BLAST FAT AND BUILD MUSCLE

To achieve your better-body goals, pair key ingredients that ramp up fat burn while staving off hunger pains 

Reducing body fat requires not just cutting calories; you have to burn stored fat instead of muscle tissue, too. Our bodies like to hold on to fat, saving it up as insurance against potential starvation.

But supplements can help coax your body into withdrawing from this savings account instead, sparing muscle and extending the time your meals keep you feeling full.

And, as anyone who’s dieted knows, other concerns also arise when you cut calories: You have less energy to perform your workouts and often feel depleted (not to mention cranky).

Outsmart your hunger, boost energy, and ramp up fat burn with a few key ingredients.

1. Burn Through Your Fat Stores

Often, you need to turn to supplemental support to encourage your body to release more stored  fat when you’re in a calorie deficit.

The fruit Garcinia mangostana contains hydroxy citric acid (HCA), which  spurs the release of body fat from storage to help fuel workouts.

Raspberry ketones also encourage your  body to release stored  fat, and support a higher metabolism so you burn even more fat.

And carnitine helps carry body fat released from storage into the mitochondria of cells, where it can then be burned as energy to fuel workouts.

Together, these supplements unpack fat, boost the calories you burn, and allow you to use released body fat  as energy during  intense training.

2. Diet Without Hunger

When you’re cutting calories, you may make it through your workouts without giving in to your cravings, but by day’s end, your willpower is at its lowest and you’re more likely to go off course.

Garcinia cambogia (the better-known cousin of Garcinia mangostana) helps to suppress appe-tite, so you’re not suffering from hunger pains throughout the day.

Satiereal saffron extract showed a decrease in snacking, reduced calorie intake, and increased satiety when subjects supplemented it for eight weeks.

L-Tyrosine, an amino acid, enhances mood, energy, and fat-loss. Together, these three can help reduce appetite so you succeed on your calorie-reduction plan.

3. Knock Out Fat Loss

Slim Science Thermogenic and Slim Science Appetite Suppressant were created with these key ingredients to help you ramp up your fat burn without falling prey to cravings.

The Thermogenic supplement features Garcinia mangostana, carnitine, and raspberry ketones, plus
vitamins B and C, to  help you burn fat over muscle. The Appetite Suppressant is formulated with Garcinia cambogia as part of its Super CitriMax blend, plus Satiereal saffron extract, tyrosine, and other ingredients.

Stack them before each meal, taking three one-capsule dosages each day.

CELLULITE-FREE TIPS

1. Eat a clean, alkaline, unprocessed diet – Eating this way helps to rid your body of toxins. Consider juicing vegetables for even faster, more efective results.

2. Stay hydrated – Drink lots of water and stay away from stimulants and diuretics as much as possible.


3. Change to sea salt – Reined salt dehydrates your body and creates toxicity.

4. Skin brushing and creams – Stimulating the lymphatic system (lymph nodes sit underneath the surface of your skin) through dry bristle skin brushing and massage helps to eliminate toxins by increasing circulation, which also helps to reduce water retention and increase skin irmness. Moisturising also increases the elasticity of your skin so it appears smoother and less lumpy. Most cellulite creams only do one of these functions, but I use a product called Shrink to Fit (stocked at JVL) which does both.

5. Exercise – Sweating releases toxins, while toning with weights irms skin.

6. Potassium – This releases excess water retention in a natural way which, in turn, would eliminate plumpness.

7. EPA and GLA oils – These essential fatty acids not only keep your skin, hair and nails strong and healthy, but they also help to prevent the formation of harmful fatty deposits in blood vessels. They also help to burn the subcutaneous fat that can provide a home for wastematerial, which leads to increased cellulite.

EAT FAT TO LOSE FAT

You eat clean all week, so what’s the harm in trading the turkey burger for a Double Whopper on Friday night? You’ll find it much tougher to get back on the healthy track on Monday because science shows that foods high in saturated fats can impair your good judgment – for up to three days! The study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found that short-term exposure to foods like beef, butter,full-fat cheese and milk, which all contain a type of saturated fat called palmitic acid, turns off the pathways in your brain that make you feel full. Your brain essentially gets hit with a cascade of fatty acids that causes resistance to your appetite-suppressing hormones, leptin and insulin.“You end up eating more of these foods, which can lead toweight gain,” says study author Deborah Clegg,PhD,RD. Simply put, you’re not being told by your brain to stop eating.“If you eat a steak today and a pizza the next day, followed by more high-fat foods, do not rely on feeling full the following day!”explains Clegg. “You will feel hungrier, and you won’t stop eating before you get the ‘full’feeling because your brain has the fats that are blocking you from feeling full.”Scary,yes, but there’s a lot you can do to short circuit this mind-muddling effect.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Look to healthy fat foods as your best pre-emptive strike against weekend cravings. Foods such as natural peanut butter,

