Tuna is not the only choice for weight loss

Tuna Fish Diet For Weight Loss- An Unhealthy Approach

I am often asked if it a tuna fish diet is the best way to lose weight. Tuna is a widely available source of protein and is relatively inexpensive and easy to eat on the run. All things considered, however, my answer to that question would be in the negative. While tuna fish does indeed supply a hefty amount of protein per serving, it should never be your sole source nor should you eat huge amounts of it on a daily basis, especially if weight loss is your goal. I truly believe that it is important that we as human beings eat foods that are not only nutritious, but that are prepared with some degree of goodwill. It might not occur to some, but there is a significant difference to the way that your body will respond to food that you took the time to cook for yourself or food prepared by a loved one over food that you would get in a box or from a fast food resturant- even if the foods are the same ingredient and preparation-wise.  Aryuvedic thought places a lot of emphasis on the healing aspects of a well prepared meal,  and I more than agree with this way of thinking.  I think anyone can think back to the feeling of enjoying a meal made by a dear family member- mother, grandmother or otherwise to note that there is something to this idea. Fast foods and canned foods simply cannot compete and I for one try to eat them as little as possible. 

Tuna Fish Diets & Low Fat Intakes Can Counter Your Attempts To Lose Weight

Mercury levels aside, there is also the problem of fats. Canned tuna, while containing some omega 3 fatty acids, have nowhere near enough fat to support your nutritional requirements, especially if you are engaged in regular intensive exercise. A can of tuna may be alright once and a while, but you will still need to eat a wide array of other fishes and meats to get the fats your body needs to stay healthy and to lose weight. (Important note- if you don’t eat enough fat your body will simply do its best to store as much as it can, since fat is an essential macronutrient for our bodies- the end result being that you will get fatter. So don’t be mislead by low fat diets). Fat is an important part of the equation, as are the micronutrients found in higher concentrations in other protein sources, such as eggs, chicken, and other meats. A healthy diet is one that has a variety of foods, not just tuna fish.

A Tuna Fish Diet Won’t Do It Long Term But A Varied Healthy Approach To Eating Will!

At the end of the day I have to say, (as I always do) that moderation is key to weight loss success, and that being said, there is nothing moderate about eating tuna fish for breakfast lunch and dinner. The same goes for skinless chicken breasts as well, but that is material for another blog post!

Get a copy of Kevin’s free award winning weight loss ebook here! Kevin Richardson is one of New York City’s most sought after personal trainers and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts. Visit his official website at www.naturallyintense.net. 

The myth of spot reduction

It is a widely held belief that if you exercise one area, it will make the fat go away. I am often told that a personal training client wants to work their arms more or their stomach or butt more since those are their trouble areas and they want to focus on losing as much fat there as possible. Go to any gym and you will see people on the ab and butt machines for hours at a time, day in and day out. But try as you may it will make no difference in terms of fat reduction. Spot reduction, you see is simply a myth and is no more a possibilty than being able to turn lead into gold.

When you work a muscle- it has absolutely no direct effect on the fat that surrounds it. For example- if I had a big gut and worked my abs every day, it wouldn’t do anything to reduce the fat around my waist, only to strengthen and develop the muscles lying underneath. In fact, my experience has been over the years that many people end up with even biger stomachs from working their abdominal muscles too much. Muscles get bigger and thicker as a natural response to increased workloads and so many end up building big blocky abdominal muscles which do nothing but push the fat around them out even more! Unlike what most call show muscles like your arms and shoulders, few of us want bigger abs- the look most seek is a sleeker and tigher midsection, and training your ab muscles day in and day out is not always the best way to get it. The same rules apply to every other muscle in your body from your hips to your glutes, you can work them as much as you want, but you are not going to do anything about the fat around them unless you exercise correctly (which requires moderation and in most cases the assistance of an experienced professional personal trainer), and most importantly- you eat properly.

You lose fat pretty evenly throughout your body, be it from an increase in muscle mass from a properly executed weight training program and adherence to diet, (which will result in long term fat loss) or a caloric deficit from major dietary shifts and increased energy expenditure from significant amounts of exercise (which will make you lose weight, but only temporarily). In either case you will always see the fat loss mostly in the areas where you have the least fat to start with. So if you naturally have a high concentration of fat in in your lower abdominal area, (as is the case for most people- both men and women) that will will be the place that you notice the fat loss the least. That is not to say at all that you are not losing fat in that area, but if since there is more fat in that region of your body, it will appear that you are not losing as much in that area. You will however see fat loss faster in areas where there is less fat, which explains why you will always see a change in your face and lower arm areas when you being to lose fat before anywhere else.
Genetics does play a role in this as does gender. In my experience as well over the years some people are simply predisposed to having low fat concentrations in certain areas. I know of several women that naturally have well defined abdominals- but  have big problems getting the fat around their legs and hips under control. The bottom line is that you work the entire body to reduce fat everywhere and as time goes on, you will see those trouble spots going away slowly but surely! Remember, fat loss is always a marathon, not a sprint- so take your time and don’t try to rush it!

