Author Archives: myfitnesshut

May 11 2012

Are You Missing One of These Five Keys to Proper Digestion?

By Vicki Berry, Nutrition-To-Wellness

You have probably heard that your health begins in your colon, but do you really know why?

The colon is as much responsible if not more for ridding your body of toxins as your kidneys and sweat glands.

While the kidneys, lymph system and sweat glands depend on your intake of appropriate amounts of
fluid, your colon requires a bit more attention to the diet.

Here’s why:

Over time, you may realize that a buildup in the colon walls is possible, which will prevent both the absorption of nutrients AND the elimination of toxins.

Thousands of chemical reactions and enzymes are at work breaking down our food as it passes through
our stomach and small intestine.

By the time it reaches our large intestine, it should be digested to the point that the walls of the colon can absorb the water and remaining nutrients.

But sometimes the food and toxins that we ingest are not so easily digestible, and cause accumulations on our colon walls, causing not only a depletion in micronutrients, but a toxic buildup as well.

These toxins are then able to pass into our bloodstream in place of the nutrients that are no longer allowed to pass through the blockages, leading to cancers and other chronic diseases.

There are FIVE crucial elements that must be in place for the proper functioning of your digestive system:

(1) Chewing!

Yes, your mother was right, chew your food thoroughly!

If you do not do this, eating in a hurry and gulping down your meals will result in gas and bloating, and a buildup of bad bacteria in your gut!

If you are having a lot of gas and bloating, stop and think when you eat, are you really chewing your food well enough? It’s something we often don’t think about!

Chew slowly and longer, which will actually help you to feel fuller, and ultimately aid in weight loss if you are overweight. If you are not overweight it certainly helps nutrient absorption!

Saliva is what begins the digestive process. Some vegetables are digested primarily with the enzymes in our saliva, the remainder of which facilitates digestion through the lower intestine as insoluble fiber (more on fiber in number 3…)

(2) Water

How much do you need on a daily basis, and what counts? The recommended amount is at least 1/2 of your body weight in ounces. In other words, if you weigh 160 lbs, you need 80 oz. of water (10 8 oz glasses) per day.

Now this might sound like a lot but there are some things you get to consider, which I explain in this post.

(3) Fiber

Fiber is simply a form of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest, and is not absorbed into the bloodstream. It is not converted to energy as are other carbohydrates, rather, it is excreted from our bodies.

Fiber is known to aid in shedding extra pounds, preventing constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulitis, managing blood sugar levels, and may even also help with lowering the bad LDL cholesterol. Fiber has been shown to prevent some cancers.

Fiber also helps to balance the pH (acid/alkaline level) in the intestine, which is important for nutrient absorption.

It also regulates the good bacteria, which in turn helps to detoxify your body and regulates your immune system. (For more on good bacteria, or probiotics, see number 4).

Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid, and prolongs the time that the stomach is emptied to provide for better nutrient absorption. This is also important when eating sweet fruits so that your liver does not get over taxed and create fat from excess fructose absorption.

Soluble fiber also binds with essential fatty acids, which are crucial to cellular health. Sources of insoluble fiber include oats and oat bran, nuts, flax seed, fruits, and vegetables such as peas and carrots.

Insoluble fiber is not water soluble, and passes through us largely intact, helping to move waste through the intestines, preventing constipation, and improving digestive health. Sources of insoluble fiber include fruit and root vegetable skins, green beans and dark leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, corn bran, whole wheat.

Soluble fiber needs water to provide the required function of absorption, and insoluble fiber needs water to move, so always be sure to get enough water with an increased intake of fiber! Water will facilitate the benefits of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

So How Much Fiber Should You Have?

If you consume a diet high in refined starches and meat, you are probably not getting enough fiber.
Current recommendations suggest that children and adult women consume a minimum of 20 grams of dietary fiber per day, and adult men consume at least 30 grams per day.

The more calories you consume, the more fiber you need. Teens, active adults, and particularly men may need up to 38 grams per day or more. This recommendation is for dietary fiber from food, not supplements.