seafood,nuts and avocados contain oleic acid,an unsaturated fat that several studies have shown to have quite the opposite effect of palmitic acid: You feel full faster and stay full longer between meals. A diet that’s rich in healthy fats is also associated with lower risks of heart disease and breast cancer(case in point: The Mediterranean diet).Going back to the impact on your brain,healthy fats have long been linked to sharpening your mental acuity, allowing you to better focus on your stay-slim efforts at the gymand on your plate.

SIMPLE FAT SWAPS

In sandwiches: Instead of mayo, add a slice or two Of avocado or mash it up and use as a spread. Or use hummus, a bean-based spread made with olive oil.

On salads: Nix the cheese and bacon bits and use fixings such as sliced toasted almonds or chopped walnuts.

In cereal: Replace whole milk with soy- milk,and top it off with a tablespoon of raw almonds or walnuts.

In stir-fries: Don’t use cooking oils that are high in saturated fat and trans fats such as vegetable oil or palm oil. Opt for a small amount of canola or olive oil.

The take-home message is to not rely on feeling full fromfoods high in satu- rated fat but instead, count on healthy fats to do the trick. Good-bye cravings!

HOW EXERCISE PROMOTES FAT LOSS

Brown fat is a highly thermogenic tissue that converts energy to heat instead of storing it as fat. Exercise promotes fat breakdown and use by causing muscles to release a hormone called PGC1- alpha, which triggers a messenger called BAIBA (beta-aminoisobutyric acid) to increase caloric expenditure— according to a study from Harvard Medical School led by Lee Roberts and Robert  Gerszten. These newly discovered chemicals change white fat in the abdomen into brown fat, which promotes overall fat loss.

This study helps explain why intense exercise promotes fat loss, even though carbohydrates are the principal fuels during exercise  at intensities above 65 percent of maximum effort. Intense exercise  causes more PGC-1 and BAIBA production than moderate-intensity  exercise. In humans, higher BAIBA levels are linked to reduced metabolic risk factors.

Burn Fat With Extra Virgin Olive Oil

As you know, pathologic fat accretion results in obesity. The medical community and pharmaceutical industry have been struggling to address this burgeoning condition in the Western culture— particularly in the United States. Obviously, individuals have also been struggling in their attempts to avoid or correct unsightly  or unhealthy fat gain. Imagine the shame these professionals and people must feel when they realize they  may have been ignoring a risk-free, health-promoting, inexpensive dietary ingredient that can enhance fat loss.

EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil,” popularized by the vibrant and spunky television personality Rachel Ray. Despite an electrifying smile and energetic personality, Rachel Ray does not possess an athletic physique. That may be a result of her goal being flavor, not physiology. EVOO is a staple in Mediterranean  cuisine, underappreciated and underutilized in Northern European and American kitchens. Olive oil is a prominent  component of the Mediterranean diet, highly regarded for  its health-promoting effect— particularly cardiovascular  health. Yet, one never hears of olive oil connoisseurs  extolling the weight-loss and fat-burning properties of EVOO.

Olive oil is graded “extra virgin” based upon the unprocessed manner of extraction and low acidity, as  dictated in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil and other authorities. Not specified in these documents is polyphenol content, an  important factor in the health-promoting effects of  EVOO. Surprisingly, the highest polyphenol content is often found in the “big box” store brands (e.g., Kirkland brand— Costco) of EVOO, and most (69%) imported EVOO  failed when tested for sensory and chemical standards. This may represent shipping and storage (e.g., transit delay, light or heat exposure) issues, or adulteration with inexpensive, lower grade olive oil.

