A top tip to make your time in the gym more effective

Believe it or not most health clubs and gyms are not set up effectively to get you healthier and fitter in the most efficient ways. Most gyms get this essential factor wrong by filling it with rows and rows of machines that look really shiny and impressive, that have lots of sweaty bodies sat down pumping iron. Did you spot the major flaw in the last sentence? Sat down! Not only have you spent the last 8 hours sat at a desk fighting gravity and your computer screen, you’ve now been instructed to lift weights in the very same position!

Here are some major disadvantages to machine weight training that you really need to be aware of seated fixed weight machinery

1. Shut off all key stabilising muscles that contribute to injury prevention

2. Serve to increase any muscular dysfunction already gained from work position

3. Cannot adapt to specific joint ranges for each person

4. Create unwanted shear forces and subsequent joint degeneration

5. Often isolate one or two muscles rather than many muscles needed for performance

6. Need to spend more time to get results

But why would they do that? It’s easy, it is easy to pay an instructor a low wage to show you how to sit on a stable machine that makes you feel that you are working hard and achieving goals of lifting heavier weights and more reps. If health clubs really wanted you to achieve your targets they would invest in less expensive machinery and invest more in free weights, Swiss balls, cable machines and the like that create functional movement patterns and help to achieve your targets devoid of injury. Understanding movement patterns and biomechanics requires further education which health clubs aren’t interested in paying their staff to do. They are happy with staff turnover as long as you keep paying your money and not going.

To really kick your exercise program up the arse try doing big bang exercises as part of your program.  Benefits of Big bang exercises are.

1. Can train every muscle in the body, training essential stabilisers, neutralisers and movers

2. Train functional movement specific patterns like running and other sports

3. Help to rid the body of postural and pain dysfunction

4.  You spend less time in the gym, giving you more time for living the rest of your life

To be honest if you are spending more than an hour in the gym your training is often wasted as the gains that you can make with a targeted exercise program can be achieved with a lot less time.

An example of a big bang exercise is the the reverse woodchop with laterl lunge, there’s pretty much every muscle on the job here during this exercise with particular emphasis on the rotating mucles of the trunk (abdominal obliques and back) as well as all the muscles in the leg. Try a big big bang exercise for big results. However be aware that if you have been exposed to sitting on exercise machines then slowly building up to these exercises is a must.

More proof that more saturated fat in your diet is healthy for you and your family

Many of you may have thought that me spouting on about eating more saturated fat in the diet to improve weight loss, yes that’s right weight loss, amongst other issues such as hormonal and emotional balance and many other issues, may have raised a few eyebrows.

Certainly even many of my clients who have followed a metabolic typing or anti parasite diet still ask me the same question even though, weight seems to fall off them and they are feeling the best that they have done in years, ‘Is eating saturated fat going to give me heart disease?’

The answer is no and last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition an Analysis of some 21 studies, the results said…….

A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies

showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that

dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of Coronary Heart Disease

or Cardiovascular Disease.

Does that mean that you can eat as much saturated fat as you like, well no. Nutritional intake as I have banged on about before, is very subjective, just like your thumbprint. Food intake is varied, according to genetics, environment, work load and other factors. So if you experience issues related to weight, health and digestive issues, energy and emotional variations as well as disease then consider changing your diet with metabolic typing or even a step in the right direction don’t cut out fat from your diet.

Vegetable fats have shown to do more harm than good and tend to go rancid very quickly. This means that they have the capacity to oxidise in your blood stream causing deposits on the artery walls. Saturated fats like butter, coconut, olive oil and flax on the other hand tend to be more stable and are much more suitable for cooking. Did you know that margarine is grey, before they add colouring to it? Nasty stuff, but we have been brainwashed by thirty years or more of advertising that vegetable fats and grains are the answer to our health, clearly not!

This is especially so with scaremongering for children’s food. Some key pointers are.

• Never cut back on fat  or give your kids low fat options, they need this for optimal development of the brain and nerves
• Avoid feeding cereals and bread to kids on a daily basis as this may lead to conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
• Ensure there is adequate fat intake with EACH meal

This is a great platform for creating optimal health, wellbeing and disease prevention for you and your family but if in doubt about individual needs always get specialist advice.