Here is one fiber chart I’ve found that is a good source to keep around, and see what you are really getting.

Fiber supplements are ok, but it is better to get as much as you can from whole foods. Sometimes the fillers and sources of fiber supplements are less than optimal, and you are certainly going to get more micronutrients from whole foods!

(4) Probiotics

Probiotics are the “friendly” bacteria that benefit the colon and therefore the immune system.

They are live micro-organisms (usually including lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, streptococci, and some yeasts such as Saccharomyces, and moulds) which are beneficial to health by restoring microbial balance in the intestine.

Probiotic foods are those that involve fermentation in their production; including miso, pickles, sauerkraut and fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir.

A new category called prebiotics refer mainly to certain foods, and occasionally to certain food products, that support probiotics by enhancing their survivability.

Prebiotics foods include artichokes, leeks, onions, oats, and whole grain breads and cereals, fructooligo-saccharides, or fruit derived, digestion resistant sugars (FOS), also in honey, and galacto-oligo-saccharides, which are the sugars in galactose-containing foods like goats milk.

I’ve written more about probiotics, including some history, recommendations, precautions and reliability of supplementation.

(5) Exercise

Yes, even for your digestive health, exercise plays a crucial role! Particularly core strengthening exercises and stretching, which increase the blood flow, nutrient absorption, and facilitate toxic elimination.

Be sure and visit Vicki’s site, Nutrition-To-Wellness!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

May 10 2012

“A Weigh Out” of Food Addiction, Emotional Eating and Binge-Eating Disorder

If you use food, food thoughts, dieting, and/or a weight obsession to distract from thoughts, feelings, or life situations you’d rather not tolerate, you need professional help. So says Ellen Shuman, Life Coach, Vice President of the Binge Eating Disorder Association and the Co-Chair of the Academy for Eating Disorders.

As I was researching this topic, I clicked on Ellen’s incredible website, A Weigh Out. There is a caption at the top of the site that says, “Freedom from Emotional Eating and Weight Obsession.” That’s just the beginning.

The Mayo Clinic defines binge-eating disorder as follows:

“Binge-eating disorder is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food. Almost everyone overeats on occasion, such as having seconds or thirds of a holiday meal. But for some people, overeating crosses the line to binge-eating disorder and it becomes a regular occurrence, shrouded in secrecy.

When you have binge-eating disorder, you may be deeply embarrassed about gorging and vow to stop. But you feel such a compulsion that you can’t resist the urges and continue binge eating.

Although binge-eating disorder is the most common of all eating disorders, it’s still not considered a distinct psychiatric condition. But if you have binge-eating disorder symptoms, treatment can help you.”

Ellen also has personal experience with emotional eating and binge-eating disorder and has shared her story on The Oprah Winfrey Show:

“Because of my own decades of struggle with emotional eating and a binge eating disorder, I know first hand what most visitors to this website are experiencing! Like many people, I blamed my problem on what I (and society) labeled ‘a lack of willpower’.”

“But even before I knew I had an eating disorder, that didn’t make sense to me because I had lots of stick-to-itiveness, even hyper vigilance in some other areas of my life. So why couldn’t I stop my compulsive over eating?”

“When I was finally diagnosed, therapists called what I had, “atypical bulimia” because I binged but I didn’t purge… and they didn’t know what else to call it back then. Today it has a name of it’s own and those of us in the binge eating disorder field are working hard to get this Binge Eating Disorder the recognition that it, and those of us who struggle with it, deserve!”

Thanks Ellen for sharing your story and helping many people with these struggles!

I have many workout books to help you burn fat and get healthy. I don’t have any food addiction and binge-eating disorder books to help you…..Ellen does.

If you need help or know somebody who does, visit A Weigh Out today!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

May 7 2012

4 Top Weight Loss Tools that Work for Life

You want fat loss with weight loss? You need a program that works over the long haul? Tired of hearing about the weekly new weight loss programs on infomercials? Want some fat loss and weight loss strategies that will work today, tomorrow and 10 years from now? Read on…….

