Using Stevia As A Sugar Replacement

People are always trying to cut down on sugar, and many experts agree that this is highly justified, given the many poor health effects of sugar.
Not only does sugar have an extremely high Glycemic Index and is usually highly processed (remember the rule of thumb - the less processed the food, usually the better!) but it can also destroy your metabolism and make weight loss seem like a never-ending nightmare.
So the issue then is very simple - find a sugar replacement!

The problem here is that for many people with a sweet tooth, nothing quite compares to the taste of real sugar. FALSE!

There are many sugar alternatives and if you've been heading down the sugar-free-road for a while now you have probably heard about all of the artificial sweeteners that are available which contain an ingredient called aspartame. The problem with these sweeteners, although they might contain very little or even zero calories, they can mess with your metabolism through hormonal imbalance.

What's great about Stevia?
It's 100% natural, it is quite literally a plant. And it's been used for centuries in cultures around the world. Stevia has only a fraction of the calorific content that sugar has and tastes good too. I'll admit, it has a slightly different taste to it, but if you want to shed some fat and get slim, sexy abs then it's well worth trying it for a couple of months to see how easy it is to adapt.

Image sourced from: https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQA-U38q6E2UHI_Pho4K4cuPRSYu3A1r44KKCuUaVwv0qkPT0Q19w

Burn Fat At Night? Google Says No - I Say Yes.

There is always scepticism and controversy around wild miracle fitness claims - and rightly so. Too often are people all over the world trying to scrape the dollars out of your hard earned stash for themselves with some bogus instant fat loss machine or pill or 30 second exercise program.

Now I'm definitely not saying you should believe the trainers out there claiming incredible results with no effort at all!

What I do believe though is that if you are going to burn fat - burning fat at night is the way to go! While your sleeping no less. And yes, I am being a little bit cheeky here because clearly you are not trying to lose fat while you sleep (even though you might fret about it). What I am saying is that the effort and diligence that you put into your fitness routine during your waking hours is the catalyst to your body burning inches of fat while you sleep!

That's right - you can burn fat at night while you sleep. I said it. But I'm not the first to have said so. Your body does all sorts of important things while you sleep. The problem is if you're doing the wrong things during the day your body won't do jack all when you're snuggling up at night. No wonder people are so sceptical about fat loss during sleep - most people don't do it because they don't implement the catalysts for fat loss while they're awake!

If you are trying to lose fat doing the following then you might as well quit right now:
* Diet shakes that ruin your metabolism
* Fat loss pills claimed to be the next scientific breakthrough to cure obesity
* Cardio exercise at 60 - 80 % intensity which is in the so called "fat-burning-zone"

Stop and think about this one question: Would I rather keep wasting my time and ruining my body with the above strategies fed to me by conglomerate sales reps OR would I like to start learning how to burn fat at night?

Oh and one more thing I should probably mention - Google's input on the matter. We don't strictly disagree, Google and I. I may have taken the comment out of context a little, but it made me think about all the crazy schemes people trust and what needs to be done about it - Fitness Education!

Google's Comment: Reserve scepticism for "Burn fat at night" diet pills.

Conclusion: The "Burn fat at night" part is TOTALLY achievable. Through diet pills though? Not a chance.

Image sourced: http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/05/news/companies/google_monster/index.htm

7 Ways To Burn Fat In 7 Days

So - we all want results. And we want them now.
I have seen this hundreds, if not thousands of times first hand as a personal trainer. People come to see me and they have reached that critical point of making a decision on losing weight, burning fat, toning up or something along those lines and they tell me "I want results ASAP".

Whether it's because they have an important upcoming event, a formal, a dinner, a wedding or whatever, it's always the same. We are impatient beings by nature and it doesn't always work in our favour.

