My Fit Foods shares 5 critical tips for happy, healthy bodies
We’re pleased to announce that we’ll be running Body advice from My Fit Foods’ Meg McCall B.S., M.S. Candidate in Human Nutrition, Corporate Nutritionist every other week!
We are in the middle of bikini season and you may be kicking yourself for not starting that 21 Day Challenge back in March or April like you promised yourself. After all, you could be 6 to 15 pounds lighter like many of our clients. We have a lot of fat burning secrets here at My Fit Foods and we want to share a few with you to get your FAT BURNING switch turned back on:
1. Start your morning with PROTEIN
Your diet should be 30 to 40 percent protein if you want to maintain or build muscle and burn fat—truly changing the shape of your body. Studies show that higher protein diets will raise your metabolic rate leading to more weight loss and better controlled cravings. In other words, you will naturally eat less and burn more!1,2
2. Don’t fear the good FATS
Our favorite good fat is Fish Oil—proven to help fat burning and decrease cravings among countless other benefits.3 Other good fats to add to your daily regime are CLA and GLA. CLA is a great way to enhance your natural metabolism, hold on to muscle mass, and burn some belly fat.4 The final good fat to supplement with is GLA. This one is important if you find that you take plenty of fish oil but you still have skin issues—like bumps on the back of your arms or eczema- like symptoms. 500 to 1000 mg of GLA will take care of those5.
3. Step it up and include INTERVAL TRAINING
In one study, those who cycled for 40 minutes, alternating four-minute bursts at 90 percent effort with two minutes of rest, improved their cardiovascular fitness by 13 percent, and were able to burn 36 percent more fat during a later hour-long moderate cycling session. The researchers believe this type of exercise works because it produces a unique metabolic response. Intermittent sprinting produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin and within your muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation is thought to drive the increased weight loss. A great fat burning exercise is interval kettlebell training. Be sure to have plenty of antioxidants for recovery and repair—My Fit Foods’ Daily Fit Pack is loaded with them.
4. Include B-12 with L-Carnitine
We have an amazing new addition to the My Fit Family coming soon: it is our very own B-12 with L-Carnitine naturally sweetened with stevia. This is a powerful combination for jump-starting your morning with a natural energy enhancer. It is also an underappreciated fat burning supplement. L-Carnitine is naturally found in meats and seafood and is one of the main driving nutrients for energy production by burning fat in every cell. In a study of 18 overweight subjects, L-Carnitine greatly increased weight loss. The subjects were split into two groups and for 12 weeks, both groups ate a healthy diet and performed moderate exercise. One group was given 2,000 mg of L-Carnitine, the other a placebo. In the placebo group, the average weight loss after 12 weeks was one pound. In the L-Carnitine group, weight loss averaged eleven pounds.6 That’s an eleven-fold increase in weight loss simply by increasing L-Carnitine levels! Body fat percentage levels also decreased markedly in the L-Carnitine group.
5. Lower STRESS HORMONES
When we have constantly elevated cortisol, we can’t burn fat effectively. Poor diet filled with processed carbs, sugar, and caffeine will certainly keep cortisol levels soaring. Sleeping at least 7 hours and eating clean every three hours are great ways to keep stress hormones at bay. Having enough rest and repair after exercise is also important. Over exercising can actually work against you. Another trick is to make sure you have enough Vitamin C and B-Vitamins to nourish your adrenal glands.
Resources:
1. Bray, GA, Effect of dietary protein content on weight gain, energy expenditure, and body composition during overeating: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2012 Jan 4;307 (1):47-55.
2. Farnsworth E, et.al. Effect of high-protein, energy restricted diet on body composition, glycemic control, and lipid concentrations in overweight and obese hyperinsulinemic men and women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July, 2003; 78(1): 31-39.
3. Souza LL, Nunes MO, Paula GS, Cordeiro A, Penha-Pinto V, Neto JF, Oliveira KJ, do Carmo MG, Pazos-Moura CC, Effects of dietary fish oil on thyroid hormone signaling in the liver. J Nutr Biochem. 2010 Oct;21(10):935-40. Epub 2009 Sep 29.
4.Gaullier JM, Halse J, Høivik HO, Høye K, Syvertsen C, Nurminiemi M, Hassfeld C, Einerhand A, O’Shea M, Gudmundsen O.Br J Nutr. 2007 Mar;97(3):550-60.
Senapati S, Banerjee S, Gangopadhyay DN. Evening primrose oil is effective in atopic dermatitis: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2008 Sep-Oct;74(5):447-52.
5. Crayhon R. The carnitine miracle: the supernutrient program that promotes high energy, weight loss, brain wellness, and longevity. New York: M. Evans, 1998.
6. Jason L. Talanian, Stuart D. R. Galloway, George J. F. Heigenhauser, Arend Bonen, and Lawrence L. Spriet. Two weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training increases the capacity for fat oxidation during exercise in women
Image: Some rights reserved by the Halfwitboy