CHANGE YOUR MIND AND BECOME SUCCESSFUL - Best Motivational Videos Compilation for 2017

The misunderstood psychology of weight loss — how to lose 30 pounds PART 6

Food

First, if you’re focused on losing fat, aim for a deficit of around 500 calories per day or 3,500 per week. There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat, meaning you’ll lose (at least) 1 pound of weight per week — probably more initially as you lose water weight and flush out other waste.

You need to know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) as a starting point, which is how many calories you need to consume each day based on your current activity levels. You can calculate that here. Once you know your BMR, subtract 500 calories. That’s your daily calorie target.

The psychological impact of tracking goes a long way to keep you on track. If you screw up at one meal, you can make it up at the next meal by eating fewer calories, etc.

Protein is extremely important because it’s the building block for creating new muscle. Generally, you want to take in 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, per day. If you weigh 200 pounds, you consume 200 grams of protein per day — typically 2-3 protein shakes and 3 meals per day.

To keep sane and stop your metabolism from slowing down, you should also have one day per week where you eat whatever you want. This is called an “off day”. If you’ve been craving chocolate, fries, etc, you eat them on your off day. Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn’t eat 20,000 calories during your off day. Eat what you want, but don’t over do it.

If you feel like eating crap during the week and the craving is really, really bad, keep an “Off Day List” which contains all of the foods you’re craving. The simple act of writing down the food you crave and knowing you’re only 1/2/4 days from being able to eat it will help.

When you have a craving for a food you only eat on your off days, go back and read your “why” statement. Read it 20 times. Then go on Youtube and watch a few “before and after” weight loss (or muscle gain) transformation stories. That should be enough to curb your cravings 95% of the time.

You’ll also want to regularly check your pH levels using pee sticks. You can buy them from any drug store. New research is showing a strong relationship between the acidity in your body and the amount of fat you hold on to, regardless of how much exercise you do and what you eat.

If your pH level is low (5.5 or less on a scale of 0–10), your body is highly acidic and will hold on to fat to protect organs from damage. The lower your pH level, the higher your chance of cell damage and mutation which can lead to cancer if enough acid forms in your system over time.

If your pH level is neutral or slightly higher (6.5 to 8), your body is more alkaline, contains less acid and therefore your body won’t hold onto fat, as there’s no damage to protect your organs from.

What’s the easiest way to get your pH level up so you’re more alkaline than acidic? Drink at least one (ideally two) fresh green juices every day. Buy a Nutribullet and throw in a handful of spinach, a handful of kale, half a cucumber, an Apple, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a cup of water. Blend it up and drink it. Simple.

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Diet Beverages & Artificial Sweeteners

Diet Beverages & Artificial Sweeteners – The Scientific Truth (It May Surprise You)

There’s a hot debate whether diet beverages or soda and artificial sweeteners are healthy or dangerous.

It’s no wonder that so many people are confused (including myself) with some authorities recommending their intake over the high sugar versions, while a lot of other gurus state they are extremely unhealthy and a chemical storm that will wreck your health and cause disease.

As always, there isn’t one clear-cut answer and the issue is often debated based on ‘opinions’ or the latest meme that goes viral on FB rather than hard, honest well-designed research studies or controlled science.

In this article, I’ll dive into the honest research regarding diet soda and artificial sweeteners and whether or not they play a role (both positive and negative) in obesity and even health.

I guarantee some of the answers may surprise you. Here’s the bittersweet truth…

Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners – Good, Bad or the Devil?

Artificial sweeteners come in many different forms but the most popular typically include aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda) and saccharin (Sweet’N Low).

The use of these sweeteners actually dates all the way back to the 1800s when saccharin was accidentally synthesized (1).

These artificial sweeteners have become a staple in our diets due to the attempt to reduce excess sugar intake and the fact they are far sweeter than actual sugar, while contributing very few or even no calories.

Despite the fact they can reduce sugar intake and lower total calorie intake, aiding in weight loss, many people still see them as unhealthy.

This is partly due to the belief that consuming them induces similar hormonal and brain responses to that of sugar, in addition to potentially being associated with increased risk of disease states such as cancer. But, what does the actual science say?

‘Negative’ Research on Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners

Anything is dangerous in the right dose, even water. Yep, that’s right … Here are two examples:

• Firstly, a 28 year old woman in the USA died after drinking six liters of water in a 3 hour period for a contest, dying later that day from water intoxication.
• In 2005 a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that around 16% of marathon runners developed some level of dangerous hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water.

So, before we continue, my question to you is, just because water can kill you in high doses, does that mean that a normal intake, i.e. 2-4 liters per day is also unhealthy?

