A major issue with dieting is dealing with feeling hungry. Losing weight has a large mental component to it and dealing with hunger is a major road block for many people. The inability to deal with hunger while dieting can be one of the biggest reasons why many people fail on their diets. They can’t deal with the hunger and thus end up snacking and eating foods not on their plan. This leads to consuming too many calories and no weight loss.

Fortunately there are several things that you can do to help harness your hunger pangs so that you can stay in a caloric deficit and continue to lose weight. How do we do this? Just trick your body into thinking that it is full and that it is eating more food/calories than it really is.

The first thing you can do it eat more green leafy (spinach, kale, lettuce) and/or fibrous vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, etc). These kinds of vegetables have a lot of ‘bulk’ to them but not a lot of calories. A lot of the bulk is actually just extra water within the vegetables. This means you can eat a lot more food without consuming extra calories. You actually trick your body in two different ways. The first is visually. There is a big difference from a psychological perspective when you sit down to eat a plate overflowing with food vs. a plate that just has a few pieces scattered on it.

The second trick occurs in your stomach. Your stomach has stretch receptors that signal the brain, letting it know your stomach is full and that you should stop eating. These receptors don’t sense calories, they sense volume. Eating lots of green leafy and fibrous vegetables will activate these stretch receptors and you’ll feel full even on fewer calories.

The next ‘eat less feel full’ strategy is to eat protein with every meal. Protein does a couple different things to make your body feel fuller. First, eating protein does not cause a blood sugar roller coaster as with eating carbohydrates. Eating lots of carbohydrates will cause your blood sugar to rise and then fall. The fall in blood sugar will signal your brain that you need to eat – this especially occurs when eating white processed carbs.

Protein also stimulates the release of a compound called CCK (Cholecystokinin). CCK is a satiety peptide hormone that when released can interact with your nervous system to signal your brain that you have had enough to eat.

As you can see these two simple strategies – eat more green leafy vegetables and consume protein at every meal are very simple but they have complex biological and biochemical repercussions which signal your body that you have had enough to eat. Controlling hunger is key and these dietary ‘hacks’ will help you maximize satiety while dieting, control hunger, and lose weight.

Discover 4 ‘Hacks’ to Help you lose more weight faster (how does 20lbs in 30 days sound?) This Incredible Weight Loss System Has Helped Thousands of People Lose 10,15, and 20lbs of Nasty Fat In 28 Days Or Less. Click here To Lose 20 Pounds.

Mike Roussell is an author and nutrition doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University. Mike writings can be found in Men’s Health and Men’s Fitness and Ironman Magazines in addition to the internet’s largest bodybuilding and fitness website – T-Nation.com. Learn more at http://www.warpspeedfatloss.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Roussell

Staying with the chicken theme, search your supermarket for ground chicken breast to use in any recipes where you may have used ground turkey. The ground chicken breast is much more moist than turkey and has a better taste (to me, at least). I know it depends on where we shop, as not every supermarket has it, but I know that Perdue is one of the brands. Alternatively, if you live near a quality butcher, they can easily grind fresh chicken breasts for you, and they may actually be a bit fresher.

Finally, my last chicken-related tip is to utilize rotisserie chickens. They are available at most supermarkets and even at the warehouse clubs. They are extremely versatile and most often generate multiple meals. One quick tip – DO NOT FEAR THE DARK MEAT!

Dark meat poultry catches a bad rap, but in fact, contains a tremendous amount of nutrients. The dark color comes from a chemical compound in the muscle called myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen transport. Dark meats must use myoglobins as they transfer oxygen more efficiently to the muscles than glycogen. Muscles used more frequently, get to be dark. This is why non-flying poultry drumsticks are dark meat, while breast meat is white. When dark meat is cooked it turns the myoglobins to metmyoglobins, which is brown/gray. Metmyoglobins are very high in iron.

Dark meats tend to contain more zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12, amino acids, iron than white meat. Chicken dark meat contain vitamins A, K, B6, B12, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, minerals as selenium, phosphorus and zinc. Even the fats in most of the dark meats have healthy parts. They contain Omega-3, and Omega-6 fatty acids, and other “healthy‟ fats. To reduce the saturated fat content of dark chicken meat, simply remove the skin!