But what about you? OK, I'll get to the darn point. What are 7 ways you can shed fat and get leaner in a week?
Well here they are:

1. Starve yourself (almost) to death - Well this isn't a very good way to burn fat actually, contrary to popular belief. Your body will almost certainly lose weight due to dehydration and other unmentionable bodily actions. But on the contrary, your body is programmed to store fat in the event that you stop putting food in your belly. So you might get fatter in your 7 days - which is not what you want!
2. Do an intensive 7 do workout regime targeted at destroying the fat! Again, this is a bit extreme (I don't recommend it). You might lose some fat. In fact you almost certainly will. The trouble here is, you will also flood your body with toxins in the intense exercise sessions which might end up ruining your metabolism and making it more difficult to keep fat off!
3. Take the advice of money crazed fitness "gurus". You know who I'm talking about right? Those guys you see on TV trying to peddle you off some useless piece of junk that you know is doomed to sit under your bed or in the closet for the next 47 months. These things don't work people - stop buying them!

OK, lets get to the proper stuff shall we. Now before reading any further, I want you to realise the most important key to losing fat in 7 days is to consider the importance of your health and of taking a balanced approach to fat loss.

Change your eating habits starting now. That's right. Commit to 7 days without two thirds of your favourite junk foods. Just throw them in the bin if losing fat is actually important to you.WARNING: Don't deprive yourself. Throw out 2/3 of what you would normally eat that would make you fat.Keep 1/3 as your treat.
Start your exercise regime or change it up. Exercise is vital - getting it right is even more important. Who wants to waste hours of time in the gym and still have the flabby gut hanging out at the end of it all? Not you!
Load up on vitamins from natural sources. Get your fridge choc-a-block full of cruciferous vegetables, antioxidant rich fruits and organic, grass-fed meats.
Hydrate and make sure your pee is clear. Self explanatory really. How many times do I have to tell you guys to drink more water, honestly. It won't sit in your body making you chubby. It WILL flush out toxins and make it easier for your body to function normally after the torment of ice cream and cola that you flooded it with! --> Unique ways to drink more water.

That's it people. I give you 7 ways to burn fat in 7 days. But if you ask me, burning fat is a lifestyle matter and you shouldn't be in a place where you need to burn it off in 7 days! Get the point? Visit my site to learn how to live a fitness lifestyle with a toned sexy body every day.

Coconut Oil For Sexy Abs & Awesome Health

I have always promoted natural foods as some of the best metabolism boosting products available in the world today. I always cringe when I hear about the next fat-blasting craze to hit the market or that certain nuts are "fatty" - I've even heard people talk about how avocados make you fat!

Well coconut oil is no exception to the general "fat boosting natural foods" rule. In other words, if you haven't tried out this little known natural metabolism booster, you could well be missing out on pounds of belly fat you could be losing! Does that make sense?


Let me give you the basic run-down on how coconut oil can give you toned, sexy abs:

• Short and medium chain fatty acids help bolster your metabolism
• Reduction of fattening stress hormones - natural hormonal balancing
• Assists healthy function of thyroid and enzyme functions - a seriously under-rated part of fat loss 

The dead give-away here is the fact that you never see people from cultures that thrive off coastal foods such as the coconut suffering from obesity. Did you catch that? People who eat lots of coconuts don't get fat! Don't get me wrong here - there are a number of lifestyle issues at play here too.

There are a tonne of other health benefits (besides getting flat, sexy abs) to be had by taking coconut oil regularly and these include:

• Teeth
• Hair
• Bones
• Kidneys
• Stress Relief
• Pancreas
• Liver

No wonder people like Miranda Kerr swear by coconut oil as a part of their health and well-being regiment.

Image source from: http://www.optimallyorganic.com/coconuts.jpg

Does Coffee Make You Fat? How You Take Yours Will Tell...

Image via Wikipedia
Coffee (definitely one of my vices) can be an addictive habit indeed. But is it actually going to make you fatter? With everyone around me ordering extra skinny lattes with artificial sweetener it leaves me wondering about all the misinformation out there that almost seems like it's designed to stop you from getting lean abs!

Let me tell you first and foremost - coffee is a substance which gives your body a metabolic boost. This means it will actively increase your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and help you burn more fat.
I'll admit it, coffee isn't for everyone and if it's consumed with "skinny" milk and artificial sweeteners it may well cause more problems than benefits in terms of fat loss.

Every time I encounter this argument of "will coffee make me fat?" I always will argue a resounding NO.
Maybe we should examine the different things that make you fat compared to things a lot of people THINK make you fat...