Olive oil has a very high content (77%) of monoun-saturated fat (predominantly oleic acid— 55%), with the  remainder consisting of polyunsaturated (9%) and  saturated fat (14%). In addition to the polyphenols, there  is also a considerable presence of diacylglycerol (DAG). DAG is similar to fat (triacylglycerol or TAG) in that a glycerol backbone is bonded to fatty acids. Fat (TAG)  contains three fatty acids attached to the three binding  sites, whereas DAG has only two fatty acids attached. As  there are three sites (1,2,3), DAG can be designated as 1,2-DAG or 1,3-DAG. EVOO has a higher ratio of 1,2- to  1,3-DAG. All these components contribute to olive oil’s ability to aid in managing weight at the least, if not also aiding in fat loss.

HEALTH BENEFITS

The polyphenols are a complex blend. When examining studies of polyphenol-rich olive oil, it is clear that health benefits are realized in humans, including: cholesterol (total and LDL) and triglyceride reduction, increased HDL (good) cholesterol, improved antioxidant status,  and reduced systemic inflammation. In regards to fat loss, one polyphenol demonstrates real potential as an  adjunct (add-on) to existing obesity treatments. Oleuropein is one of the most potent antioxidants in  olive oil, likely accounting for many of its protective  effects against cardiovascular damage, neurologic  degeneration, and oxidative-related cellular damage. If the findings in animal studies translate to humans,  oleuropein (or the related polyphenol, hydroxytyrosol)  may also protect against hepatic steatosis (fatty liver). When fat infiltrates the liver, due to alcohol abuse, high-fat diets, obesity, or other causes, it leads to harmful changes, such as inflammation and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance precedes type 2 diabetes which not only impedes fat loss, but also places the individual at greater risk of cardiovascular events (e.g., heart attack, stroke) and other disease states.

FAT REDUCTION AND REDUCED INSULIN RESPONSE

More relevant and exciting is oleuropein’s effects on reducing fat. Oleuropein has been noted in published  research to divert stem cells away from becoming fat cells. It is essential when reducing fat cell number to   avoid overwhelming the remaining fat cells. Otherwise, fat cells expand, becoming hypertrophic and secreting  harmful adipokines that increase inflammation. Oleuropein may avoid this consequence by increasing fat burning, accomplishing this by increasing sympathetic tone (adrenalin and norepinephrine release), and uncoupling fat-calorie burning in brown fat.

DAG, or diacylglycerol, is very similar to “regular” dietary fat (TAG), but has distinct effects in the body  that support its use in weight loss. The greatest support  was for 1,3-DAG. DAG has been shown to reduce the  insulin response to a meal, as well as postprandial  triglyceridemia (elevation in blood fat concentration  after a meal). 16-18 DAG oil has also been shown to  increase fatty acid oxidation (burning fat for calories)  using a highly concentrated form. Research on DAG oil was promising, but has been delayed as commercial  sales have been halted due to safety concerns. Manufacturer Kao believes the deodorizing process  creates byproducts responsible for the adverse effects.

INCREASED CALORIE AND FAT BURNING

As mentioned, olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, with oleic acid being the most prominent. Oleic acid is a metabolically beneficial fatty acid, in that it is readily  oxidized, meaning that it is burned for calories rather than being stored as body fat. The net effect can result in an  overall increase in total energy expenditure— in other words, you may end up burning more calories just by consuming  olive oil, and nuts, as opposed to other calorie-equal food sources. Exercise-free calorie burning, even if it is not a huge number, is a benefit to anyone looking to manage or reduce (fat) mass. Oleic acid is not just a calorie source, but also acts directly  or is a precursor to signaling molecules. The last several years have seen the emergence of an appreciation for fatty acid-derived messengers to act as paracrine hormones.  Paracrine hormones act on tissue immediately surrounding  the cells that generate the chemical signal. One such  hormone is called OEA— an acronym for oleoylethanolamide. OEA can be generated from dietary oleic acid, or from oleic acid bound in the membrane of the intestinal epithelial cells.

These cells, which line the inside layer of the small intestine, sense the intake of nutrients. This stimulates an enzyme to cleave (take off) an oleic acid molecule from the  phospholipids that form the cell membrane. Other enzymes  convert the oleic acid into OEA, which interacts with  receptors that signal the brain (via the vagal nerve) that  enough food has been consumed. Once the brain realizes that  the energy needs have been satisfied, eating should stop.