Clearly the answer is no, it’s basic logic. However, this EXACT principle applies to diet soda and sweeteners (see the example below), although most people (especially the ones who dislike it) tend to ignore this fact.

When it comes to the limited research regarding human subjects and artificial sweeteners, there is some correlative data (i.e. weak data that draws conclusions over years) indicating that consuming artificial sweeteners may increase the risk of developing metabolic syndromes, leading to increased risk of diabetes and obesity (2, 3).

Unfortunately as with any research, the devil is in the details. Along with artificial sweeteners, the study also found associations with typical western diet staples such as meat (which we know is healthy) and fried foods.

To conclude that artificial sweeteners are a reason for obesity based on this study is speculative at best, since there are so many other factors that may be contributing.

In essence, there is in fact research associating artificial sweeteners with an increased risk of obesity, but it’s not a direct relationship. It’s a relationship confounded by many other factors that certainly contribute to obesity and negative health, rather than simply consuming artificial sweeteners.

In the world of research and science, these types of studies are often ignored and not classed as ‘real, controlled research’.

Additionally, there is some negative research regarding artificially sweetened beverages and cancer. Although there is one catch. The studies are done using rats (but again, all the people who hate diet soda or sweeteners tend to ignore this fact).

Of course, the big issue with these studies is that they simply point us in the right direction from a biological standpoint, but not direct cause and effect; more often than not, what happens in a rat does not translate to humans.

Often the effects of substances vary widely when given to humans compared to rats. Artificial sweeteners are one of these cases.

Despite the fact that some research has indicated that artificial sweeteners like aspartame are linked to cancer in mice, the doses which would be required to do so in humans would be astronomical.

For instance, the FDA has set safe daily consumption of substances like aspartame to 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (4, 5).

For a 90 kg (200 lb) individual that would be the equivalent of consuming 25 cans of artificially sweetened soda per day and would still be considered within a safe range.

Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners Cause Weight Gain – False Science?

At its most fundamental level, it’s impossible for artificial sweeteners to directly contribute to weight gain; it’s basic science and the laws of thermodynamics.

In fact, artificial sweeteners are often used in order to reduce calorie intake and thus help reduce body weight. However, many people still insist that artificial sweeteners induce an insulin response, similar to what happens when you consume sugar in one form or another.

As a result of this insulin spike, it is theorized this leads to a metabolic disorder called insulin resistance, which means that insulin isn’t able to do its job of removing glucose from the blood and storing it in various tissues of the body.

In theory, when this occurs, it can lead to further disease states such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Unfortunately for proponents of this incorrect theory, research has determined that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame don’t induce an insulin spike, despite claims.

Even if they did, a small insulin spike would not match that of an insulin spike from regular sugar, soda, ice cream, pizza etc. It’s these foods consumed over years which cause weight gain and insulin resistance, not sweetener or diet soda (6, 7, 8, 9).

Additionally, in a groundbreaking study on evaluating the use of artificial sweeteners versus just water when attempting to lose weight, the researchers revealed that consumption of artificial sweeteners was actually associated with greater weight loss and a greater ability to keep the weight off after the diet (10).

It’s very likely that consuming artificially sweetened beverages such as diet soda may satisfy sweet cravings without providing the additional calories, leading to weight loss.

Does this mean that diet soda is better than water? No, but it doesn’t appear to be worse in sensible moderation (just like water). Because it has no calories, it simply can’t cause weight gain, it’s physically and biologically impossible.

So What’s The Conclusion About Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners?

As it turns out, there probably isn’t any issue with consuming artificially sweetened beverages such as diet soda on a regular basis in moderation.

Research that has shown negative effects is fairly weak, most of it being done in rats not humans and even that has many other factors affecting the outcome, making it impossible to blame artificial sweeteners (2).

Furthermore, other research showing associations with artificial sweeteners and cancer is carried out on rats and still very early. Next, these findings are done at crazy doses that equate to say 200 cans of diet soda per day, so they are far from realistic or unbiased (4).

Lastly, research on artificial sweeteners for weight loss actually indicates a beneficial effect overall, such as reduced body weight, rather than the commonly held misbelief that they lead to weight gain. If you know even the basics of fat loss and metabolism you will clearly understand how it’s physically impossible for a zero calorie product to cause weight gain.

Despite outlandish claims from people with unbiased agendas or the ‘clean eating gurus’, artificially sweetened diet sodas are safe for you to consume and even advised if your goal is to reduce calories and body weight.

Take Home Key Points on Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners

Firstly, the key point is to understand that there’s not any real, strong research in a controlled setting to show ill health from a sensible dose of artificial sweeteners in humans.

