Here is a great little article on something I get asked all the time. Alcohol is something which we all enjoy but what does it do if weight loss is our goal.

By Alan Russell Question: Does alcohol make you fat, or is it the mix and food consumed along with it that causes one to gain weight?

Answer:

This is a question often asked near the holiday season, possibly by clients wondering what they can “get away with.” Your question was formed in two parts: “Does alcohol make you fat?” and “…does the food consumed along with the alcohol contribute to weight gain?” Both scenarios are correct.

If you look at the caloric profile of the macronurtients carbohydrate (CHO), protein (PRO) and fat (FAT), each provides a specific amount of energy measured in calories. Basic laws of thermodynamics say that if one’s intake of calories is greater than their expenditure, the excess calories will be stored in the form of body fat. Use the following chart to find the caloric value in foods and drinks.

For example, one 12-ounce beer yields 84 Kcal (12 x 7). On a typical drinking binge, several alcoholic drinks can be consumed, leading to excessive calories consumed for that day. That number alone doesn’t appear too alarming, but multiply that by the number of drinks consumed in one day, one weekend, cumulative amount in one month, and you begin to see how alcohol consumption might increase the storage of body fat. In most instances (not exclusively), many of the food items consumed at parties are high in fat and low in nutrients. Worst case scenario would have your client binging on food and alcohol and then going to sleep without adequate time for digestion. ]]> http://www.bestpracticeliving.com.au/does-alcohol-make-you-fat/feed/ 0 http://www.bestpracticeliving.com.au/what-drives-you/ http://www.bestpracticeliving.com.au/what-drives-you/#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:25:51 +0000 Anthony Gillespie http://www.bestpracticeliving.com.au/?p=1729 I read a very interesting book last week on motivation. It is called Drive by Daniel Pink. If I could summarise it in 20 words or less it would be this. “The intrinsic interest you have in a task will be more powerful than any extrinsic reward you may earn from doing it”

That was probably more than 20 words but it was close! The book was predominantly aimed at business and the management of people but the similarities to what we do with clients is striking. Yes it is good to aim for a 10 or 20 kg loss of body fat or to get a stronger back, but the real goal of adhering to a positive habit of an all round active lifestyle will only be achieved when you actually get to enjoy the process and not just the short term benefits.

Exercise needs to become ‘just something you do’ and the sooner you can get in to that mode the better. The other  main tenet of the book was that, for a task to become intrinsically interesting a person must experience autonomy in doing it, usually a quest for mastery (which never ends) and finally a purpose bigger than themselves.

Well oddly enough the people we have found who become the most successfully healthy and committed are those who end up really ‘getting in to’ some type of exercise or activity, they develop an insatiable quest for mastery of that but also know that true mastery is not possible (therefore endless interest) and lastly they have a purpose which usually involves the encouragement of others.  

So what is your drive then? For true success let’s go a bit deeper than the surface level response that most people give about wanting to ’get fit and tone up a little’!

Fibre is defined as the material in our plant foods that our digestive enzymes cant break down into absorbable nutrients. There are two types of fibre – soluble and insoluble.

Soluble fibre is what the name says – soluble but it is also undigestible carbohydrates. What does it do I hear you ask?

• slows digestion (great for weight loss and feeling full!)
• moderates blood insulin
• moderates blood sugar levels
• reduces cholesterol
• provides energy for beneficial intestinal bacteria which alters the environment to suppress the growth of harmful bacteria
• and improves the overall health of intestinal cells
• Therefore in a nutshell it -protects against heart disease and diabetes.

Insoluble Fibre – speeds the passage of food through the digestive system by adding bulk to the intestinal contents. It also reduces the absorption of carcinogens and other undesirable molecules as the contents spend less time in this highly absorptive area.

Fibre is found in pretty much all of our fruits and vegetables. It would be a mistake to think that a juiced orange or carrot (taking out the fibre content) is as valuable as the whole fruit or vegetable.

EAT WHOLE FOODS and now you know why your mum got on your case as a kid – “EAT YOUR FRUIT AND VEGES!”