Here are steps you can take to be successful with fat loss and weight loss management:

1. Shorten your weight training workouts to 50 minutes or less and ramp up the intensity. In other words, work harder for a shorter period of time and you’ll get more fat burn and calorie burn during and after your workout.

Do as many compound strength exercises (with weights or bodyweight) standing up as possible. These types of exercises work major muscle groups and many times are full-body strength exercises.

Squats, deadlift, lunges, standing bentover rows, squat-to curl-to press and bench press are great examples. Full-body core exercises like planks and side planks work well also. Spend less time posing on “mirror exercises” like bicep curls, calf raises and tricep extensions.

Here is a good fat-burning workout:

Do each exercise one after the other with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2-3 minutes between circuits. Do the circuit 4 times.

–Bulgarian Split Squats, 10 repetitions each leg
–Plank, 12 repetitions, 10 second hold
–Pushups on Medicine Ball, 12 repetitions
–Step Ups with Knee Lift (knee high platform), 10 repetitions each leg
–Bentover dumbbell rows, 10 repetitions
–Clock Lunges, 5 repetitions each leg
–Standing dumbbell shoulder press, 10 repetitions
–Repeat circuit 3 more times.

This type of workout will torch body fat.

2. Shorten and intensify your cardio workout. Long, slow cardio sessions wastes time and eats away at your muscle mass. Short, intense cardio sessions also burn more fat and calories during and after your workout.

I’m talking about interval cardio sessions that are 20 minutes or less.

Here is an interval cardio session that I often do (or something similar):

–Jump rope, fast, 1 minute
–Walk 1 minute
–Mountain climbers, fast, 30 seconds
–Walk 30 seconds
–Jumping Jacks, fast, 1 minute
–Walk 1 minute
–Run-In-Place, fast, 30 seconds
–Walk 30 seconds
–Bodyweight Jump Squats, fast, 15 seconds
–Walk 1 minute

Repeat this circuit 2 more times.

If you don’t like these types of exercises, then pick exercises that you like. I know that jump squats won’t work for those with knee or back problems. As long as you change it up and keep it interesting, you will will make progress.

3. Make needed changes to your eating habits and reach your fat loss and weight loss goals faster.

Don’t ruin great workouts by eating bad food with a million calories. Its possible to hide those hard-earned muscles with a thick layer(s) of fat. Don’t fight against yourself!

We eat “too large” servings of food and that’s without even “super-sizing” anything. Keep your daily food journal to track what, how much and why you are eating! This will help you with portion control.

It will be easier to keep your commitment if you plan your meals for the week. And, instead of eating out during the day, pack your food. This will protect you from binge eating and haphazard eating (i.e. grazing).

Here are some common sense do’s and don’ts when it comes to eating:

Cut out these type foods: sodas, sugary fruit juice drinks, candy, cookies, donuts, fried meats and fried foods, fast foods, ketchup, mayonnaise

Add these type foods: whole grains, oatmeal, nuts, low-fat dairy products, low-fat yogurt, fruits, veggies, unsweetened tea, water, lean meats (baked, broiled or grilled), olive oil, cinnamon, mustard. You get the idea.

4. Shorten and intensify your workouts with jump training (plyometrics).

If you’re having trouble sculpting your butt, hips and thighs then you need to do more plyometric training.

Plyometric workouts are advanced workouts. You need to perfect jumping and landing techniques or you will injure yourself. And, if you have knee and low back problems, high-speed plyometric training is not for you.

Try this jump training workout (take little or no rest between exercises):

–jump rope, two feet, full speed, 1 minute
–squat jumps, 10, full speed
–lunge jumps, 10, full speed
–depth jumps (off knee-high platform), 10
–tuck jumps, 10, full speed
–jumping jacks, 30 seconds, full speed

Rest 1 minute between circuits. Repeat the circuit 2 more times–20 minutes total workout time. Take more rest between exercises or circuits if needed.

Burn fat, lose weight and stay healthy!

Here’s 10 other tools that will help you keep the weight off…..Download your free book today, “10 Tools to Help You Live Healthier.”

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs