Boosting your metabolism tips

I receive a lot of e-mails on the topic of metabolism. What is it? Why is it important? How can I increase it? Metabolism can be a fairly complicated subject.

Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) your body burns to maintain itself. Whether you are eating, drinking, sleeping, cleaning etc... your body is constantly burning calories to keep you going. Metabolism is affected by your body composition. By body composition, this means the amount of muscle you have versus the amount of fat. Muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than fat. People who are more muscular (and have a lower percentage of body fat) are said to have a higher metabolism than others that are less muscular.

For example, let's say you have two people who are the exact same height and weight. One exercises on a regular basis with weights, in addition to aerobic exercise, and has a low percentage of body fat. The other never exercises and has a higher percentage of body fat. The first person who exercises will have a higher metabolism than the second person.

Start exercising! If you've never exercised before, make sure you see a doctor before beginning a new exercise. You can increase your muscle mass by doing some type of resistance work (i.e. lifting weights, using resistance bands, hand weights at home etc...). You can also decrease your level of body fat by doing some type of aerobic exercise at least 4 days a week for longer than 40 minutes.
You also need to eat! - Do not 'diet', just watch the types of foods you eat. Consume foods that are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which regulate levels of leptin in the body, such as fish. According to researchers, this hormone is responsible for the speed of metabolism in the body, as well as for your body making a decision, whether to burn fat at the point, or to store it.

Foods that speed up metabolism also include meats. The body spends more time to digest meat (proteins) in comparison to easily digested carbohydrates and fats. According to many nutritionists, digesting proteins accelerates burning of calories almost twice. Danish researchers provide even more optimistic numbers. According to them, adding 20% of protein supplements in your daily diet will increase burning of calories by more than 5%.

Vegetables! Consuming 3-4 serves daily of low G.I veggies will keep your calories burning, as it works to break down and digest these. Low G.I veggies are also called 'negative' calories, as they don't contain nasties that the body can store as fat. Once you have added your chicken, fish or meat to your plate, fill the remaining plate with salads/veggies!

Lemons increase immunity and accelerate metabolism. Lemons are often used for various metabolic disorders. Tea with lemon or water with lemon will speed up your metabolism and fat burning processes. Start by cleansing your digestive track; Kick off your morning with a luke-warm glass of water with added lemon juice.

DON'T-

If you eat a very low-calorie diet, your metabolism will slow down in order for your body to survive (your body thinks it is starving). Don't be fooled by the belief that the less you eat, you'll burn fat. What will happen is that you will actually begin to lose muscle!

DO-

Speeding up metabolism can be achieved by eating 5 small meals throughout the day, instead of eating 2-3 large meals. Food (especially in many small portions) accelerates metabolism. In fact, 10% of calories that you burn each day go to metabolizing the consumed nutrients. For best results, split your meals into 5 small portions and be sure to have a breakfast, as it results in speeding up metabolism in your body.

This is where nutritional supplements can add multiple benefits. The average person who has been struggling to burn that stubborn fat does not consume enough and find it's difficult to get into the routine of 5 meals to speed up metabolism. I recommend consuming one or two Ultimate Slim shakes per day as this was designed to be added as a snack replacement to provide extra protein to fuel your muscles and has added fat burning enhancers to keep you energized throughout the day, resulting in burning extra calories.

Example:

A typical day for someone on a 'weight loss' program will only consist of breakfast, lunch and dinner. (Some actually skip breakfast which is the most important meal of the day)...
Using Ultimate Slim will see the above 3 square meals increase to 5 by adding the shake for a morning tea snack and afternoon tea snack. (UPS does not recommend using Ultimate Slim as a meal replacement; only as snacks)

NOTES-

When you are exercising aerobically, your focus should be on burning calories and working your cardiovascular system. Because it takes more calories to exercise, your metabolism is sped up during the activity. Also exercising first thing on an empty stomach will assist in reducing stored fat cells.
When you are lifting weights or doing other resistance work, focus on the activity itself which not only burns calories but increases muscle strength, tone and endurance. (Don’t just throw the weights around and think the faster you do this, the faster you burn fat - false. Keep it controlled and be sure you feel your muscles fatigue)

The combination of aerobic activity and weight training will result in a body that has more muscle and less fat - so the end result will be a higher metabolism.

*** Remember if you want a snack in between your main meals do NOT go for the chocolate..... instead try our Ultimate Slim protein blend which is high protein, low fat and low carbohydrate and is available in 4 great flavours. This is formulated to give you that extra kick with its added fat burning enhancers and fight sugar cravings while assisting to repair and tone muscles. Order online at www.ultimateperformancesupplements.com ****

What's stopping you from achieving your goals?

I wanted to share with you a before and after shot of one of my clients. This lady came to me with the want of changing her body shape and perhaps competing in her first figure bodybuilding competition but she was unsure is she could achieve her goals because she wasn't strong enough mentally. The usual things I needed to change were her training and nutritional intake but the most important was shifting her mind set.

The top left photo represents a lady the was feeling very inadequate with herself and weighed 69kg. After change is training regime, clean eating (6 meals per day) and a lot of self reflection work, she did not only achieve her goal to compete.... she lost 13kg and is the picture of good health and is mentally 'on top of the world'. No nasty post comp rebounds, no loss of identity but rather a more mature outlook on life and a healthy discovery of self worth.

You see,  many women experience feelings of unworthiness, incompleteness and low self esteem; but the fact is it is these very same feelings that stop us from fulfilling our deepest desires and achieving our goals. I too have learnt over the past years various ways to build self esteem, set goals and stop at nothing until they are achieved.

The journey in doing so is what some may call 'self discovery'. It is important to understand that this doesn't happen over night or by the end of any contest preparation or even in a year. It is and always will be an ongoing journey. But you need to decide weather you will be going along for the ride or being the driver?

Spend time with your self and listen to deepest desires and fears. Take control of your thoughts and change them if they are not doing you any good! You ARE in control and thoughts are just that and thoughts can be changed!

Georgia

8 Reasons to Eat Fermented Foods

1. Fermented foods improve digestion.

Fermenting our foods before we eat them is like partially digesting them before we consume them. According to Joanne Slavin, a professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, “…sometimes people who cannot tolerate milk can eat yogurt. That’s because the lactose (which is usually the part people can’t tolerate) in milk is broken down as the milk is fermented and turns into yogurt.”

2. Fermented foods restore the proper balance of bacteria in the gut.

Do you suffer from lactose intolerance? Gluten intolerance? Constipation? Irritable bowel syndrome? Yeast infections? Allergies? Asthma? All of these conditions have been linked to a lack of good bacteria in the gut.

3. Raw, fermented foods are rich in enzymes.

According to the Food Renegade blog, “Your body needs [enzymes] to properly digest, absorb, and make full use of your food. As you age, your body’s supply of enzymes decreases. This has caused many scientists to hypothesize that if you could guard against enzyme depletion, you could live a longer, healthier life.”

4. Fermenting food actually increases the vitamin content.

According to the Nourished Kitchen blog, “Fermented dairy products consistently reveal an increased level of folic acid which is critical to producing healthy babies as well as pyroxidine, B vitamins, riboflavin and biotin depending on the strains of bacteria present. [1. Vitamin Profiles of Kefirs Made from Milk of Different Species. International Journal of Food Science & Technology. 1991. Kneifel et al]“

5. Eating fermented food helps us to absorb the nutrients we’re consuming.

You can ingest huge amounts of nutrients, but unless you actually absorb them, they’re useless to you. When you improve digestion, you improve absorption.

6. Fermenting food helps to preserve it for longer periods of time.

Milk will go bad in the fridge but kefir and yogurt last a lot longer. Sauerkraut, pickles and salsa will keep for months. And if you’ve got a huge batch of produce in your garden that you don’t know how to use up — ferment it!

7. Fermenting food is inexpensive.

There’s nothing fancy required for this hobby. And many of the foods required to make these recipes are very cheap. You can use inexpensive cabbage to make sauerkraut, or get yourself a kombucha scoby and with just pennies’ worth of water, sugar and tea, you’ve got a health elixir slash soda pop.

8. Fermenting food increases the flavor.

There’s a reason humans enjoy drinking wine and eating stinky cheese. There’s a reason we like sauerkraut on our hot dogs and salsa on our tortilla chips. It tastes good!

  Enjoy!

Cherry Ripe Trifle

A Berrylicious and coconut jelly with chocolate custard and chunks of chewy protein toffee.

A delicious cool dessert to enjoy in the hotter weather - it's high protein, sugar and carb free.

 

Berrylicious and raspberry jelly

200mls of strong raspberry or apple flavoured tea (I used Serendipi-tea's "

Chaucers Cup")
2 serves (4 scoops) of Ultimate Slim in Berrylicious
1 satchet of powdered gelatine
200mls of coconut water

Chocolate custard
400gm of low fat cottage cheese
1.5 serves (3 scoops) of Ultimate ISO in Belgian Chocolate
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 egg yolk

Chocolate toffee
1 scoop (1/2 serve) of Ultimate ISO in Belgian Chocolate
60g coconut butter
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon psyllium husk

Organic dessicated coconut to garnish

Method:

Make the jelly first by placing the gelatine into a mug and topping with boiled water. Stir vigorously until all gelatine is dissolved and leave
to cool slightly. Add the tea, coconut water and berrylicious together in a large bowl and whisk until the protein has dissolved. Pour in the
gelatine mixture and stir once more before leaving in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
Make the custard by placing all ingredients into a food processor and combining until smooth.
Set to one side while you make the toffee. Melt the coconut butter and place in a large bowl with the other ingredients, stir as vigorously as possible
or until the mixture becomes very very rich and sticky and hard to move.

