Don’t know what that is for you my friends. And I don’t think any life coach or guru can give you some magical formula to figure it out.More than giving you any awesome diet or training plan, it would be my greatest pleasure in the world to be able to provide that answer for you. Unfortunately, I can’t. I don’t think even the great Ray Lewis could beat it out of you.Ultimately, you’re going to have to take some personal accountability, look at your life, look inside yourself, and come to your own conclusions.As a matter of fact, part of finding your fighting spirit is realizing that you can’t always rely on someone else, or wait for a savior to solve all of your problems. You have to solve them for yourself.What I can do is tell you what has motivated others over my career. Maybe that will give you some ideas.For some, it really was about survival. They had a health problem they had to fix, and their life, or quality of life, was suddenly on the line.
For some, their sport was how they made their living, and food on the table was dependent upon victories.
For some, it was to give them a competitive edge in a career outside of sports. Working out and eating right gave them better energy, cognitive function, and focus behind the desk, allowing them to push harder than the competition, and ultimately crush it. For some, it was about being picked on as kids, and if the world wasn’t going to give them respect, they were going to build themselves up and take it. For some, it was just like what martial arts can be to others – a way to channel negative energy into positive, to learn lessons that translate to life, to find some kind of deeper meaning through physical challenges. Some used nunchucks; others used dumbbells. No matter, either served to fulfill their purpose. For others, it was about getting to be a dick. By flexing their literal muscles in the gym and figurative muscles online, they take great pleasure in making themselves feel important, or making others feel bad about themselves. Although I don’t necessarily agree with that approach, whatever works, man. But don’t let that hate fester in your heart like a bad, covered-wagon fart. It could become toxic and lead to your own undoing. I can tell you some of the things I’m fighting for. I know you don’t really give a shit about me personally, but it’s just to give you ideas.
It’s because I think we’re all searching for the same three things in life: a passion, a sense of purpose, and peace of mind. We just go about it in different ways. It just so happens that I’ve been lucky enough to find all three in this game, and don’t think I could find it anywhere else. I might not be able to tell you how to find your fight. But I can certainly tell you how you’ll know when you’ve found it. There will be no more beginnings or getting back on track. There will be no defined ends as some 90-Day programs promise. There will only be putting one foot in front of the other, in the next step of a never-ending journey.
Days will run into months, months will run into years without ever having to start over. You’ll just keep moving forward. You won’t complain of the struggles. You’ll embrace them, because you’ll know that your ability to push through is what will ultimately separate you from the rest of the pack.
There will be no more New Year’s resolutions, only daily ones. And sticking to them will not be an option. It will be a necessity. You will not find excuses. You’ll find ways.
You’ll stop looking for short cuts and quick fixes, because you’ll know that a worthwhile mission lasts a lifetime. You’ll stop training for gym or virtual high-fives, but rather for personal satisfaction and accomplishment. You won’t have a sport or a hobby. You’ll have a way of life
All of a sudden those 20 different diet and training programs that didn’t work in the past, will all work.
I’m not saying it’s going to make the road any easier. Excellence is never easy – that’s the point. There will be ups and downs, adversity, and setbacks. There will be days where you will absolutely want to quit.
But when you know what you’re fighting for, you will find a way to persevere. The path to success lies in the purpose, not the person. We’re all capable of great things. Ordinary men that had a purpose have achieved great things. Extraordinarily gifted men with no mission have chronically underachieved. Society provides plenty of examples of both.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
MMA TRAINING BY EDDIE WINELAND
KO Power From the Ground Up – 5 Exercises to Build Your Foundation
By Tom Barry | westside-barbell.comEddie Wineland’s strength and conditioning training is just as unconventional as his appearance. Applied Strength & Conditioning coach Jason Gus carefully utilizes the training principles taught by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell to develop Eddie’s absolute strength, explosive strength, and dynamic muscle endurance. The goal of these five exercises is to develop these strength types by targeting the muscles (hips, lower back, and glutes) that give Eddie his knockout power and his never-ending gas tank.