Enjoy your fat

How to Get Slim and Look Younger in 2010

One of the first things that most people do as a New Year’s resolution is to diet, but for most people, the actual process of dieting will actually lead to weight gain at some point and will also lead to a disruption of the body’s hormonal balance that affects both aging and weight gain. One particular hormone, progesterone is one of the most important hormones that a female produces. Research has shown that when estrogen is abundant, through a lack of balance from low levels of progesterone the likelihood of miscarriage is quite high.

However it’s not just during pregnancy that the production of this hormone is necessary. Progesterone prevents excessive cortisol production. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is responsible for weight gain, aging of the skin and is also linked to osteoporosis, reduced immune system function, brain cell damage and increased anxiety.

One of the easiest ways to increase progesterone production is to ensure adequate intake of protein and saturated fat, yet all the diet ‘experts’ tell us to restrict these essential nutrients. The fact is that each dietary intake is as unique as your own thumbprint, but their reductionist approach of eating fat, must equal fat on the body is archaic and serves only those who want to get more wrinkles and a tyre round the waist! It’s time to get specific with your own individual diet requirements, forget about all these faddy diets that you read about in magazines. Having progesterone /estrogen levels assessed can be a step in the right direction rather than following a one size fits all diet.

Progesterone also has a huge impact on PMS. PMS and all of its symptoms are typically an industrialised world phenomenon existing through an imbalance between progesterone and estrogen. Even just including good quality, organic protein and saturated fats can be a step in the right direction to eradicating these unwanted symptoms. This anti aging hormone should be considered for all peri-menopausal women to offset the symptoms and manage the menopause.

So if your targets this year are 1) Looking younger

2) Losing weight

3) Feeling more emotionally balanced

Consider the impact of your hormones on your New Year’s resolutions. You can order a hormone testing kit or get a genetically devised eating plan, please contact me for me details.

For a more detailed read check out www.Raypeat.com

Or read Nutrition and physical degeneration by Weston A Price

Isn’t it time for us all to rage against the machine?

Despite further lining the pockets of record companies profits, I was happy to purchase another copy of Rage Against the Machines, killing in the name of, as a quasi attempt to send a message out to those constantly bombarding us with pappy music. I liked the idea! I think 2010 could be a turning point in causing a paradigm shift and getting more and more people to ‘rage against the machine’.

We’re constantly bombarded with media and PR telling us that we need to lower cholesterol, should take this medication for pain, IBS or other symptom of modern living or eat this cereal because it’s good for us. It’s frustrating because at best it’s very similar to the flawed medical system that just tends to write prescriptions for symptoms rather than doing some real detective work and finding out what’s causing our symptom of pain or dysfunction. ‘Let’s just give them something that will mask what’s really going on’, should have been left in the last century but still carries on with no chance of letting up unless we as individuals take more care and interest in how our body’s function. Not just leaving it to individuals who are so overworked and worried about how much certain tests cost that they may go over their allocated budget. With food there is so much evidence to prove that a low fat, low cholesterol diet that is high in grains does not work for many people.

Do you remember how margarine was heralded to be the latest weapon in fighting heart disease? Or that egg consumption should be restricted to a few per week. Or using vegetable fats was supposed to be much better than animal fats? Well, all of these have been shown to be wrong, margarines contents of trans fats has been linked to cancers, why would you eat something that its original colour is grey and dyed to look like butter anyway? It’s also been disproven that the amount of dietary fat and cholesterol has a negligible impact on cholesterol levels unless you’re eating hydrogenated fats or vegetable fats that are unstable and turn rancid and which oxidise in the blood stream to cause deposits in the arterial wall. Even the NHS u-turned this year on the amount of eggs that can be consumed in one week, because of this irrefutable evidence that the cholesterol in eggs has no impact on circulating cholesterol levels. Like most research there is often research to show the opposite depending on what side of the fence you are sat but it comes as no surprise that there is more risk associated with a low cholesterol diet than a high cholesterol diet!