Smear the toffee on the base of a casserole dish as evenly as possible before topping with the custard. Bake for 30 minutes maximum - the custard
should have developed a thin film on the top but should not be completely cooked through. The baking merely hardens the custard a little to give it more
shape and melts the toffee on the bottom.

Once done, remove from oven and leave to cool for 30 minutes before pouring your jelly mixture on the top.
Leave to set for another 3-4 hours before serving in bowls or in sundae glasses.

Nutritional info per serve:
Serves 7
Calories: 237
Protein: 31g
Carbs: 4.4g
Fat: 10.6g

My new sponosor @ Joe's Organics

 

I am very pleased to announce my new sponsorship with Joe's Organics, Northcote. Joe's Organic Market has stood strong, and have served Melbourne customers with Organic Health Foods and Natural Products since 1998.

I have noticed a huge change in my own health (both physical and emotional) since consuming produce from Joe's and I hope I can encourage others to make the change to organic.

Joe' Organics try to keep prices competitively low so you can reap the benefits.If you have found a better price elsewhere certified organic, Joe asks you to bring in your receipt and he will beat it by 5%.

Better yet, he has created a new discount membership for those interested in shopping at Joe's which you will receive when you mention my name. From there on, Joe will continue to look after you and change your life for the better!

I have seen him growing his business to provide his customers with an exceptional service, not only by providing quality produce, but sharing his knowledge of health and this industry.

Joe has so many wonderful recipes, a great supply of organic veg/fruit, organic health products, organic herbs, organic coconut water, organic grains plus much more.

Additional to this he can blend you a fresh veggie/fruit juice from his juice bar using his produce while you shop or he can crack open an organic coconut for you to drink. Your experience at Joe's will be like no other!

Find him on his new fb page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joes-Organics/120450480931?ref=ts&sk=info

Visit his website http://www.joesorganic.com.au/

Or meet Joe in person - Address: 64 Victoria Road, Northcote 3070, VIC

Melways reference 30 H10

An excellent blood tonic for all - Cheers!

   

 

 

 

This drink is valuable for its medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are just loaded with nutrients. One glass morning and night is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver.

Ingredients: 

3 medium or 2 large organic beets, peeled and chopped up coarsely

200mls Molkosan (or you can use raw whey)

1 tablespoon Himalayan salt

Filtered water

Method:

Place beets, Molkosan (or whey) and salt in a 8-cup glass container. Add filtered water to fill the container. Stir well and cover securely. Keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.

When most of the liquid has been drunk, you may fill up the container with water and keep at room temperature another 2 days. The resulting brew will be slightly less strong than the first.

After second brew, discard the beets and start again.

NOTE: Do not use grated beets in the preparation of beet tonic. When grated, beets exude too much juice resulting in too rapid fermentation that favours the production of alcohol rather than lactic acid.

*Beet kvass may also be used in place of vinegar in salad dressings and as an addition to soups.

Serves 6

Carbs per serve 5 gms

Nutrition Diagnostics

Get the real facts on salt!

Has your clever medical practitioner told you to avoid salt? Nothing could be further from the truth. Salt plays a very important role in the body’s biological patterns and digestion. Have you ever heard the saying "Are you worth your grain of salt"? This saying was common many years ago during world wars when scientists realized the importance of this valuable nutrient especially during times of famine and hardship as it helped body’s process nutrients more effectively. 

Figure 1

Back then salt was a very rare commodity. Soldiers actually lined up for their daily dose and workers where often paid with a grain of salt, hence the saying... Today’s daily fast throw away life maybe much different, however our bodies have not changed that much. We all still require this valuable nutrient, however for many, it comes supplied in an overly processed, bleached, deodorized a bio unusable form.

Today’s highly processed packaged foods contain an abundant amount of a white substance labeled as ‘salt’ (as figure 1. shows). The paddocks which grow our fresh fruits and vegetables are sown over and over and over again continually churning out fresh produce minus the important trace minerals supposed to of been retained in the soil and in the fresh produce. So the next time you hear someone suggest you should ‘avoid salt’, this isn’t technically correct.

What is correct is that we should avoid highly processed foods containing large amounts of this inorganic substance, try to buy your fresh produce from organic farms where they rotate the crops from paddock to paddock to give the soil time to regenerate or even better grow your own... Shop for unrefined, unprocessed salt – it should be pink or grey in colour (see figure 2) and get sprinkling on your eggs and meats...

Figure 2

 Enjoy!