Nutrition Do's And Don'ts - General And Vegetarians

Hello All,

Here are a few nutrition aspects I've noticed lately about why many people are still struggling to get in shape due to their nutrition...

1. People are drinking WAY too many of these "sports drinks"...

You know, several of the most popular brands that end in "ade". I've even talked to several people lately that didn't even realize how much sugar they were drinking by downing 3-4 of these "sports drinks" every single day.

Some people even seem to have this false notion that sports drinks are "healthy" because the commercials show finely tuned athletes drinking them.  I assure you that there's nothing remotely healthy about sports drinks, nor do they improve your performance in anything.

Most of these sports drinks contain about 15 grams of sugar per 200ml serving... so if someone drinks three 400ml bottles of sports drinks per day, that's an extra 90 grams of pure sugar (360 sugar calories) each DAY!

And that's 90 grams of pure sugar without any real nutrition. Even if some brands add some artificial vitamins to the sugary mix, it's still useless nutrition because it didn't come from real foods.

Someone that drinks 3 sports drinks per day could save approximately 131,000 calories per YEAR by completely cutting out sports drinks. That could equate to approximately 37 lbs! Nearly three stone!

And don't be fooled by the sports drinks that are trying to sell "light" versions now that are lower in sugar, or even sugar-free... they are simply loaded with artificial sweeteners and other chemicals, which could cause even more of a hormonal mess in your body.

AND NOW THE CONTROVERSIAL VEGETARIAN STUFF:

I have a number of vegetarian clients at the moment and one was surprised to discover during a recent visit to me that she was actually eating animal products without knowing it!

This is actually quite common and the biggest culprit is jelly. Some folks eat the sugar free version on their diets, but they don't realize gelatine is made from animal parts (and some pretty weird ones, too).

This conversation made me realise something too…that I rarely provide specific advice for the increasing numbers of vegetarians on the Altered Images Programme. So, with this in mind here are three foods you must NOT eat if you are a vegetarian that wants to lose fat.

#1 Food to avoid on a vegetarian fat loss diet:

Excessive soy products

Most vegetarians consume copious amounts of soy. It is not uncommon to see soy milk for breakfast, soy burgers for lunch and soy ice cream for a late night snack.

These foods can stop your fat loss dead in its tracks. In addition to all of the sugar and salt these products contain, soy has an estrogenic effect in the body. 

Excess oestrogen binds to the fat cells and causes an increase in the size of oestrogen-sensitive fatty tissue such as belly fat.

#2 Food to avoid on a vegetarian fat loss diet:

Flour products

This list of fat loss no-no’s includes: breads, pasta, muffins, cereals and just about all other baked goods.

These foods increase a hormone named insulin in the body which directly promotes the storage of fat. 

Flour also has an inflammatory effect in the body. The last thing you want is inflammation in your joints which can cause pain and prevent you from being active. 

#3 Food to avoid on a vegetarian fat loss diet:

Cheese

Cheese contains animal based saturated fat which has a negative effect on your carbohydrate metabolism. 

In the presence of saturated fat, ingested carbohydrates are directed to your fat cells for storage instead of being diverted to your muscle cells for energy. 

Vegetarian diets are typically higher in carbohydrates and anything that interferes with their utilization should be minimized or completely avoided.

Hmmmm...very controversial...what do YOU think?

That is all for this week folks. Hope you found it useful.

Stay keen and lean.

Adrian Lowther