Carb cycling, also known as carb rotation or zig zag diet, can be an effective method for losing weight. Here is a recent study on carb cycling for women and weight loss.

British researchers at the University Hospital in South Manchester, found that women who followed a low carb diet, 2 days a week, lost more weight than those who were on a conventional low calorie diet.

(Photo by: daBinsi)

The aim of the study was to find a easy-to-follow diet for women who are at high risk for breast cancer. Obesity and hormones such as insulin and leptin, are known to increase breast cancer risk. So losing weight can potentially reduce the risk of this disease.

The research evaluated the impact of 3 different diets on weight and insulin blood levels.

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Losing weight seems to be the easiest when you are just starting out on a fat loss program. During the early stage, you are likely to achieve great results pretty quickly. Then, your fat loss comes to an abrupt halt.

What can you do about it?

Try using ’carb cycling’ to help you break the plateau.

Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, has written a great article on carb cycling for fat loss here.

What is carb cycling?

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A nutritional strategy that supports fat loss is the key to reduce belly fat in women. You should be eating foods that supply energy and raise your metabolism. By doing so, you are setting up your body for maximum fat loss.

Here are 5 eating tips for reducing belly fat in women…

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The mid-section is a problem area for many women. They usually try to lose belly fat by performing endless crunches and sit-ups, using ab gadgets, going on fad diets, etc. It’s no wonder they struggled and failed ‘cos they  have been  adopting the wrong fat loss strategies all the while!

Here are 5 tips on how to lose belly fat for women…

1. Be realistic

You must start by setting realistic goals.
- What is your targeted weight loss?
- When can you achieve it?
- How to achieve it?

Some women who are desperate to lose belly fat fast often fall for products/services that promise fast results. The truth is there is no quick fix to losing belly fat. It would have taken months or years of poor eating habits or lack of exercise to gain excess weight. So, don’t expect to lose it within days or weeks.

The key is to aim for gradual weight loss that will last rather than rapid weight loss that won’t stay off.

2. Eat for fat loss

Proper nutrition is the main factor that determines your ability to lose belly fat. In order to achieve a calorie deficit for fat loss, it is easier to reduce your calorie intake from what you eat than to increase your calorie output from exercise.

Running on a treadmill for 30 minutes can burn about 300 calories. The same amount of calorie deficit can be achieved in a few minutes (with less effort) by not eating 5 pieces of chocolate cookies (say, 1 cookie = 60 calories).

Your choice of foods are crucial for nourishing the body, preventing cravings and keeping you satisfied.

What to eat: whole, natural foods such as meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, eggs, nuts and legumes.

What to cut out or cut down: processed foods, fast foods, refined carbs, trans fats and sugar.

Watch this video that explains the 4 foods that you should not eat if you want to lose belly fat for good.

3. Stay active

An effective workout program for women to lose belly fat should include cardio and resistance training. Cardio workout gets your heart rate up and burns calories. It can be a hobby such as swimming, running, cycling or dancing. You can even play sports such as tennis, volleyball or squash. Whatever cardio exercise that you choose, make sure you work out at a high intensity that is effective for burning belly fat.

Resistance training is necessary to build lean muscles that boost your metabolism and shape your body. Don’t worry, women are unlikely to bulk up because their bodies do not produce enough testosterone.

4. Rest & recovery

Exercise causes muscle tissue break down, depletion of energy and stress on the body. Rest is essential for your body to recover and improve. Insufficient rest can lead to over training, injury, poor performance or even weight gain. Take 1-2 days off per week, depending on how vigorous training is.

See also: Lack of Sleep Induces Weight Gain

5. Consistency

Many women complain that they can’t seem to lose belly fat no matter what they have tried. In most cases, it’s not the eating plan or exercise program that doesn’t work but the failure to adhere to it. Which ever workout program that you choose, make sure you stick with it for the specified time period. Your body will adapt if you keep doing the same exercise. To avoid hitting a plateau, make changes to your workout plan so it is still challenging. Only then will your body continue to improve.

Got this whole pumpkin at the local farmer market today… to make baked pumpkin with cinnamon.

It took me a while to develop a taste for pumpkin. This vegetable  is not only highly nutritious, but also fills me up for hours.

Pumpkins are packed with healthy goodness

1.  It is a good source of:

- antioxidants (beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E)

- vitamins (K, thiamin, riboflavin, B6, folate, pantothenic acid)

- minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium)

- dietary fiber

2. A cup of mashed pumpkin (245 gram) has 49 calories only.

3.  It is filling and satiating.

There are so many ways to eat pumpkin: pie, smoothie, pancake, soup, oatmeal. My favourite is baked pumpkin with cinnamon. It’s quick and easy to prepare.

Baked pumpkin with cinnamon recipe

1. You can choose to buy ready-cut pieces of pumpkin for convenience. For a whole pumpkin, I cut 1 or 2 slices about 2 inches wide at the widest part. Remove the skin and seeds.