Things the people think will make them fat:

• Full Cream Milk
• Sugar

Things that actually make people fat:

• Low Fat Milk
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Sugar (depends on how much)

The adverse hormonal effects of aspartame-based artificial sweeteners and low fat milk which has virtually all nutritional value stripped from it completely, are far greater than the little bit of fat and sugar contents of a regular cup of coffee. Besides, if you want to take advantage of the fat burning potential of coffee (from the caffeine) you will want as little hormonal interference as possible. I suggest trying stevia (a natural sweetener) and full-cream, organic milk straight from the cow! - But that's for another post.

 

Related articles

• Artificial Sweeteners Encourage Weight Gain (lewrockwell.com)
• Metabolic Cooking Tricks To Burn Fat Faster & Banish Your Boring Fat Loss Diet (wlfreedom.typepad.com)

Fat Loss With Drugs And Supplements - The Truth

There are loads of people out there that claim all sorts of crazy things about just about anything. A certain percentage of those people are called conspiracy theorists, some are just laughed at and funnily enough, some are hailed as the next best thing since sliced bread.
I'd like to be able to say things were not the same in the fitness industry but alas... They are not!

Have you ever wondered about supplements and "wonder drug" fat buster pills that claim to increase your metabolism 10 fold overnight to give you a super-lean waist and ripped six pack abs overnight? Well... So have I.
The truth is that fat loss can not be sustained in a healthy way through the use of drugs and supplements. This is mainly because, as a natural organism, the human body can deal best (in the long term) with natural changes and processes. Any foreign substances which are not naturally found in human diets are pretty well destined to cause metabolic trouble in the medium to long term. This means storing more fat, being more prone to mood swings and having more trouble toning up!

What about supplements, I hear? Well, yes I am a fan of some supplements but only when their contents are naturally occurring and can be used by the human body to increase the body's metabolism to a level that is:

1. Healthy and sustainable for health
2. Going to cause a healthy level of fat loss to occur (about 2 pounds per week, depending on your current weight)

So I would recommend following an energetic eating plan to get your metabolism on the right track and doing just enough exercise to back it up as well. Now of course everyone is different - I know. But you will definitely benefit (from the perspective of fat loss) if you can incorporate metabolism boosting mega-foods (such as antioxidant rich teas) into your regular eating. And what's more? You'll get WAY better results in the long term than any wonder fat blasting pill could do. Most of them will wreck your metabolism completely.

So don't go for the drugs, choose your supplements wisely, go for natural, pure supplements that your body can absorb (not chelated) and aim to boost metabolism through your food - you'll be 2 steps ahead of everyone else. That's the truth about fat loss.

Image sourced: http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/uploads/VMC/PageImages/drugs6_250.jpg

How To Get A Waist Like Kate Middleton

OK, I'll admit it, royal fever has officially struck the world and as impartial as I am with the whole fuss, I must admit that one of the things that did catch my ear when listening to some coverage of the royal wedding was all the presenters talking about the size of Kate Middleton's waist...

Well, I'll give you this one for free - If you're a lady, and you'd love to see yourself in her body then it won't necessarily be "EASY". In all likelihood I will mention that some people ARE born with "favorable genetics" when it comes to having a slim waistline. But, given your own genetics, you can still make your own waist slim, firm and toned by taking a few simple pieces of advice... I'll start with the obvious ones first:

* Eat well - don't eat too much "crap food"!
* Exercise a bit... Don't go crazy on a running spree or anything, just make sure you get SOME exercise into your day A.O.A.P. (as often as possible). NOTE: There are ways to minimize your time exercising and maximize your results (I talk about this in other blog posts).
* Focus on getting cruciferous vegetables into your daily eating.
* Work on your health and fitness knowledge - especially about how to get the thermogenic effects of food on your side!

Now that's about as simple as I've ever said it and if you need more info, feel free to browse my blog and also my web site. Make sure you share this info if you think it's useful! Absolutely not enough people are making use of their fitness potential mainly because they don't know these key things!!!

So whether or not your waist will end up looking like Kate Middleton's will depend on:

1. Your genetics
2. Your commitment to a handful of simple food and exercise "keys"

But even if you think your genetics are "shot", you can still have a tighter, slimmer, sexier waistline and it doesn't take as much effort as you think!

Image courtesy: http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2011/Apr/Week4/15982594.jpg