Medications are pitched to us in the same way and like everything else it’s the power of those with money to influence the majority of the public that taking a certain medication to mask the symptoms is the best way to deal with things. There are tens of thousands of medications in circulation all with different side effects that sometimes even exacerbates the current symptoms. Look at the Vioxx withdrawal due to an unprecedented amount of deaths from taking this medication. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rofecoxib My favourite is the anti malarial medication side effects of suicidal thoughts or tendencies, brilliant!

The list goes on artificial sweeteners in diet drinks and our kids ‘Low sugar’ snacks, poor quality foods packed with flavourings, preservatives and colourings that have all been linked to cancers. I for one have had enough, I have to scrutinise most of the foods that I buy for my daughter and I because you just can’t trust many food producers particularly those linked with the big pharma companies. For the New Near making a goal of producing more wholesome food that you make for yourself and your family and spending an hour or two at the weekend to produce food that you can take with you to work instead of buying the poor quality food choices at cafes and sandwich outlets. Get used to having more fat and protein within your diet is key to goals such as weight loss, improved hormonal function, exercise performance and emotional clarity. If you feel that you can’t get it right, then consulate a professional like myself or someone else. Don’t believe every claim that you hear about foods and medications in the media.

Take control and Rage Against The Machine in 2010! Oh and have a happy Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Is the quick fix responsible for our ill health?

Recently I had my bike stolen and have been reliant on my car and public transport to get me between appointments. I have had more time to observe people and their habits and one thing that people seem to opt for is the quick fix when it comes to food and energy. I have seen countless people at bus stops or on the tube opting for Red bull, coffee and breakfast baps or paninis. I am speculating on most of these peoples habits but from what I can make of it people invest less and less time in themselves and this also means the food that they eat. Food and water , besides oxygen is the most important thing that we put into our body and we have a choice of the quality of food that we eat but more often than not go with the quick fix.

How often have you thought or been told that you need to look after yourself more or do more things for your self? Whether it’s a massage, going on holiday, relaxing or getting involved in more positive activities, people more often than not fail to prepare themselves adequate nutritional meals that meet their needs.

We often wonder why there are sky high rates of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and the like? But we often fail to observe the simplest of rules when it comes to looking after ourselves. We are often reliant on quick fix meals such as cereals, breads and pastas for meeting breakfast lunch and dinner instead of taking time to cook valuable nutritious meals that when prepared can help to build health and reverse disease. We have been bombarded for years that cereals and dairy are the best choice for breakfast but for most they create digestive issues and fail to meet the energy requirements that is needed by us all to function.

For breakfast I often drink chicken broth from boiled chicken carcasses, with an egg, some meat and veg thrown in? Why because not only does it taste good but it helps to heal my gut and meet the protein requirements that my body needs. This is often considered weird by some of my friends because they have been so used to being exposed by the marketing campaigns, over the last thirty years that these foods are the healthiest options but these foods cause allergies, disrupt endocrine function such as the thyroid, cause weight gain and fatigue yet they still opt for the quick fix. Eating vegetables and meet for breakfast shouldn’t be seen as something so weird and if you went back 100 years you would find that these foods as well as raw dairy products, sea food and the like were the staple of our diets.

Degenerative disease rates have exploded with the advent of the industrial revolution, lack of time and pressure often means that we sacrifice our health and convenience food is at the heart of it. Next time you think of taking time out for yourself start in the kitchen and preparing ahead with your meals. Caffiene may feel like it gives you energy but is a sure fire way to mess up your body inducing adrenal fatigue, you may feel constant lethargy, fatigue, recover slowly from infections and lack sleep.

Here’s how to make a chicken go a really long way.

Day one Organic Roast chicken with veg

Day two Chicken parmigiane

Grill aubergines Lay in base of pan cover with remainder of bits of torn chicken Add tomato sauce (fry onions, garlic, and thyme and tomato passata) Add a layer of parmesan and torn basil leaves Re-layer with the same Cook in the oven for 30 minutes

Day three Simmer the chicken carcass with a carrot, garlic and onion with some salt, add some herbs if desired. Add some organic apple cider vinegar to help draw some essential nutrients from the bones such as calcium and magnesium Simmer for at least two hours, the longer the better. Strain and pour into a container and refrigerate, you can skim the excess fat of when cold For breakfast simmer for five minutes and boil an egg, peel egg and add to broth with some spinach leaves and any leftover meat for a tasty breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The good thing about drinking broth is that it contains arginine and glutamine that helps to replenish the mucosal lining of the gut. This is where a significant part of the immune system is and is essential for fighting bacteria, parasite and fungal infections. In most people their level of mucosal lining or SIgA is so diminished through poor food choices, like grains which contain gluten, stress or environmental toxins that they desperately need foods like bone broth to help them heal their guts.