Sadly, like many aspects of nutrition, it’s very easy for people with hidden agendas to twist the research or churn out random ‘facts’ that have no real evidence at all. Of course, any new meme or video always goes viral, but it doesn’t mean it’s true.

Now, am I advising you to consume artificial sweeteners or diet soda? No, but equally, should you not consume it and avoid it, if you do enjoy it? No, absolutely not.

Like everything, it depends on you. If you love it, then go ahead, it probably will help you consume fewer calories, it may reduce cravings and may actually aid in hydration (remember it’s around 98% water).

If you think that diet soda or artificial sweeteners are bad or unhealthy because they’re not natural, then you should maybe spend some time reading the science to become less biased. Of course, I will be the first to say we should focus on natural whole foods 80% of the time, but drinking the odd diet soda or using a normal intake of artificial sweeteners is also perfectly fine.

In summary, diet soda or artificial sweeteners are perfectly ok in a moderate dose, just like water. If you still want to say it’s unhealthy because rats got ill from taking in the equivalent of 200 servings per day, well you should probably not drink water either because 200 servings of water would have killed the rats far quicker than the artificial sweetener.

As with everything, remember to actually check the research and don’t trust the internet fitness/health gurus who don’t understand or even know how to read a research study…

References

1. The Pursuit of Sweet. (2017, March 06). Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.chemheritage.org/distillations/magazine/the-pursuit-of-sweet
2. Lutsey, P. L., Steffen, L. M., & Stevens, J. (2008). Dietary intake and the development of the metabolic syndrome. Circulation, 117(6), 754-761.
3. Nettleton, J. A., Lutsey, P. L., Wang, Y., Lima, J. A., Michos, E. D., & Jacobs, D. R. (2009). Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Diabetes care, 32(4), 688-694.
4. National Toxicology Program. (2005). NTP report on the toxicology studies of aspartame (CAS No. 22839-47-0) in genetically modified (FVB Tg. AC hemizygous) and B6. 129-Cdkn2atm1Rdp (N2) deficient mice and carcinogenicity studies of aspartame in genetically modified [B6. 129-Trp53tm1Brd (N5) haploinsufficient] mice (feed studies). National Toxicology Program genetically modified model report, (1), 1.
5. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.). Food Additives & Ingredients – Additional Information about High-Intensity Sweeteners Permitted for use in Food in the United States. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397725.htm
6. Møller, S. E. (1991). Effect of Aspartame and Protein, Administered in Phenylalanine‐Equivalent Doses, on Plasma Neutral Amino Acids, Aspartate, Insulin and Glucose in Man. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 68(5), 408-412.
7. Wolf-Novak, L. C., Stagink, L. D., Brummel, M. C., Persoon, T. J., Filer, L. J., Bell, E. F., … & Krause, W. L. (1990). Aspartame ingestion with and without carbohydrate in phenylketonuric and normal subjects: effect on plasma concentrations of amino acids, glucose, and insulin. Metabolism, 39(4), 391-396.
8. Horwitz, D. L., McLane, M., & Kobe, P. (1988). Response to single dose of aspartame or saccharin by NIDDM patients. Diabetes care, 11(3), 230-234.
9. Teff, K. L., Devine, J., & Engelman, K. (1995). Sweet taste: effect on cephalic phase insulin release in men. Physiology & Behavior, 57(6), 1089-1095.
10. Peters, J. C., Beck, J., Cardel, M., Wyatt, H. R., Foster, G. D., Pan, Z., … Hill, J. O. (2016). The effects of water and non-nutritive sweetened beverages on weight loss and weight maintenance: A randomized clinical trial. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 24(2), 297–304. http://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21327

https://www.rudymawer.com/blog/diet-beverages-scientific-truth-may-surprise/

4 Proven Ways to Build Strength & Power

Developing maximal strength adaptations is beneficial for everyone from elite athletes to the elderly and everyone in between.

Because strength is key for most of the population, human performance researchers and sports scientists have teamed up over the past few decades in order to determine how to maximize progress with the latest scientific training protocols.

Essentially these researchers have been looking for the safest and most effective way to manipulate certain variables of training such as load, intensity, volume frequency and exercise selection.

Within this article I will provide you with four of the most recent breakthroughs in human performance research to help YOU build maximal strength in the shortest possible time!

From increasing your squat to help your legs and glutes grow, to improving sports performance, the methods in this article will give you the background and knowledge you need to maximize your current workouts.

Here are 4 scientifically backed tips to help you build strength.

Background: Principles of Strength Training

Before we dive in, it’s important for me to give you a quick review of the basic principles of strength training.