2. Cut into chunks/wedges and arrange them on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil.

3. Drizzle with olive oil.

4. Sprinkle with black pepper, salt or garlic salt, and cinnamon powder.

5. Pre-heat oven at #5 or 190°C for 5 minutes.

6. Bake at #7 or 220°C until pumpkin is soft. (Test by poking with a fork)

Give it a try and let me know what you think. If you have a favourite pumpkin recipe of your own, please share it in the comments below.

Happy Halloween!

Artificial sweeteners have no nutritional value but only serve to satisfy our sweet tooth. They are made from chemicals which can result in unwanted side effects when ingested. The chemicals are toxins and when metabolised in the body, result in more toxic by-products. Due to the lack of long term human studies, the safety of artificial sweeteners remains unknown.

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Most people who want to reduce their calorie intake from sugar are switching to artificial sweeteners. As the name (artificial) implies, they are not natural at all.

The questions arise… Are artificial sweeteners bad for you? What are the side effects of artificial sweeteners?

What are artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners are a type of sugar substitutes. They are many times sweeter than table sugar (sucrose) and yet, contain no or low calories.

They are commonly used in “sugar-free”, “low sugar” and diet foods and beverages. These include diet sodas, yogurts, chewing gum, jams, baked goods, cereals and candies.

Interestingly, aspartame, sucralose and saccharin were discovered by accident by chemists.

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“Do carbohydrates make you fat?”
“Do all carbs make you fat?”

These are just some of the questions I often get about carbohydrates.

Why you need carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are necessary for your organs to function properly and as a source of energy for the body. As one of the contributory factors to obesity,  carbs have gotten a bad rap. However, not all carbs are bad and knowing which types of carbs to consume is important for optimal health.

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Sit-ups and crunches are the 2 most commonly performed ab exercises. Since almost everyone who wants a flat stomach or 6-pack abs does them, they should be effective, right?

Yes, for damaging your back.
No, for training your abs.

Let’s take a look at each of these 2 ab exercises, to see how they cause more harm than good.

Sit-ups

When performing sit-ups, the illiopsoas muscle is mainly responsible for flexing your torso towards your thigh. The illiopsoas is made up of 2 muscles: psoas and iliacus. The psoas originates from the lower back and the iliacus originates from the thigh bone. Both muscles end at the same point.

During repeated sit-ups, the illiopsoas pulls on the lower back while there is little or no ab engagement. This can cause lower back pain and poor posture. The constant flexing of your spine causes it to become weaker and prone to injury. In addition, your core muscles are not being trained to support and stabilise your spine.

Crunches

Many people would have performed the crunch, not just once or twice, but countless of repetitions. They often do so by going into full spinal flexion. This puts tremendous load on the spinal discs, which can result in disc herniation or bulging.

“Realize that the spine discs only have so many numbers of bends before they damage,” says Dr Suart McGill, professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada and a back-pain clinician. Repeated spinal flexion and bending of the disc increase the risks of disc injury and back problems.

Spinal flexion can lead to a hunch back and/or protruding head. This is not only unsightly, but can eventually lead to poor posture and lower back pain. It’s no wonder that some of the guys at my gym who often perform endless crunches, have rounded backs.

Training the rectus abdominus with repeated sit-ups and crunches while ignoring other core muscles can result in a protruding belly. For good-looking, strong abs, you need to train all of the core muscles (obliques, transverse abdominus, rectus abdominus and back extensors).

A word of advice…

You should stop or avoid doing sit-ups and crunches:
- if you feel back pain after performing them
- if you suffer from lower back pain/injury or other back problems
- even if your back may seem healthy and you feel no pain from performing them (to prevent damage to your spinal discs)

Ab exercises that really work

There are many non-specific ab exercises that are more effective than sit-ups and crunches, to train your core muscles. Not only do these exercises help to develop flat or six pack abs, but also improve core strength and stability. Check out –> Ab exercises that really work

Sit-ups and crunches are two of the most overused ab exercises. Most people would have probably done hundreds of sit-ups, only to discover that they don’t burn belly fat. Those who train the rectus abdominis (six pack muscle) with excessive sit-ups can end up with a protruding belly.

Dangers of performing repeated sit-ups

Sit-ups involve full spinal flexion that compresses the spine. This can lead to disk bulging or herniation. If you are training your abs with sit-ups, you are only damaging your spine.

When performing sit-ups, the illiopsoas muscle is mainly responsible for flexing your torso towards your thigh. The illiopsoas is made up of 2 muscles: psoas and iliacus. The psoas originates from the lower back and the iliacus originates from the thigh bone. Both muscles end at the same point.

During repeated sit-ups, the illiopsoas pulls on the lower back while there is little or no ab engagement. This can cause lower back pain and poor posture. The constant flexing of your spine causes it to become weaker and prone to injury. In addition, your core muscles are not being trained to support and stabilise your spine.

The bottom line … Do sit-ups work as an ab exercise?

Sit-ups do not burn belly fat. Neither do they work for developing flat stomach or six pack abs. Instead of working your ab muscles in isolation, it is better to train them with functional exercises that mimic real life movements. You’ll build strong core muscles, lose belly fat and get good looking abs without sacrificing your back and poor posture.

See also: Ab Exercises That Really Work