is it really successful weight loss if it doesn’t stay off? For most people, if weight loss is achieved quickly and with a restrictive method such as a diet that does not allow for individual likes and dislikes, then the lost pounds will return, along with discouragement, defeat and even more pounds than before. What’s more, high protein low carb diets may also increase risk for health problems such as osteoporosis, cancer, even heart disease. A healthy intake of whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables — often on the “avoid” list in high protein low carb diets – appears to help reduce this risk, and is the mainstay of a sensible plan to achieve weight loss success.

    Create your own weight loss success story.

    Despite what you hear about high protein low carb diets, there’s little evidence that weight loss success is truly (permanently) achieved. What’s more, disordered eating behaviors are usually reinforced by high protein low carb diets, adding to the struggles that low carbohydrate diets and other diets are supposed to solve. Stop dieting now and start living a healthy lifestyle that truly leaves you feeling good!