Posts Tagged Fitness

Dec
4

Eat Fermented Foods and Lose Belly Fat?

Widely available fermented products
 

A really interesting recent study in the European journal of clinical nutrition found that drinking a probiotic rich fermented milk drink over a period of 12 weeks lowered abdominal fat by 5% without any further dietary intervention when compared to a control group.  Abdominal fat was measured using Computer tomography scans, the most accurate measure of body fat.
You can benefit from this information by including fermented products in your diet such as kefir (fermented milk), lassi, sauerkraut, miso,  kombucha and pickled fermentations of cabbage, aubergine, onions, squash and carrots.
For further reading see link below.
 
Jun
1

4 reasons to take a cold shower

You should try it, really, it’s quite invigorating! Here’s why…

  1. Short term cold exposure leads to increased metabolic rate and increased use of fat as a fuel.
  1. Activate brown fat cells – these are the fat cells which burn other fat cells.
  1. Cold water improves your immunity.
  1. Depression – Studies have shown 2-3 minute showers at 20 degrees Celsius to be an effective treatment for depression.  I certainly feel alive after these cold showers!

*Source: Tim Ferris, “The 4 hour Body”

Jun
1

How Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day

How does Michael Phelps consume 12000 kcal per day and be in such athletic shape.  If the caloric load of competitive swimming is only 860 kcal per hour? This was the question Nasa materials scientist Ray Cronise asked himself as he pondered his own weight loss. The answer is Thermodynamics  – water is 24x more thermally conductive […]

Apr
11

Improve Performance with Respiration Training

  Firstly we need to understand that the respiratory muscles serve two purposes; Deliver oxygenated blood to tissues Stabilise the spine and maintain postural alignment Respiratory muscles include the diaphragm, transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, obliques, intercostal muscles and pelvic floor.  All work together in unison to pump oxygenated blood to the tissues and maintain postural alignment.  […]

Feb
15

Can body language effect our physiology?

I wanted to share this TED talk from Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy.  Amy specialises in a social science called nonverbals (also known as body language) http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html We all know that our body language has a powerful effect on our communication with others and how we are perceived.  But did you know that our body language […]