OEA also affects other tissues in manners that aid in fat loss. Exciting research was recently published reporting that OEA stimulates the “browning” of white fat. This is one of  the processes also attributed to the muscle-derived hormone, irisin. “Browning” refers to a metabolic change in  the fat cells that store fat, increasing the number of  mitochondria (fat burning organelles inside the cell) and  enzymes that drive fatty acids into the fat-burning furnace,  rather than the saddle-bags of fat-storing droplets. Not only  are fat cells turned into fat burners rather than fat storage,  these “browned” cells are more sensitive to the signal that  activates this calorie-burning effect. A similar effect is  seen in skeletal muscle, in that OEA stimulates the oxidation of fatty acids (fat burning).

SUPER FOOD

Olive oil provides protective effects against many of the chronic conditions that plague the U.S. Through the actions of its component factors, it activates fat-burning tissues to  favor increased oxidation of fats for calories, or heat loss. The identification of the oleic acid derivative paracrine  hormone, OEA, promises new exciting research in this area.  With the withdrawal of processed DAG oil due to concerns  of the adverse effects of adulterants, olive oil remains as  one of the highest concentrated sources of DAG (5.5%). The  net effect, which appears to require regular consumption of  at least 50 grams daily, appears to be a healthier and fat- reducing metabolism. 

Olive oil alone won’t get you lean. But failing to include olive oil in the diet may impair or even prevent maximal fat loss.

GET CULTURED TO LOSE FAT AND STAY HEALTHY

Forget calories and exercise for a minute and focus on the latest weapon in the war against obesity: bacteria. There’s an entire community consisting of billions of microscopic organisms (microbes) that have made the human gut their home. Without these microbes we wouldn’t be alive today— they help us digest food, make some of the vitamins our body needs, influence endocrine functioning and enhance immune system defenses. But more recent research suggests that the collective population of bacteria in the gut, called microflora, can also keep us lean.

BACTERIA ALONE MAY INFLUENCE WEIGHT
 
In 2006, a groundbreaking study published in the journal Nature uncovered a relationship between gut bacteria and weight. Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis found that lean and obese people had a very different makeup of gut microflora. And the microflora in obese people changed and more closely resembled their lean counterparts when they lost weight. In more recent years, scientists discovered the same phenomena in obese people after gastric bypass surgery— their gut microflora changed considerably. Yet these studies couldn’t identify which came first— does weight loss change gut microflora or, does gut microflora impact a person’s weight and ability to lose weight? To explore this topic in more detail, the same group of scientists conducted a study in a population they could control at all times— rodents.

Knowing obese and lean humans have a considerably different makeup of gut microflora, the scientists took four pairs of twins to rule out any differences in childhood environment and diet that could influence their microbial makeup. Each one had an obese sibling and one lean sibling, and researchers transferred their gut bacteria into the intestines of germ-free mice. The mice that received the bacteria from the obese humans gained more weight and fat than the group that received bacteria from the lean humans, despite no significant differences in food intake between the groups, which suggests that bacteria independently influence weight.

Next they put the obese and lean mice in the same cage and took advantage of a rather disgusting aspect of rodent life— mice eat each other’s feces and therefore share microbes. After dining on their lean counterpart’s poop, bacteria from the guts of the lean mice, specific Bacteroidetes strains, took up residence in previously empty areas in the guts of obese mice, their metabolism improved and they lost weight. Yet the reverse situation didn’t occur: lean mice remained lean. So, in addition to discovering that bacteria from obese humans led to weight gain in previously germ-free mice, they also discovered that transferring bacteria from lean rodents to obese rodents facilitated weight loss.

Taking the research a step further, they examined the effect of diet on microbial transfer. When the obese mice ate a low-fat, high-fiber diet, the beneficial transfer of microbes from the lean mice to the obese mice occurred. However, when given a more typical high saturated fat, low-fiber American diet, the beneficial microbes didn’t populate in the guts of the obese mice, which indicates that this transfer is diet dependent.

CALORIE-RESTRICTED DIETS

While the results of this rodent study suggest a low-fat, high-fiber diet combined with bacterial transfers may be the ticket to weight control, human studies have come to slightly different conclusions. In a study examining how diet affects weight loss in obese humans, scientists found equally beneficial effects resulting from a low-calorie fat-restricted diet and a low-calorie carbohydrate-restricted diet. Both diets resulted in significant increases in Bacteroidetes and proportional decreases in Firmicutes after one year.