While the latest training technique with bands or chains may seem sexy, like everything, the main principles of strength training that were discovered years ago that are still key today.

For example, here are some of the key and fundamental principles of strength training you must master and focus on:

• Load/weight on the bar,
• Number of sets,
• Repetitions,
• Changes in exercise selection,
• Rest period length,
• Careful manipulation of volume (sets x reps),
• Intensity … these must all be accounted for (1).

Essentially, in order to continually force your body to adapt to strength training, you have to train with sufficient loads that are going to challenge your musculoskeletal system.

Recent research suggests that for untrained individuals to maximize strength training adaptations they need to train with at least 60% 1RM, 3 days per week, 4 sets per muscle group.

However, for trained athletes, a mean training intensity of 85% 1RM, 2 days per week, 8 sets per muscle group has been shown to enhance muscular strength (2).

In short, you need to lift heavy, several times per week, progress the weights, stay consistent and eat well

Now we’ve covered the basics, you’re ready to take your strength training to the next level with these four tips!

1. Linear Periodization To Maximize Strength Gains

Periodization refers to the systematic (orderly) variation of key training variables.

There have been several different periodization models that have been shown to provide favorable strength adaptations (3).

The first model of periodization to gain traction was Linear or Traditional periodization. This consists of several training blocks starting at high volumes with low intensities and gradually progressing to periods of high intensity and low training volumes (4).

In less technical terms, you would start with lots of sets but less weight then switch to higher weight with less sets.

While this has been effective for many, linear periodization can be slightly boring within a training regimen due to infrequent variations or changes in exercises etc. Also, linear periodization may increase the athlete’s risk of overreaching as they repeat the same exercises etc. (5).

2. Non-linear or Daily Undulating Periodization To Maximize Strength Gains

Recent research has brought to light a new model of periodization referred to as nonlinear or daily undulating, in which volume and intensity are varied on a daily basis (rather than every 1-2 months like above).

For example, in a linear approach you may do 6 weeks of hypertrophy training, 4 weeks of strength training, followed by 3 weeks of power training. However, in a NON-linear or Daily Undulating Periodization approach you may perform a hypertrophy, power and strength workout all in one week!

This model of periodization seems to provide athletes with more frequent variations in volume and intensity and may reduce boredom, injury risk and actually result in improved maximal strength training adaptations as the body is provided with new and unique stimuli multiple times in one week.

In fact, one group of researchers directly compared traditional periodization to non-linear on maximal strength training adaptations.

27 strength trained men were split into three groups non-periodized, linear-periodized, and non-linear and each followed their respective training regimen for 12 weeks.

At the conclusion of training effect sizes revealed that non-linear periodization resulted in improved maximal strength training adaptations on the leg press and bench press

(4.6KG & 2.9KG VS 1.1KG & 0.6KG) respectively (6).

These results have been replicated on various occasions; another group of researchers ran a similar investigation and demonstrated average strength gains on the bench press and leg press to be 14.4% and 30.1% greater following a non-linear model (7)!

How to Apply Non-Linear Periodization to Maximize Strength

The benefits of a non-linear approach are that it provides the athlete or lifter more flexibility in organizing their workouts. If your goal is maximal strength on the “big three lifts”, an example routine following a non-linear approach is listed below.

Monday: Squat, Bench Press, Dead Lift –  Hypertrophy

Wednesday: Squat, Bench Press, Dead Lift –  Power

Friday: Squat, Bench Press, Dead Lift –  Strength

3. Applying Resistance Bands to Maximize Strength Gains 

Once you have your weekly routine planned out, another way you can maximize strength gains is by adding variable resistance training techniques such as elastic bands.

Elastic resistance bands have previously been shown to improve both strength and power adaptations in highly trained athletes.

In theory, overloading the eccentric portion (lowering) of a lift with added resistance from the bands may force the neuromuscular system to recruit more type two fibers, increasing maximal strength gains (8).

One study particularly applied resistance bands to a non-linear strength training plan. These researchers took 14 college athletes and split them into two conditions.

The control group followed the same workouts without resistance bands. However, the banded group added 30% of their 1RM in band tension on the back squat and bench press exercises on their power days.

After 5 weeks of training the resistance bands group demonstrated greater improvements in rate of power development, back squat 1RM and bench press 1RM (9)!

You can order these bands from stores such as EliteFTS or MyProtein.

4.  Creatine Monohydrate to Maximize Strength Gains

Once you’ve effectively applied the basics including overload, progression, non-linear periodization and variable resistance training you’re ready for the final piece of the puzzle, creatine monohydrate!