1. Quizno’s Large Tuna Melt – While tuna is a good protein source, when it is mixed with high fat dressings the negatives far outweigh the positives. Add to that a large portion size and you manage to create a 1,700-calorie sandwich that provides 133 grams of fat including 26 grams of saturated fat along with more than 2100 mg of sodium.
2. Chili’s Smokehouse Bacon Triple Cheese Big Mouth Burger with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing – Obviously when it takes more than a line to write the title there are too many items in the sandwich for it to be low calorie. This sandwich includes items from a variety of food groups but for most people watching their weight, it also includes more calories than they should have for the entire day with about 1900 calories as well as 138 grams of fat and a whopping 4,201mg of sodium.
3. On the Border Firecracker Stuffed Jalapenos with Chili con Queso – If you are sharing this appetizer with others and only enjoying a taste you are probably fine. However, enjoying the entire 1,950-calorie appetizer yourself will also contribute 134 grams of fat not to mention more than 6,000 mg of sodium to your daily intake.
4. P.F. Chang’s Combo Lo Mein – This noodle dish with chicken, shrimp, beef and pork is recommended to be two servings which helps lower the calorie and sodium damage to your daily intake. However, if you are super hungry and choose to enjoy the entire entrée you will find your daily intake has been set back an additional 1,968 calories, 96 grams of fat and 5,860 mg of sodium.
5. Romano’s Macaroni Grill Parmesan Crusted Sole – A couple of servings a fish each week is recommended for healthy eating however how your fish is prepared does make a difference. This fried fish entrée covered in cheese contributes a massive 2,190 calories, 141 grams of fat and 2,980 mg of sodium.
6. Chili’s Fajita Quesadillas Beef with Rice and Beans with Four Flour Tortillas and Condiments – Fix-it-yourself dishes can be a great way to control portion sizes and limit higher fat condiments that can quickly increase the calorie count. However, they can also hide total intakes when you have more than one like in this complete entrée that includes four servings and a total of 2,240 calories, 92 grams of fat and 6,390 mg of sodium.
7. Uno’s Chicago Grill Classic Deep Dish Individual Pizza – Chicago style pizza is delicious and selecting an individual pizza can seem like a great way to limit the nutritional damage. When you are talking about deep pizza, it is important to remember that all that space provides plenty of room for extra cheese, sauce, and toppings, which contribute over 2,300 calories, 165 grams of fat and 4, 920 mg of sodium as well.

Since most of these food items provide more calories, fat and sodium than recommended for an entire days healthy diet, they are best left on the menu and not on your table. (No kid!: AG editor comment!)

But, at the same time one of the ultimate truisms of life is that it is the journey and not the destination that counts. That is also a hard one to get your head around when goals are what drive us.

I was thinking about all this today when we were out on the kickbike in the cold and the relative dark with a few best practice diehards sweating up a storm around me. It is funny what goes through your head at 6am in the morning! Consistent exercise is one of those things that has the rare quality of having physical, mental, social and it could be argued financial benefits. I suppose it is easy to understand the first three but financial? I can hear you saying, “but hang on I am ‘paying’ for this”. Well yes you are but I can tell you that those who aren’t exercising are paying far more for not. The investment in one’s self is the best that can be made because everything else literally emanates from that base.

A highly functioning body.  

A great mental outlook. 

Many active friends to go on adventures with.

These are the spoils for you my friends,  if you can to consistently quieten that innervoice which screams for the doona or argues for that extra piece of cake.  Winter is the time to get your head right and cement the habit of this thing called exercise!

Now let’s put some numbers and real life examples to you. Lance Armstrong, light body, huge engine and therefore an amazing VO2 max. He has one of the biggest VO2 max scores in the world. He has been tested at around 88ml of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. The average person has about one third of that ability. Obviously there is a certain amount of natural endowment with this particular element of fitness. Lance was standing near the top of the queue when this ability was being handed out. The thing that he also brought to the table was an incredible amount of determination and a tolerance level to withstand some serious discomfort.

So what about us mere mortals? It has been said that your absolute VO2 max can be improved by up to 50% with training. So you can increase the size of your engine significantly, which means you will be able to do so much more with your life where fitness is a limiting factor.