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

02-22-10

Munich (dpa) – Obese people lose weight at high altitudes and keep it off for at least four weeks, according to a team of German scientists.

Independent of any other change in lifestyle, high altitudes appear to increase metabolism, decrease appetite and lower diastolic blood pressure, the researchers report in the journal Obesity.

Understanding the mechanisms behind this weight loss could provide a basis for new treatments for obesity, they say.

Florian Lippl and colleagues at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich studied the effect of living in high altitudes for one week on the body weight of 20 obese males, while no other change was made to their exercise routine or food availability.

At the end of the week, their body weight, food intake, and diastolic blood pressure had been significantly lowered, effects that were still present four weeks after returning from high altitude.

The low levels of oxygen present at high altitudes could be responsible for an observed increase in leptin, a hormone thought to suppress appetite, though the causes of this need to be further studied, the researchers say.

The lasting weight reduction seen at high altitudes is primarily due to an increased metabolism and decreased food intake, though the reasons behind these changes remain unclear and may be a temporary effect of the body acclimatizing to new surroundings.

Researchers at Fudan University divided 182 moderately overweight Chinese men and women to receive beverages containing varying amounts of catechins for 90 days.  By the end of the study, total body fat and body fat percentage were lower in the group that received the highest amount of catechins compared to the control group.  In the highest catechin group, intra-abdominal fat area and weight were lower, and waist circumference averaged 1.9 centimeters less than those who received the control beverage.

“In this latest research, green tea providing significant catechin levels helped promote weight loss and positively affected body shape,”  lead researcher Dr. Niels Boon concluded.

You can get my recommendation for green tea capsules here.

As part of AmeriHealth’s Healthy Lifestyles program, they will reimburse up to $150 of your fitness center fees and $200 of class fees for approved weight management programs.  It’s a win-win: for you, as it eliminates one more barrier to getting healthy, and could lead to other financial benefits like fewer co-pays, lower food and clothing costs, and less gas used; for them, healthier subscribers means fewer insurance claims.  The program also provides substantial discounts for alternative health (like acupuncture, massage therapy, and dietetics) as well as other programs for smoking cessation and healthy maternity.

Check with your health care provider to see if they offer similar programs – it could be just the kick-start you need to getting the weight off for good!

Seriously, the most important part of the process is arming yourself with the CORRECT knowledge. If you know how your body works…why it stores belly flab…what actually causes it to burn off…you’re a whole lot better off.

Now, I know there are a ton of so-called experts out there that are confusing the heck out of you. I know a lot of people tell you different things. It can be as frustrating as all get out. But if you follow these simple rules and burn them into your brain things will be a lot different.

Anyway, let’s get to today’s easy lesson. Check this out:

- Increased Protein intake triggers the hormone Glucagon.

- This, in turn, prevents the spiking of your Insulin (which is also a hormone) levels.

- Which simply means you minimize the chance of storing blood sugar as fat.

In other words, eat more protein and you bust the belly flab. Sure, there’s more to it than that, but that is the crux of it. And so long as you understand the basics you can KEEP the belly flab from coming back.

When you only eat carbs your Insulin levels go through the roof. And all that blood sugar (that’s what the carbs turn into after you’ve eaten them) which isn’t needed by your body MUST go somewhere. Yup, it goes to your belly; or your butt; or your hips; or your thighs…

The best part is, it’s not very hard to consume more protein. In fact, it’s pretty darn easy. A high quality protein powder will do just the trick.

As you’ve probably heard, my buddies over at Prograde Nutrition have launched their new Prograde Protein powder this week. I wanted to be sure you knew today is the last day you can get it at 10% off. Yeah, they were offering a discount on it just this week to celebrate it’s arrival. But the offer ends TONIGHT at 11:59pm EST so hurry over to Prograde Nutrition to take advantage of it.