Getting your head round these changes to your eating habits will certainly help boost your immune system, increase energy, emotional well being and even lose weight. You just have to try!

Female conditioning exercises should they be different to male?

The answer is emphatically yes, particularly in the initial stages of programming.  A woman’s body needs to be exposed to conditioning stress that targets in particular the neck, upper back and pelvis.

Gravity, long hair the seated position and high heeled shoes all serve to add additional stress to the female body that need to be addressed to help you remain pain free, happy and functioning at your best. Remember that the triad of health has three distinct interconnected elements of emotional, chemical and structural health. Failure to work on all three elements will make your goal achievement harder to attain.

When a body is misaligned the body expends more energy trying to complete basic movements of walking, running, squatting, pushing, pulling bending, twisting and lunging which are all primal movements that the body is designed to do. Furthermore each time that you do these movements the further stress you put onto already stressed joints opening the body to pain syndromes and conditions such as painful, knees, neck, back and the like.

A key area to start with in female conditioning is the head, Forward Head Posture or FHP can be created by sitting at a desk for long periods of time, having long hair, or sitting poorly on the sofa at home.  Believe it or not, having long hair contributes to additional weight on the back of the head causes the head to be rotated and extension of the spine ensues and the head migrates forward. This also causes the tongue muscles to slacken off which now creates a mouth breathing pattern which can lead to an inverted breathing pattern which can affect how the rest of the body functions, which includes pain and even elevated anxiety levels.

Exercises that address the front of the neck will help to prevent this and whenever you complete abdominal exercises always place the tongue in the roof of the mouth to stabilse the neck.

The chest is another key area, as breasts often cause a rounding or thoracic kyphosis of the spine, as will the FHP as a knock on effect. Couple this with being sat at a desk all day or breastfeeding of a child will add significant stress to the front panel which consists of the chest and abdominal muscles causing a shortening and tightening of these muscles. Exercises that work on the lower/middle trapezius and the extensor muscles or muscles that help to pull you upright should be an integral part of your exercise program

However most people when they go to the gym do exercises that stress the same muscles that have been shortened all day. The sit up is the most over rated exercise for abdominal conditioning. For people wanting to achieve a slimmer look try this exercise

· Sit down in your usual slumped position and grab a roll of skin

· Now sit up straight into what feel like good posture should be

· You can see that you lose approximately 50% of visual fat just by addressing your postural muscles

· Think about that next time you spending hours each week overworking your abs

The pelvis and in particular the female pelvis can contribute to instability in the bodu. In fact the pelvis has the capacity to destabilise the neck and vice vers, so finding out the cuase can give you a place to start with your conditioning program. More often the not the pelvis has an anterior tilt that is increased in females due to the width of the pelvic basin and often needs more conditioning of the lower abdominals, glutes and hamstring muscles to prevent an increased pelvic tilt and create stability in the lower back and pelvis. You can often see this in women who have that lower abdominal saggyness which is termed visceroptosis or where the abdominal contents spill forwards. this can also greatly affect your digestion, so getting this in check is of great importance to your energy and emotions.

Try integrating these exercises into your exercise regime for fantastic results or better still have a complete posture assessment to find out what exercises your body really needs!

The horse stance and russian twist are great exercises for addressing FHP, spine extensor, rotators and pelvic stability.

Happiness from your stomach

Believe or not the food that you eat has a huge impact on your emotions, energy levels and many other factors. But what most people don’t know is that serotonin, the hormone that is responsible for feelings of happiness and euphoria is predominantly produced in the gut.