1. Resistance Band GrapplingSets: 2-3, Duration: 5 Minutes
2. “Gus Grapples” Medicine Ball DrillSets: 1, Duration: 5 Minutes
The goal of this exercise is to train Eddie’s overall muscular endurance as well as his ability to recruit his explosive strength at any stage during a fight. To perform correctly, focus on maximal acceleration as you take three steps forward, while simultaneously throwing the medicine ball. It is vital that constant tension is kept on the bands at the start and finish of every movement.
This exercise mimics the central nervous system demands that occur during grappling exchanges against the cage and helps to train Eddie to keep constant forward pressure with his hips. To avoid adaptation, numerous movements with the medicine ball while varying the band tension or changing the ball weight can be implemented (super-set this exercise with sumo deadlifts and your explosive power will go through the roof).
3. Belt Squat Walk (Westside Style)
Sets: 2-3, Duration: 5 Minutes
This exercise is a tremendous hip and glute developer that provides a carryover to Eddie’s kick and knee power. While standing in a wide stance on the boxes, Eddie will “belt squat walk” by shuffling his weight from his right leg to his left leg while contracting his glutes for five minutes. To add variety, he will perform 10-15 reps of high knee strikes to a pad, or he will squat to parallel and then return to walking until the five minute duration is up. To change up the exercise, Eddie will add stronger bands, heavier kettlebells, or swing the kettlebell in order to focus more on stabilization.
4. Sled Drag with Pummeling
Sets: 1, Duration: 5 Minutes
This exercise will build up the entire posterior chain while simultaneously building muscle endurance. Attach a sled to a weightlifting belt around your waist and explosively walk forward with long strides. While walking forward, have your training partner pummel with you for one-minute-on and one-minute-off intervals for the five-minute duration. Remember to always keep walking forward, pulling from the heels.
5. Sled Drag with Atlas Stone Carry
Sets: 10, Duration: 60-Yard Trips
This exercise develops sheer brute force. The awkward position of carrying the atlas stone with a Gable grip presses against the diaphragm, making it hard to breath. This exercise is an incredible conditioning exercise. It will build muscle endurance in addition to developing strength.
Eddie will use a Gable grip (overlap hand grip) around the atlas stone, while pulling his shoulders back and keeping the core of his body tight. He will power-walk forward with a sled for 60 yards and immediately return to where he started.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
The Keys To Jump Start Success GOALS
Have you thought about what you want to be doing in five years' time? Are you clear about what your main objective at work is at the moment? Do you know what you want to have achieved by the end of today?
If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. Without goals you lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows you to take control of your life's direction; it also provides you a benchmark for determining whether you are actually succeeding. Think about it: Having a million dollars in the bank is only proof of success if one of your goals is to amass riches. If your goal is to practice acts of charity, then keeping the money for yourself is suddenly contrary to how you would define success.
To accomplish your goals, however, you need to know how to set them. You can't simply say, "I want" and expect it to happen. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it. In between there are some very well defined steps that transcend the specifics of each goal. Knowing these steps will allow you to formulate goals that you can accomplish.
Here are our five golden rules of goal setting:
Set goals that relate to the high priorities in your life. Without this type of focus, you can end up with far too many goals, leaving you too little time to devote to each one. Goal achievement requires commitment, so to maximize the likelihood of success, you need to feel a sense of urgency and have an "I must do this" attitude. When you don't have this, you risk putting off what you need to do to make the goal a reality. This in turn leaves you feeling disappointed and frustrated with yourself, both of which are de-motivating. And you can end up in a very destructive "I can't do anything or be successful at anything" frame of mind.
Your goal must be clear and well defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don't provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need goals to show you the way. Make it as easy as you can to get where you want to go by defining precisely where you want to end up.
Set Measurable Goals
Include precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply defined as "To reduce expenses" how will you know when you have been successful? In one month's time if you have a 1 percent reduction or in two years' time when you have a 10 percent reduction? Without a way to measure your success you miss out on the celebration that comes with knowing you have actually achieved something.