Also, a 10-week calorie-restricted diet (10-40% reduction) combined with physical activity resulted in microfloradependent differences in weight loss in obese adolescents. At the end of the intervention period, subject results were divided into two groups, a low weight-loss group (< 4.4 lbs with an average weight loss of 3.08 lbs) and a high weight-loss group (> 8.8 lbs with an average weight loss of 14.96 lbs). Despite the significant between group differences in weight loss and changes in BMI in the high weight-loss group only, there were no differences in reported calorie intake, macronutrients or food groups between the low weight-loss group and high weight-loss group. However, prior to the dietary intervention, the low and high weight-loss groups had a significantly different makeup of gut microflora, which suggests that the bacterial makeup of their guts influenced their ability to lose weight.

At the end of the study, there were no significant changes in bacterial count for any of the analyzed bacterial groups in the low weight-loss group. However, gut microflora changed significantly in the high weight-loss group and some of these changes were diet dependent. Reduced carbohydrate content resulted in a decrease in beneficial Bacteroides fragilis. Likewise, a reduction in polyunsaturated fats, the kind found in nuts, seeds and oils made from nuts and seeds, decreased Lactobacillus group counts.  And therefore, while gut microflora at the start of the study seemed to influence the adolescents’ weight loss, aspects like dietary intervention, decreasing calorie intake, increasing calories burned through physical activity and weight loss also led to changes in gut bacteria at the end of the study. In addition, they found that interactions between gut microbiota and bodyweight changes may be dependent on diet and lifestyle to different extents based on an individual’s microbiota makeup.

Despite the fascinating conclusions drawn from this study, the authors pointed out that they can’t be completely sure that the kids in the low weight-loss group really adhered to the diet and accurately reported their dietary intake, both very common confounding issues in weight-loss intervention studies in obese humans.

CHANGE YOUR DIET

Because we are years away from a targeted pharmacological or dietary approach to selectively increasing specific types of bacteria in the gut, changing your diet is the best approach right now. And, what you eat can help feed as well as populate gut microflora. In particular, prebiotics are specific types of fiber that selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Natural sources of various prebiotic fibers include apples, berries, onions, leeks, garlic, whole grains, wheat, legumes, asparagus and other plant foods. In addition, some packaged foods contain inulin or oligosaccharides, both of which do triple duty by increasing the fiber content of a food while lending a sweet flavor and stimulating the growth of good bacteria. Look for both of these under the ingredient list.

In addition to consuming greater amounts of prebiotics, you may also want to consider probiotics— live bacteria that can temporarily populate your gut. However, choosing probiotics is complicated because there are numerous types, each with a different function in the body. And many strains and species don’t have good research to back their use while some studies used mixtures of probiotics, making it difficult to determine which ones had an effect or if there was a synergistic effect among the different types. So, before you start popping probiotic supplements, know which specific strain and species you need for the intended effect. For instance, there are probiotics on the market that decrease the duration of infant diarrhea, decrease the duration of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, decrease constipation and support immune health. If you are looking for immune support, choosing a probiotic strain and species that helps with infant diarrhea probably won’t do much for you. And although probiotics are considered safe for most people, talk to your physician first— especially if you’ve been seriously ill or you have a compromised immune system.

If you are looking for an alternative to probiotic supplements, choose yogurt. Live strains of bacteria are added to fluid milk to make yogurt. However, not all yogurts are created equally— so look for one that says “live cultures” or has a “Live and Active Cultures” seal on it from the National Yogurt Association, because the bacteria needs to be alive to be beneficial. Top your yogurt with whole grains and you’ll end up with an excellent meal that not only feeds the bacteria in your gut but also populates bacteria there as well. Other foods that naturally contain probiotics include unpasteurized sauerkraut, miso soup (made from fermented soybean paste), fermented soft cheese like Gouda and kefir (a fermented milk drink).

Weight control is multi-faceted, and research is just beginning to uncover the complex relationships between diet, gut microflora and weight. And though poop transfers aren’t completely out of the question in humans— physicians actually perform these now in people suffering from Clostridium difficile (C. diff) bacterial infection, targeted drug or dietary interventions will likely be the wave of the future. Until then, focus on eating a diet that promotes a healthy gut and if you have any weight to lose, it’s possible that you may also lose a few pounds in the process. In particular, a high-fiber diet will help feed the bacteria in your gut and including different types of probiotic rich foods will continually populate your gut with beneficial bacteria.