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a prominent health and fitness writer and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™- a system designed to help you do everything from lose weight to build muscle using 10 minute workouts.

Diet is an important part of the process for anyone serious about losing weight and getting in shape, however in all the details about what to eat, when to eat and what not to eat, there is little time given to the element of food safety. As the temperatures go up more and more people will get sick from food poisoning. The bad part is that if you are eating several meals throughout the day with most of those meals consisting of high protein foods, then you do indeed run a very high risk of getting sick if you are not careful with your food preparation and storage. According to the Center for Disease Control an estimated 76 million cases of food borne disease occur each year in the U.S. with most of them being rather mild cases and cause symptoms that last for a day or two. However many are life threatening and the CDC estimates that there are 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to food borne diseases each year. 

Food safety is a big issue for me, mainly because had a serious run in with food poisoning about 15 years ago and it changed my life forever. I had eaten some Chinese food (steamed vegetables and chicken) and got so sick afterwards that I woke up the next day in the hospital weighing a full 17 lbs less than I was the day before! Needless to say that was a serious wake up call for me, as too this day I still don’t remember being brought over in the ambulance.  After that ordeal I promised myself that I would learn everything there was about food safety to ensure that there would not be a recurrence- and so far so good- which is quite an accomplishment for someone that eats 6 plus times a day! I also worked for 14 years as the director of the recreation and food programs for both HIV/AIDS and formerly homeless populations, and since I was responsible for sometimes preparing and handling food, I had to get extensive food handling certification. When working with individuals with compromised immune systems, what might give someone else a bad day can end up costing them their lives!  That being said, I would like to pass on some very important tips for you this summer to make sure that you stay bacteria free this summer and all year round!

Rule 1: Keep Hot Foods Hot and Cold Foods Cold!

If I was asked what is the best overall rule of thumb for food safety, I would have to go with this one. It is so important if you are carrying food with you during the day that you keep it at the appropriate temperature. If you cook something fresh and need to eat it several hours later I would suggest that you invest in a thermos that is big enough for you to fit your food into. You can also use your thermos to keep foods cold that may have been refrigerated- just be sure to wash your thermos by hand after each use and check to see that there are no cracks before you put your food inside. That way you have a safe way of carrying your food around with you during the day!

 Rule 2: Wash Your Hands Properly Before You Eat!

Most people don’t wash their hands properly. Next time you wash your hands check how many seconds you spend doing it. If you are like 99% of the population, you probably spend 10 seconds or less and that is no where near long enough to remove germs and bacteria. I can hardly tell you how much of a difference it makes if you routinely clean your hands before eating or handling your food. You have to wash with hot water and soap (any kind will do- it doesn’t have to be antibacterial) for at least 30 seconds to really get the germs off. If you wash for less time, all you are doing is getting the germs nice and wet-which really doesn’t do anything at all. A good guide is to sing the Happy Birthday song twice while washing your hands. That will make sure you spend just enough time to wash your hands properly. If not around a water source, you can use a hand sanitizer or alcohol swabs, just don’t assume that your hands are clean and just eat.

Rule 3: Get a Thermometer For Your Refrigerator!

Bacteria exist everywhere and you cannot get away from them. Under certain conditions like when they have moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow very quickly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can make you sick. Pathogenic bacteria (the ones that can make you really sick) grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, with some forms being able to double in number in as little as 20 minutes. To minimize the growth of bacteria in a any unit the temperature must be kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Unfortunately, while we humans can do a pretty good job of saying whether something is hot or cold, we cannot tell the difference between 45 degrees or 40 degrees, and that difference could make a very big difference. Don’t leave temperature regulation to simple guesswork, invest in a thermometer for your fridge and you might be surprised that it isn’t always at the best temperature to keep your cold foods cold! By the way any perishable foods kept at temperatures above 40 °F for more than 2 hours should never be consumed.

Rule 4: Understand The Nature of Pathogenic Bacteria!

 There is a saying that you must always know your enemies if you ever wish to enjoy any type of security in life and the same applies to potentially harmful bacteria. Most of us simply don’t know enough about it and it is that very lack of knowledge that gets people killed each year. You need to be informed as our basic senses are not enough to tell whether food is safe or not. Microscopic organisms are unseen by the naked eye and foods don’t have to smell badly to make you sick. Many mistakenly base their food safety practice on the idea that if the food doesn’t have a bad smell or taste that all is well. Unfortunately that simply is not the case. There are two different types of bacteria: pathogenic bacteria, the kind that cause serious illness, and spoilage bacteria, which makes food spoil and develop unpleasant smells and tastes. Spoilage bacteria won’t kill you. As strange as it may sound for most of us, eating food that has an odor or that is ‘spoiled’ won’t do much under normal circumstances as the bacteria present is mostly benign. People eat spoiled milk every day, (it’s called cheese or yogurt) and even meats can be consumed safely in a state of decay as evidenced in many survival situations. This type of bacteria thrives in lower temperatures- which is why food begins to rot when in the refrigerator for too long. Pathogenic bacteria however is a different story. When foods remain at a higher temperature between 40 and 140  degrees Fahrenheit, this potentially deadly form of bacteria can proliferate. The bad part is that they are completely odorless and you cannot tell that they are present by the way the food tastes, looks or smells- which is why it can be so dangerous. That is why it is so important that you always keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