Set Attainable Goals
Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence.
However, resist the urge to set goals that are too easy. Accomplishing a goal that you didn't have to work hard for can be anticlimactic at best, and can also make you fear setting future goals that carry a risk of non-achievement. By setting realistic yet challenging goals, you hit the balance you need. These are the types of goals that require you to "raise the bar" and they bring the greatest personal satisfaction.
Set Relevant Goals
Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you'll develop the focus you need to get ahead and do what you want. Set widely scattered and inconsistent goals, and you'll fritter your time – and your life – away.
Set Time-Bound Goals
You goals must have a deadline. Again, this means that you know when you can celebrate success. When you are working on a deadline, your sense of urgency increases and achievement will come that much quicker.
If you want to succeed, you need to set goals. Without goals you lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows you to take control of your life's direction; it also provides you a benchmark for determining whether you are actually succeeding. Think about it: Having a million dollars in the bank is only proof of success if one of your goals is to amass riches. If your goal is to practice acts of charity, then keeping the money for yourself is suddenly contrary to how you would define success.
To accomplish your goals, however, you need to know how to set them. You can't simply say, "I want" and expect it to happen. Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it. In between there are some very well defined steps that transcend the specifics of each goal. Knowing these steps will allow you to formulate goals that you can accomplish.
Here are our five golden rules of goal setting:
The Five Golden Rules
1. Set Goals that Motivate You
When you set goals for yourself, it is important that they motivate you: this means making sure that they are important to you, and that there is value in achieving them. If you have little interest in the outcome, or they are irrelevant given the larger picture, then the chances of you putting in the work to make them happen are slim. Motivation is key to achieving goals.Set goals that relate to the high priorities in your life. Without this type of focus, you can end up with far too many goals, leaving you too little time to devote to each one. Goal achievement requires commitment, so to maximize the likelihood of success, you need to feel a sense of urgency and have an "I must do this" attitude. When you don't have this, you risk putting off what you need to do to make the goal a reality. This in turn leaves you feeling disappointed and frustrated with yourself, both of which are de-motivating. And you can end up in a very destructive "I can't do anything or be successful at anything" frame of mind.
2. Set SMART Goals
You have probably heard of "SMART goals" already. But do you always apply the rule? The simple fact is that for goals to be powerful, they should be designed to be SMART. There are many variations of what SMART stands for, but the essence is this – goals should be:- Specific.
- Measurable.
- Attainable.
- Relevant.
- Time Bound.
Your goal must be clear and well defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don't provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need goals to show you the way. Make it as easy as you can to get where you want to go by defining precisely where you want to end up.
Set Measurable Goals
Include precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply defined as "To reduce expenses" how will you know when you have been successful? In one month's time if you have a 1 percent reduction or in two years' time when you have a 10 percent reduction? Without a way to measure your success you miss out on the celebration that comes with knowing you have actually achieved something.
Set Attainable Goals
Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence.
However, resist the urge to set goals that are too easy. Accomplishing a goal that you didn't have to work hard for can be anticlimactic at best, and can also make you fear setting future goals that carry a risk of non-achievement. By setting realistic yet challenging goals, you hit the balance you need. These are the types of goals that require you to "raise the bar" and they bring the greatest personal satisfaction.
Set Relevant Goals
Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you'll develop the focus you need to get ahead and do what you want. Set widely scattered and inconsistent goals, and you'll fritter your time – and your life – away.
Set Time-Bound Goals
You goals must have a deadline. Again, this means that you know when you can celebrate success. When you are working on a deadline, your sense of urgency increases and achievement will come that much quicker.