So how do you improve it? No surprises here I guess. You must adhere to some basic principles of training. First you must being doing exercises that use large muscle groups in a repetitive way for an extended period of time. Second you must progressively build how much you do because the body keeps adapting and improving.Another variable you could manipulate is the intensity. You must work at a heart rate intensity of 60-90% of your maximum heart rate, use 220-your age as a rough guide to your maximum heart rate.  Lastly, you must also consider rest and recovery because it is critical to the adaptation process.

If any of you are training for the upcoming Bridge to Brisbane you will know about training programs designed to improve your running endurance performance. You will be increasing your VO2 max and in other words your engine capacity. This will be one improvement that won’t cost you money like getting a bigger car will, on the contrary it could buy you time and improve the scope of your existence. Not a bad result for a bit of effort.

Ask us about the many types of VO2 max tests and how to find out what yours is.

Below is a table of the scores for age and gender. The circled areas are where you want to aim to be!

But before you leave this page to go to the link ponder this – I was thinking the other day about how to make decisions on ’stuff’ in general 

This is how I do it.

I read from a wide variety of sources and the higher quality the beter, e.g. The journal of clinical nutrition is likely to be more trustworthy than New Idea! Secondly I defer to what most research believes to be the ‘truth’ and then lastly I keep an open mind. Just remember that the prevailing thought of the day when Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile was that a humans legs would shatter at that pace! The guys in the white coats aren’t always right!

oils aint oils, Dr Mercola

our core values –

·         Down to earth (friendly & non-intimidating)

We will be down to earth by being friendly to all our clients and by asking the difficult questions with compassion and by holding all clients accountable in a non intimidating way.

·         Inquisitive (life-long dedication to learning, both theoretical and practical)

We will be inquisitive by always asking if there is a better way that we can help clients achieve their goals. We are committed to researching and implementing new improved techniques through a scientific approach and then with on-going evaluation refine what we do.

·         FUN (lots of fun)

We all have a sense of fun and a desire to use improved fitness and health for a more adventurous life, at least in some way. We don’t sweat the small stuff and figure laughter is the best form of ‘treatment’.

OUR PURPOSE –

“Is to help our clients become ‘usefully’ fit so they can do more and do it better, both in work and at play. We believe this will lead to a happier existence for them personally and as a natural consequence – those around them.

join us for the brissie to bay bike ride on the 27th of June will ya? Let’s do something useful with all this fitness! Also let us know if you are coming to our barby on the 25th, the Friday before.

1. Your Name(required)
2. Email(valid email required)
3. Mobile(required)
4. Interested In(required)

 

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1. BRISSIE TO BAY RIDE is coming up on Sunday June 27. Best Practice is putting in a team. After all, this fitness training gig is meant to allow you to do things like this because they are fun and to state the obvious good for you! We are putting in a cycling team and a kickbike team. We already have 14 participants raring to go. It is for a great cause and will be a great day so get on board.
2. Injury Prevention SEMINAR followed by BBQ - Friday 25th June at 7:30pm. We have specialist physio Mary-Anne Litchfield coming along to speak to us about old injuries, current injuries and how to prevent them in the future. Many of us get a niggle here and there at times so this is an EXCELLENT way to learn more about it!
3. HIP HOP CLASS – We told you at the beginning of the year that we would be doing fun things and this is one of them. 5 week class every Tuesday at 6pm starting 22nd June! If you think Ericka is good at Pilates wait until you see her in her element! Get on board because you are sure to have a laugh and enjoy the ability to move…. even if it is out time with the beat

Register your interest to any of the three here!

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Look at the column which has 100g. This will be on every product. Do not look at the serving size column as this will vary with each item of food.

• Fat
  • 20g or more per 100g is HIGH
  • 3g or less per 100g is LOW
  • Females should consume no more than 70g per day
  • Males should consume no more than 90g per day
• Saturated Fat (Bad Fat)
  • 3g or more is HIGH
  • 1g and less is LOW
  • Females should consume less than 20g per day
  • Males should consume less than 30g per day
• Sugar
  • 15g is considered HIGH
  • 2g or less is considered LOW
  • Females should consume no more than 40 – 50g per day (8 – 10 teaspoons)
  • Males should consume no more than 50 – 60g per day (10 – 12 teaspoons)

More info that was handed out from the night can be downloaded here shopping-tour-take-home-message