Creatine is arguably the most effective and widely used sports supplement and rightly so.

Creatine works by increasing the amount of readily available ATP energy in the muscle. ATP is the energy system that fuels high power/strength activities, helping our muscles contract and produce force. It’s basically like the gasoline to your car, it provides all our cells with energy to function.

One group of researchers examined the effects of creatine supplementation on strength and strength endurance in highly trained power lifters.

At the conclusion of training, strength gains on the bench press increased by 20lbs in the creatine group compared to only 5.6 in placebo. That’s a 400% greater increase!

In regards to strength endurance, the creatine group demonstrated average increases of 39.7% compared to only 7.1% in the placebo, over 500% greater gains! (10)

But before you ask, this wasn’t just a one-off or poorly designed study. These results have been replicated time and time again and researchers conclude that creatine just may be the most effective supplement for strength and power gains as well as muscular growth (11).

In fact, research has demonstrated an average increase of 4.4lbs of muscle mass when taking creatine paired with resistance training compared to no creatine (12). It’s also extremely safe, cheap to buy (a bottle is $10) and healthy!

Time To Maximize Your Strength Gains!

There you have 4 effective and research-proven techniques to boost your strength. For most, working on the basics first will provide the biggest reward. If you are highly advanced, using techniques such as resistant bands, forced reps, cluster sets etc. can also help bust plateaus and provide quick improvements. Learn more about Advanced Training Technique tips in this article: https://www.rudymawer.com/blog/5-advanced-workout-methods-for-rapid-muscle/

• Before adding any special tips into your strength training regimen make sure you have your basic principles in check. These include the chronic alteration of load, number of sets, repetitions, exercise selection, order, rest period length and the careful manipulation of volume and intensity.

• Next, non-linear periodization or DUP provides you with more frequent variation of volume and intensity which has been shown to lead to improved strength adaptations (you may also enjoy it more as your routine changes within a week).

• Adding resistance bands to your big three lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) may help optimize strength and power development by providing added resistance throughout the entire strength curve.

• Lastly, supplementing with creatine will help you train harder and quickly improve your strength gains. It’s also extremely effective for adding muscle mass, safe, low in cost and provides health benefits.

1.) Kraemer, W. J., Adams, K., Cafarelli, E., Dudley, G. A., Dooly, C., Feigenbaum, M. S., … & Newton, R. U. (2002). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 34(2), 364-380.

2.) Peterson, M. D., Rhea, M. R., & Alvar, B. A. (2004). Maximizing strength development in athletes: a meta-analysis to determine the dose-response relationship. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 18(2), 377-382.

3.)  Stone, M. H., O’bryant, H. S., Schilling, B. K., Johnson, R. L., Pierce, K. C., Haff, G. G., & Koch, A. J. (1999). Periodization: Effects of Manipulating Volume and Intensity. Part 2. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 21(3), 54.

4.) Willoughby, D. S. (1993). The Effects of Mesocycle-Length Weight Training Programs Involving Periodization and Partially Equated Volumes on Upper and Lower Body Strength. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 7(1), 2-8.

5.) Zourdos, M. C. (2017). Physiological responses to two different models of daily undulating periodization in trained powerlifters.

6.) Monteiro, A. G., Aoki, M. S., Evangelista, A. L., Alveno, D. A., Monteiro, G. A., da Cruz Piçarro, I., & Ugrinowitsch, C. (2009). Nonlinear periodization maximizes strength gains in split resistance training routines. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23(4), 1321-1326.

7.) Rhea, M. R., Ball, S. D., Phillips, W. T., & Burkett, L. N. (2002). A comparison of linear and daily undulating periodized programs with equated volume and intensity for strength. The Journal of strength & conditioning research, 16(2), 250-255.

8.) Anderson, C. E., Sforzo, G. A., & Sigg, J. A. (2008). The effects of combining elastic and free weight resistance on strength and power in athletes. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 22(2), 567-574.

9.) Joy, J. M., Lowery, R. P., de Souza, E. O., & Wilson, J. M. (2016). Elastic bands as a component of periodized resistance training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30(8), 2100-2106.

10.) Kelly, V. G., & Jenkins, D. G. (1998). Effect of oral creatine supplementation on near-maximal strength and repeated sets of high-intensity bench press exercise. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 12(2), 109-115.

11.) Buford, T. W., Kreider, R. B., Stout, J. R., Greenwood, M., Campbell, B., Spano, M., … & Antonio, J. (2007). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: creatine supplementation and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 4(1), 6.

12.) Kreider, R. B. (2003). Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations. Molecular and cellular biochemistry, 244(1-2), 89-94.

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