3. Set Goals in Writing
The physical act of writing down a goal makes it real and tangible. You have no excuse for forgetting about it. As you write, use the word "will" instead of "would like to" or "might." For example, "I will reduce my operating expenses by 10 percent this year," not "I would like to reduce my operating expenses by 10 percent this year." The first goal statement has power and you can "see" yourself reducing expenses, the second lacks passion and gives you an excuse if you get sidetracked. Post your goals in visible places to remind yourself every day of what it is you intend to do. Put them on your walls, desk, computer monitor, bathroom mirror or refrigerator as a constant reminder.4. Make an Action Plan
This step is often missed in the process of goal setting. You get so focused on the outcome that you forget to plan all of the steps that are needed along the way. By writing out the individual steps, and then crossing each one off as you complete it, you'll realize that you are making progress towards your ultimate goal. This is especially important if your goal is big and demanding,5. Stick With It!
Remember, goal setting is an ongoing activity not just a means to an end. Build in reminders to keep yourself on track, and make regular time-slots available to review your goals. Your end destination may remain quite similar over the long term, but the action plan you set for yourself along the way can change significantly. Make sure the relevance, value, and necessity remain high.Monday, June 24, 2013
Life Is What You Put Into It
Ever heard the old saying that “you get out of life what you put into it”? Better yet, how about “nothing ventured, nothing gained”? Everyone has heard these sayings at some point in their life, but what do they really mean? What exactly can you put into life? The answer to that question is up to you. Hard work, determination, and a positive attitude are a few things that come to mind. For example, if you have a goal of having a certain career and you are willing to work hard, get an education, and are determined to succeed, chances are, you will. What about nothing ventured, nothing gained? For some, going back to school may bring them out of their comfort zone, however, if you get out there, go to school, and invest the time and energy in yourself, that will give you the opportunity to be successful, and ultimately … get more out of life. The time to venture is now.
From The Bottom Of Our Hearts
I wont to say thank you to all the parents of the kids I train, because without y'all Underground Fitness would not be here. We are growing each and everyday with new athletes wonting to get better and thats because word of mouth fron the PARENTS. I have been blessed with a great wife and kids that help everyday to keep this going. UNDERGROUND FITNESS WONTS TO THANK EACH AND EVERYBODY THAT HAS HELP. THE MOTTO IS TRAIN WITH YOUR HEART, FAITH, AND GOD AND NOT YOUR POCKET ATHLETES WILL COME.
Raw Foods And Weight loss
Eat more raw foods to lose fat, get lean, and be healthier. Summer is the perfect time to incorporate more raw foods into your diet and research shows that doing so is a simple and delicious way to shed fat and improve your health. Plus, eating more raw fruits and vegetables has been shown to decrease your risk of chronic disease, cancer, and stroke.We’re not talking about eating only raw foods or abolishing your favorite grilled meats and fish. Cooking out is one of the delights of summer, but strategically adding the most unique and delicious raw fruits and vegetables to salads and other recipes is an easy way to get lean fast.
#1 Eat Raw Foods to Decrease Energy IntakeCooking significantly increases the energy available from food. We’ve known for a while that cooking increases the calories available from starches like sweet potatoes, but a recent Harvard University study found that cooking meats, eggs, and vegetables increases the amount of calories your body absorbs from those foods as well.The study compared the effect of feeding mice one of four diets for four days: raw sweet potato, cooked sweet potato, raw beef, or cooked beef. The mice maintained their weight on the cooked diets but lost weight on the raw diets, but they ate more calories on the raw diets! So, despite having higher food intake and ingesting more calories, the mice lost weight simply by eating raw.Researchers think this is due to the need to chew the raw food more and to the greater calories burned from digesting the raw foods. Cooked foods are “pre-digested” and many of the compounds are broken down, resulting in less energy expenditure from digesting cooked food. There is also less water in cooked food, making the cooked diets more energy dense.Eating more of your foods in raw or minimally cooked form will mean you decrease the energy density of the food you eat, and you will experience the various health benefits listed below. You can eat significantly more raw vegetables and fruits to get the same energy intake as if those same foods were cooked or processed, and you’ll get more nutrients and antioxidants too!