In fact the gut has its own nervous system where as most people often think of the two major nervous systems, the Central Nervous System or CNS which comprises of the Brain and spinal column and the Autonomic Nervous System or ANS which comprises the regulatory actions of the bodies functions (fight and flight/rest and digest divisions). There is a third, or your Enteric Nervous System or ENS which runs from your mouth to your backside which is responsible for the regulation of ingestion, digestion, absorption and elimination. Studies on animals and humans have shown that when the major nerves of the ANS have been severed the digestive, absorption and elimination factors, ie eating and going to the toilet, still took place. I

f our digestive tract is malfunctioning due to many reasons such as fungal overgrowth, external toxin load depleted immune system, food intolerance to gluten dairy or soy etc then are body’s ability to keep our happiness levels topped are compromised via reduced serotonin production. A large percentage of the immune system is also housed in the gut and is often depleted when exposed to the above factors.

Candace Perts’s book molecules of emotion also showed that it is not just the brain where thoughts and emotions come from, her field of psychoneuroimmunology (a bit of a mouthful I know) showed that emotions can come from any part of the body and that if your liver is being stressed out you can produced neuro-peptides or communicating molecules that inform you body to the state of discord. A dysfunctional gut can be the main player in symptoms of chronic fatigue, menstrual cycle dysfunction and PMS depression, auto immune diseases such as Fibromyalgia, lethargy, skin conditions and many more symptoms. In fact the first place that I begin with an assessment be it for neck pain, knee pain or any of the above symptoms is the gut.

Key factors in keeping your gut healthy

• Stop drinking tap water- the millions of toxic chemicals in varying concentrations can decimate your immune system in the gut not to mention add to the toxic load that your liver has to deal with, I have also had clients who have been infected with a parasite from drinking tap water

• Listen to your body, how many times have you eaten a food and had symptoms like tenderness in the stomach, intestines, belched, had gas or felt not that great. Chances are you are having a reaction to a poor food choice

• Probiotics can be a good choice but sometimes if you have certain type of parasite they can feed off the probiotics, if your symptoms get worse, get tested for a parasite infection

• Minimise sugar intake, including alcohol, fungus , bacteria and parasites can also feed off these simple sugars causing an overgrowth of all the unwanted nasty’s

Cholesterol- is it the risk that we are told?

I was recently reading through a copy of Nursing Standard and I came across an article that stated that cholesterol was the main risk factor in heart disease, so I decided to respond with this letter that was also published in the Nursing Standard.

WE NEED A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CORONARY HEART DISEASE

‘Further to Alison Handley’s feature on cholesterol and heart disease(October 14), cholesterol is a key precursor  for a number of hormones, notably pregnenolone, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Ms Handley writes:

‘Current guidelines advise that a person’s total cholesterol level should be 5mmol/l or below, and 4mmol/l or below for people with other risk factors.’I believe that the measurement and lowering of cholesterol levels are overstated. Many people in tribal cultures have cholesterol levels of 9mmol/l or above, yet live long, happy lives. It has also been shown that dietary cholesterol has little impact on our circulating cholesterol,which is produced by the liver.

The thyroid has a major influence on circulating cholesterol, as does inflammation. Yet the focus for clinicians is purely on measuring cholesterol. Many people who consume a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet have an increased risk of stroke, and many with a higher lipid profile live longer. This has been confirmed by the long-running  Frammingham study (www.framinghamheartstudy.org). We need to embrace a more holistic approach to tackling coronary heart disease, not becoming so reductionist that we are unable to see the bigger picture.’

Do you not remember, it wasn’t that long ago that the NHS guidelines were that, we should limit the amount of eggs we ate each week? Even they recently had a U-turn on that advice after realising that dietary cholesterol has a negligible impact on circulating cholesterol levels. So why the hoo ha over cholesterol? Money is the simple answer.

The large pharmaceutical companies generate around $29 billion dollars each year from manufacturing cholesterol lowering medications, (read $29 billion reasons to lie about cholesterol by Justin Smith). The information put out by these companies is that the lower your cholesterol the better, however, here’s the glitch, the lower your cholesterol, the higher the incidence of suffering a stroke.