Rule 5: Use A Bleach Solution to Clean Up

Whenever you handle meats, you should have a bottle with a bleach solution to disinfect surfaces that come into contact with meats in addition to washing with hot soapy water. You only need 1 tablespoon of bleach per quart of water to make an effective germ killer and it is a cheap and effective means of killing bacteria (it is actually how our water supply is kept safe everyday). More expensive cleaners with a variety of perfumed scents only make the germs smell nice for a while, but do nothing to kill them. most are surprised to learn that the majority of cleaning solutions that you will find on the supermarket shelves are ineffective against the very bacteria that can make us really sick. So forget about the fragrances and stick with bleach- the plain variety that is, as the scented forms may have added chemicals that may not be appropriate for use around food utensils.

Rule 6: When Eating Out- Be An Educated Consumer

Here is an important point: when you go out to eat, you don’t have to eat what is in front of you if it is not cooked the way you like it. Restaurants have an obligation to prepare your foods to your specifications- that is part of the contract. Therefore when eating out, if the food is supposed to be served hot and is only lukewarm when you get it, or hot on the outside, but only warm on the inside, then send it back. It might sound like you are being a pain, but the reality is that you need to look out for your health, and if you are paying for your food, it should be paying only for food that is safe to eat. Also understand what I call the ‘you were asking for it’ clause. If you go to a dive and order sushi- and get sick- you were asking for it! The same goes for most fast food restaurants or unlicensed street vendors. Beware also of buffet bars- they are notorious for having food not kept at the appropriate temperatures, especially the ones that have a low food turnover rate.

I don’t eat anywhere without first checking to see what their inspection records are like. Here in New York you can access years of reports for any restaurant in the metropolitan area and you should! Very often you will be surprised by the results. Sadly, while this information is public domain, few people ever think to check out the inspection records of the places they frequent, often to their detriment. Some of the most upscale establishments have horrible health reports, with foods not kept at proper temperatures and vermin infestation. Everything looks great in the dining room area, but you really won’t know what is going on in the kitchen where your food is being prepared if you don’t check the reports. You can get the NY area reports here and most other states have similar information portals from their Department of Health websites. I invite everyone to take a look to see how well or how poorly the places you frequent are rated. The results may be eye opening!

I hope these tips help you stay safe and healthy and I wish everyone a happy and illness free  summer!

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™- a system designed to help you do everything from lose weight to build muscle using 10 minute workouts.

It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce that I am now the New York staff writer for Examiner.com for Extreme Training. Over the years I have written for everything from health and fitness print magazines to numerous quality online websites and I am very much honored to be a part of Examiner.com.  It has been a while since I have been a paid writer and I look forward to working with them and continuing to bring training, health and fitness information to as many people as possible.

You can read my posts at:

http://www.examiner.com/x-16359-NY-Extreme-Training-Examiner

Thanks to everyone for your continued support

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™- a system designed to help you do everything from lose weight to build muscle using 10 minute workouts.

While there are many great aspects of regular and rigorous training, very little press is given to the very real problem of exercise addiction. While not by any means in the same category of drug or alcohol addiction, more and more people exercise to the point where it causes some very real problems in their social and family life not to mention the injuries brought on by overuse.

While not recognized in the standard DSM-IV, a diagnostic manual used by the American Psychiatric Association to catalog disorders, excessive exercise is linked as being a symptom of an eating disorder such as  bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa . Some in the field see it as a form of obsessive compulsive disorder- especially when there is some ingrown fear that there will be a weight gain or loss of strength or muscle mass if they miss a single session of exercise.
Sadly, there is not much in the way of research into exercise addiction itself, however there are more and more cases of individuals that appear to have very real problems with exercise and who experience the classic symptoms of depression and withdrawal when it they are unable to do so.
Usually an individual suffering from exercise addiction will make decisions to work out even if it affects their physical and social well being and will become irritable and depressed if not allowed to follow their routine. These symptoms go away when exercise is resumed, very much in the way an addict’s withdrawal ceases with resumption of drug use.

The obvious question that comes to mind for most is where do you draw the line between healthy exercise patterns and an obsessive pursuit. Here are some warning signs that you may have a problem:

1. Consistent almost ritualistic routine of exercises or activity
2. Frequently exercising for more than one to two hours every day
3. A constant fixation on the number of calories burned, weight lost or muscle built
4. Exercising when sick or injured
5. Choosing to exercise over attending social or family events or classes

If you do find that you are sacrificing important aspects of your life to be able to exercise then you may want to seek professional help. Exercise is meant to be means to an end- the end being better health and being able to better enjoy your life, if however it becomes an end in and of itself, you may have a problem.

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™- a system designed to help you do everything from lose weight to build muscle using 10 minute workouts.