#2 Eat the Raw with the Cooked For Best ResultsStudies show people who eat strict or even mostly raw food vegetarian diets have significantly lower body mass indexes, with less body fat, less lean mass, and lower bone density. Although eating a raw diet may seem to be a great solution if you struggle with fat loss, there are some serious negative health effects. Evidence shows raw diets lead to poor fertility in both sexes and that half of women who eat raw diets have impaired ovulation. The reason is likely a combination of low energy intake and lack of healthy fat from which sex hormones are produced.Researchers suggest that raw diets are undesirable from a survival perspective. Cooking makes survival and reproduction much easier and has significantly supported human evolution. Historically, when energy was scarce, cooking increased the calories available from gathered food and it makes meat much more attractive and palatable since it becomes more easily digested, safer, and tastier.Take away the understanding that in the modern, energy dense society, eating cooked food is okay, but optimal health can be achieved by including raw foods in the diet. If you’re trying to lose fat, substituting more raw fruits and vegetables for cooked ones, while eliminating processed foods and cooked grains is a beneficial plan. Be sure to get adequate “smart” fats such as the omega-3s from fish and wild meats, and monounsaturated fats from foods like olive oil avocados for optimal reproductive health.
#3 Eat Raw Foods Instead of Packaged to Lose Fat and Avoid an Energy Imbalance Another finding of the Harvard study is that food labels are significantly underestimating calorie content of cooked or processed foods. Energy content of food is typically based on an accepted calculation of the calories in uncooked and unprocessed food. Heating or processing the food will significantly increase the calories present, but most food labels base the energy content on calculations of raw food.People who rely on these values are lowballing their energy intake, which can obviously lead to fat gain. To stay or get lean, all processed foods should be avoided in favor of whole foods, whether they are cooked or raw.
#4 Eat Raw Produce Instead of Grain-Based CarbohydratesSubstitute grain-based carbohydrates for raw produce to decrease your glycemic load and lose fat. Shifting the balance of a meal toward vegetables and away from refined AND whole grains will mean that your body experiences a much more gradual and moderate insulin response because raw vegetables take much longer to digest.It works like this: In general, grains are digested much faster than vegetables, and digestion breaks the chemical bonds down into glucose or blood sugar. The presence of glucose in the blood triggers the pancreas to produce insulin so that the glucose can be moved into your cells or stored as fat. If you eat fast-digesting grains, your body will produce too much insulin all at once when you don’t need it, which means much of the energy will be stored as fat. Plus, grains are much denser in energy than vegetables, so for every serving of rice or bread you eat, you are getting many more calories than if you ate the same serving of kale, broccoli, or salad.
#5 Eat Raw Foods Before Taking a Bite of Cooked Food—You’ll Ingest Less Energy OverallA fascinating new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine using college students found that whichever food the students ate first from their plate ended up being the food they ate the most of at that meal. So, the students who started with vegetables ate more veggies overall, which translated into them eating less high-glycemic carbs (the other choices were dinner roles and French fries) and less energy overall.The research group suggests that as long as you see and eat the same volume of food, you are likely to feel full and satisfied despite the lower intake in energy. Making it a habit to always eat raw fruits and vegetables first before taking a bite of cooked food can produce significant fat loss in the long term.
#6 Eat Raw “Water-Rich” Foods to Lose Fat & Improve Cardiovascular HealthEating more “water-rich” raw fruits and vegetables is an easy way to increase your water intake to maintain hydration and lose fat. In fact, a compelling study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritioncompared a reduced fat diet with a reduced fat diet that included more water-rich fruits and vegetables. Participants were counseled on how to reduce fat from their diet so that they ended up eating 28 percent of their calories from fat, 54 percent from carbs, and 18 percent from protein.Results showed that the “water-rich” food group lost an average of 17 pounds, about 3 more than the reduced fat group by the end of the one year study. Since they were eating more of their diet from fruits and vegetables, they took in 113 fewer calories daily than the reduced fat group, but they ate 25 percent more food daily! They reported significantly less hunger than the other group, and improved their cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure more than the reduced fat group, indicating better overall health.