I cannot recommend Prograde Protein highly enough. These guys create the highest quality products out there. Save 10% by getting yours right NOW before you forget

The study reviewed the brain images of 94 people in their 70s. They were followed for five years, and it was discovered that clinically obese people had 8% less brain tissue, while simply overweight people had 4% less brain tissue compared to normal-weight humans.

“The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than their healthy counterparts, while those of overweight people looked 8 years older,” study leader Paul Thompson said. “This is the first study to show physical evidence in the brain that connects overweight and obesity and cognitive decline.”

Well, what you should be talking about instead is, “How do I get more lean Protein into my eating plan?”

Now THAT is the right question.

You see, Protein is where it’s at. Check out these two little known facts about protein:

1) Protein requires more calories to digest than carbs or fat. This is called the “thermic effect of food.” In other words, your body uses more calories to digest protein than other nutrients. Pretty sneaky, huh?

2) Protein provides satiety. That’s a fancy way of saying you feel fuller for longer when you eat protein

Good sources of Lean Protein come from foods such as:

Fish, eggs, poultry, lean beef…

But some people have trouble eating enough protein each day. Some people would like it to be more convenient for them.

If that’s the case with you then I have VERY good news. And it’s news I’ve been waiting to tell you for some time now.

My buddies over at Prograde Nutrition have finally released their pharmaceutical quality whey protein.

You see, not all Protein powders are created equal. Prograde Protein:

- Delivers unparalled purity through low-temperature mirco-filtering

- Is naturally sweetened with Stevia

- Contains 5.3 grams of branch chained amino acids per serving

- Mixes instantly with just a spoon

- Enhances absorption and digestion via lactase and Aminogen digestive enzyymes

Look, I’ve been waiting patiently for Prograde Protein to come out. But as usual, Prograde just would NOT release this product until they could get it as close to perfect as possible.

The best part is they are putting it on sale this week to celebrate it’s launch. You can get it at 10% off this week ONLY. Just go to http://mattlisk.getprograde.com/protein-powder.html and you’ll find all the details. Including the coupon code to use when you order to get the 10% off your order.

But you need to hurry. For one thing, the special price ends this Friday, November 13th at 11:59pm EST. The other thing is, well, I cannot begin to tell you how highly anticipated Prograde Protein has been. There’s a very good chance they’ll be out of stock well before Friday even gets here!

So get yours NOW.

PS – Prograde Protein is NOT just some run of the mill protein powder you can find anywhere. They’ve really hit a home run with this one.

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Mike: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. First so we all have some perspective, how long have you been a trainer?

Alwyn Cosgrove: I started training people in 1989. Actually 1987 if you count teaching martial arts classes.
In 1995 (after college) I went full time. Since day one I’ve been very particular about what I do. I track and tweak everything. When we opened Results Fitness in 2000, we really started to gather a lot of data. We currently have 250 members and we track all their workouts and body comp changes week in and week out.

Mike: So it is like you run your own fat loss studies at your gym?

Alwyn: Exactly. We had read all the studies showing interval training to be superior for fat loss than steady state training. This confirmed what we were seeing with our clients. But I am a big belier in that there is no physiological limit to the amount of weight a person can lose in a week, month, or year so I kept tweaking and tracking the results.

Mike: What has been one of your biggest breakthroughs lately?

Alwyn: One day it hit me — cardiovascular programming is an ass-backwards concept.

I don’t know when I first thought this – but it was confirmed to me when viewing Lance Armstrong’s performance in the New York Marathon.

I’d been taught through my college education and countless training certifications and seminars that cardio vascular exercise was necessary to improve the cardio vascular system and subsequently aerobic performance.

But there seemed an inherent flaw in that argument….

Why didn’t Lance Armstrong – with perhaps one of the highest recorded VO2 max levels in history – win the New York Marathon? Or beat people with lesser aerobic levels than himself?

The greatest endurance cyclist (and possibly endurance athlete) of all time – the seven time Tour De France winner – finished 868th and described the event as the “hardest physical thing” he had ever done.