This is combined with the false hypothesis that a diet high in saturated fats causes heart disease, when in fact it is the more modern diet of higher carbs and lower fats that tends to be the increase the likely hood of diabetes, high blood pressure and  heart disease.  In all honesty, nutrition and a healthy diet is about as individual as your thumb print. The way you metabolise food and your dietary needs is subjected to functioning of your nervous system, glands and oxidation rates to name a few factors and metabolic typing or even just listening to your body is a simple step to help you determine appropriate fat, protein and carb intakes for optimal health.

From what I can gather from my research,  (there’s a particularly good site called www.raypeat.com a PhD in Molecular Biology who sums up the cholesterol farce with some great articles) is that excessive cholesterol production is often associated with:

* Stress-   remove or add coping strategies

* Hypothyroidism -  determine if is genetic as parents have been hypothyroid, look to use Armour thyroid USP

* Inflammation- clarify source of inflammation, digestive tract etc and seek to reduce with appropriate measures

So getting to grips with any of these key factors or working with someone who can help you address these issues is a step in the right direction.

 

 

5 key reasons why you haven’t lost any weight!

So you want to lose weight? If you were to read any one of the magazines that is out there, these are probably the most likely points that you will be told to help you lose that weight.

1. Restrict your fat intake WRONG

2. Do lots of cardiovascular exercise like running etc WRONG

3. Do lots of abdominal work such as sit ups or crunches WRONG

In most cases doing these three main points will probably serve to gain weight. these next five following reasons can help you get to the bottom of why you have not lost any weight despite trying so hard with a diet or exercise regime.

1. Cutting calories never works

Restricting calorific intake, especially fats can have a counter productive effect particularly for females. When the body is starved of necessary fats it start to produce lipogenic or fat storing enzymes. Thats why with yo-yo dieting and calorie restriction like weight watching classes, people may have small weight loss in short term but then it piles back on.

Another key factor is that when you restrict fat intake you can affect the regulation of your hormones which play a key role in metabolism and can also affect the thyroid gland, hypothyroidism can cause unexplained weight gain.

2. You may have a fungus or parasite infection!

What I hear you cry, how could that happen? Well having either of these things isn’t as exotic as it used to sound and you don’t need to travel to far-flung places to pick up these critters. In fact you can pick these up from a variety of sources such as municipal drinking water, sexual partners, food and could even breathe them in. Our exposure to elements such as antibiotics has seen most parasitic organisms become resistant to most forms of antibiotics and the need for dietary modifications is very necessary, coupled with natural anti microbial supplements to help restore balance to your digestive and immune system. These organisms can be responsible for your food cravings such as sugar and white flour foods. getting tested is a relatively easy thing to do. This year alone I have  completed many of these tests and each client tested positive for both parasite and fungal overgrowth in 90% of all cases.

3. You do too much cardiovascular exercise!

But the doctor/gym instructor/trainer says that I need to do at least half an hour of CV exercise. Thats true many organisations such as the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) recommend guidelines of half an hour of continuous CV exercise per day. Unfortunately none of these guidelines have ever considered the endocrine system and the effects of hormones that are abundant due to stress. Completing long bouts of CV exercise can increase the amount of circulating stress hormones such as cortisol. To much cortisol in the system or too little from adrenal fatigue can be responsible for weight gain. Have a look at most aerobic instructors, they complete 20+ hours of week of CV exercise, yet do they look like the leanest of people? This term chunky aerobic instructor syndrome was coined by Charles Poliquin to highlight the difference between the difference in body fat between those engaged in strength training programs vs excessive CV programs.

4. You aren’t eating for your genetic type

Whats that I hear you cry? Well consider that we all look different, our thumb print is unique and our internal workings differ considerably. Our glands our different sizes, we metabolise food at different rates, we have totally unique needs when it comes to foods and that’s why there is no such thing as a healthy diet. Your fat, protein and carbohydrate intake is unique to you and only you. That’s why a lower fat/protein diet works for one person and not the other. We have been bombarded by the grain and vegetable oil industry for the last 50 years that these foods are healthy for us but research has shown us that these are the foods that are causing many health problems, especially when eating on a daily basis.Using metabolic typing can help you determine what foods are ideal for you, to help you lose weight, reverse disease and build your health.