Runner’s World Magazine actually examined Lance’s physiology (and VO2 max which was tested at 83) and compared them to the numbers of Paul Tergat (the World Record holder and defending NYC Marathon Champion at the time).

They concluded:

“This figure wouldn’t mean much if it weren’t for the pioneering research of famed running coach Jack Daniels, Ph.D., who first published his Oxygen Power tables in 1979– According to Daniels, who’s rarely off by more than a smidgen or two, a max VO2 of 83 is roughly equivalent to a 2:06 marathon”

Based on his other physical qualities the magazine suggested that Lance was capable of running 2:01:11.

The world record at the time was 2:04:55

Lance ran 2:59:36 (and don’t misinterpret me – that’s still a great time). But it’s clear that the physiology didn’t transfer the way event he running community expected.

The flaw in this thinking was looking solely at aerobic capacity — VO2 max – the “engine” as it were. And it’s fair to say that Lance had a “Formula One” engine.

But he didn’t have the structural development for running. Lance was a cyclist – his body had adapted to the demands of cycling. But NOT to the specific demands of running (in fact Lance had only ran 16 miles at once EVER prior to running the marathon). Lance had developed strength, postural endurance and flexibility in the correct “cycling muscles” – but it didn’t transfer to running the way his VO2 max did.

From this example we know that cardio training doesn’t transfer well from one activity to another – and it only ‘kicks’ in because of muscular demand – why don’t we program muscular activity first – in order to create a cardiovascular response. Makes total sense.

So how does this relate to fat loss? We have found that our most successful fat loss programs center around stimulating the muscles to burn more calories not ramping up and down the cardiovascular system. What matters is total calories burn and how much you can increase the person’s metabolism. It is a total shift in thinking.

Mike: Wow. So it is this the death of intervals and cardio? How to you put this into action with clients?

Alwyn: What we have found is so great about this approach is that you burn more calories, lose more weight, while putting a lot less stress on your joints.

Here’s how I like to think about it. Let’s look at traditional interval training which uses running.

Depending on stride length – walking a mile takes about 2000 repetitions and running takes 1000-1500 and will burn on average 100 calories or so.
So if we use an interval training model of running and walking – we’re looking at around 1500 reps to burn 100 calories.

If we take traditional models of caloric burn – this means we’d need to do 35 miles to lose one pound of fat from our interval training efforts discounting the metabolic afterburn for now).

So we have a problem. It’s a very poor “rate of return” on our “rep investment”.

Additionally – running applies a vertical force of 2x bodyweight on the joints of the lower body.

So now we have a dilemma.

Let’s choose a 180lb deconditioned overweight client.
1500 reps x 360lbs = 540,000lbs of force to burn 100 calories. (The 360lbs is 2x 180lbs)

That’s a lot of stress on the joints. Now no one was getting injured, but it seemed like there had to be a better way.

So — we started to think of how we could use different interval training methods other than running to get the same metabolic effect without stressing the joints so much.

We used the airdyne bike, other bikes in order to create a training effect with less load. But whenever you take the bodyweight out of the equation in cardio – you have to work harder to burn the same calories. So this usually needs more reps. So that didn’t seem like a much better idea.

At this point we started using metabolic training with weight training implements/kettlebells and bodyweight in the same interval format.

So a circuit of five exercises, performed three times round (15 total sets) would actually burn more calories than the same time spent doing traditional cardio. That was a plus.
But we could also do sets of 10-15 reps. So we’re looking at 225 total reps (with a force LESS than your bodyweight) as opposed to 1500+ reps at double bodyweight.

We gave it a try. Clients loved it (which was a plus), and actually started to get better results than we were getting with intervals.

So we get more fat loss, less stress on the body, and happier clients. It is a win-win-win. Currently we don’t program traditional interval training our regular fat loss clients.

So, yeah…it is the death of traditional intervals.

You can get a sample workout using this kind of training program at:

http://www.warpspeedfatloss.com

Mike: This is great stuff. Thanks for taking the time. I definitely recommend that everyone go to:

http://www.warpspeedfatloss.com
and pick up the workout to try.