5. Your are stressed!

In fact most of us are stressed way more than what we should be and most of us are in an advanced stage of adrenal fatigue which compromises our ability to regulate energy production and weight balance. Whatever the stress

Physical, chemical, thermal, psychic, electromagnetic or nutritional our body can’t tell the difference between them but regulate the responses in the same way. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system puts us into a fight or flight response activating the adrenal glands, increasing cortisol production and a dys-regulation of our normal energetic pathways occurs and more subsequent fat storing hormones are released.

5 key points to help you lose weight

1. Never go on a calorie restriction diet, and always have some good quality saturated fats in your diet (no margarine or the like)

2. Get tested for fungus and parasite infections and determine what you need to do to get rid of them

3. Do complete a functional strength training program using free weight(girls as well!) limit CV time to 20 mins per session at the end of your workout

4. Do get metabolically typed and find out what are the best food choices for you as an individual

5. Do find out how stressed your body is and give it the right program to heal, tai chi can help you to lose weight if you are stressed out. You can have hormonal stress tests to determine your level of stress. Paul Chek coined the term ‘train dont drain’ and the right exercise program needn’t be as difficult as you think!

How to get rid of that flabby lower belly

There are thousands of books on diet, weight loss and fitness, telling us how to get in shape. The problem with most of them is that they fail to implement a holistic approach to achieving targets of conditioning of the abdominal area. There are three key areas of health, often termed the triad of health these are:

* Emotional/limbic

* Physical/structural

* Chemical/hormonal

The two key areas that we are concerned with are the physical/structural and chemical/hormonal  aspects.

Our own biomechanics are of great importance when it comes to understanding why the abdominal often look they way they do. In particular females who have a wider pelvic basin are constantly exposed to anterior pelvic tilt. Excessive pelvic tilt can cause viscerotopsis, this is due to the lower abdominals whose tone is decreased due to the anterior tilt of the pelvis, and is unable to prevent the abdominal viscera/organs spilling forwards.  Therefore the lower abdominals are key in positioning the pelvis and preventing the spilling of the abdominal contents forward.

The upper abdominals are often so overworked in the pursuit of a six pack that they cause the thoracic spine or middle/upper part of the spine to excessively curve forwards. this creates a depression of the front panel and chest causing a larger concentration of  skin and fat to accumulate between the ribs and pelvis. So applying sound mechanical exercises for the abdominal and upper back extensors to create postural harmony makes much more sense than doing thousands of abdominal exercises which may cause neck and back pain.

Your diet obviously has huge implications for decreasing body fat, but not necessarily the way you think. Most people are told that you need to increase the amount of carbohydrates when training and decreasing fat intake. This usually takes the form of increased bread, pasta, oats and other gluten like substances. Many fair-skinned people when tested are usually found to be sensitive to gluten, which can not only decimate the immune system, but can cause the digestive tract to become irritated causing unwanted bloating of the abdominal cavity and can shut down the ability to stabilise the spine as well.

The chemical/hormonal aspect of reducing excessive abdominal fat is often overlooked by many so called experts. Cutting out fats in particular can have a huge impact on the accumulation of body. Here are a few key points.

* Cutting out fats can cause an increase in fat storing enzymes, which increases fat distribution

* Cutting out fats can affect the regulatory effects of hormones that can affect the thyroid, which can cause weight gain

* Increasing carbohydrates can cause fat increase and subsequent weight gain

Your metabolic needs are truly individual, so never think that applying a one size diet fits all can be productive for you. Some people require much higher levels of fats and proteins than others so taking time to find out those needs are of paramount importance. Metabolic typing can help to find where your genetic needs currently lie. I have had clients effortlessly lose weight by following their metabolic typing plan and combined with a corrective exercise program to align the pelvis, help the abdominal area look the way it should!

Key exercises for aligning the pelvis and spine to help the abs look great!

Remember that acheiving a great looking abdominal area is not just about doing thousands of reps, but an interplay between mechanical and chemical health. We always need to consider the emotional factor and setting realsitic targets can help to set you on your way to a great looking body and optimal health