#7 Eat Raw To Make You Chew More and Improve Hormone Response to FoodIt’s well known that people who chew their food more times will eat less, but it is a surprisingly hard practice to consistently perform. Eating raw foods before any other food type is the easiest way to force yourself to chew more—just the fact that you are eating crunchy, fresh food will remind you to work your jaw a few extra times for each bite.A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritionfound that obese people naturally chewed fewer times and ingested more food than lean participants. Chewing the food 40 times before swallowing rather than 15 times resulted in a 12 percent lower energy intake.Ingestion rate strongly correlated with the number of chews per gram of food, but perhaps more interesting, the greater the number of chews per bite was associated with a better hormone response to the food. The hormone ghrelin (increases appetite) was lower in participants who chewed more, and the hormones CCK and GLP-1 (decrease feelings of hunger) were higher when participants chewed more, regardless of body weight status. Increased chewing is thought to release nutrients from food more efficiently, which leads to this better physiological hormone response to food.
#8 Eating Raw Produce Is One of the BEST Ways to Increase Fiber IntakeStudies show that dietary fiber intake is associated with less body fat and researchers have suggested that simply getting enough fiber can be a treatment for the obesity epidemic. The average American adult fiber intake is less than half of the government recommendation, and less than 3 percent of Americans are thought to get adequate fiber! Plus, a variety of studies have shown that increasing fiber content can produce greater fat loss than a diet with reduced fat but no increase in fiber—one 2010 study showed that a high-protein, high fiber diet produced 2.2 pounds more fat loss than a standard diet with reduced fat.Eating raw foods at every meal is the easiest way to boost your fiber intake and lose fat. Fiber helps slow digestion and decrease the blood sugar response, and greater fiber intake is linked to less disease risk. In addition, if you are eating lots of protein you need even more fiber—the 2010 study mentioned above included at least 35 grams of fiber a day.
#9 Eat Raw To Get More Fruits and Veggies to Prevent Cancer & StrokeA large-scale European study found that participants who ate more raw vegetables had less risk of ischemic stroke (a blood clot in a brain blood vessel), and raw fruit intake was associated with lower rate of hemorrhagic stroke (a blood vessel in the brain becomes weak and bursts open). Overall, an intake of raw fruit and vegetables of more than 262 grams a day (roughly two cups a day) resulted in a 30 percent lower risk of stroke than a low intake of less than 92 grams a day.There’s a wealth of studies that link the intake of antioxidant-rich produce with less cancer risk (thyroid, breast, and prostate). A clear outcome of these studies is that processed produce (fruit cocktail, canned vegetables) aren’t associated with cancer prevention. Plus, raw vegetables have been shown to be much better than cooked vegetables because the cooking causes a dramatic drop in antioxidant and vitamin content.
For example, an analysis of cooked and raw kale found that cooking the kale decreased vitamin C content by 89 percent, polyphenols by 56 percent, and zinc by 13 percent. Antioxidant activity of the cooked kale dropped to 38 percent of the raw.Opt for antioxidant-rich foods such as dark red, blue, and purple fruits, and dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, chard, and collards. Deep orange fruits and veggies, tomatoes, white turnips, and grapes have been highlighted in studies as being especially high in antioxidants.
#1 Eat Raw Foods to Decrease Energy IntakeCooking significantly increases the energy available from food. We’ve known for a while that cooking increases the calories available from starches like sweet potatoes, but a recent Harvard University study found that cooking meats, eggs, and vegetables increases the amount of calories your body absorbs from those foods as well.The study compared the effect of feeding mice one of four diets for four days: raw sweet potato, cooked sweet potato, raw beef, or cooked beef. The mice maintained their weight on the cooked diets but lost weight on the raw diets, but they ate more calories on the raw diets! So, despite having higher food intake and ingesting more calories, the mice lost weight simply by eating raw.Researchers think this is due to the need to chew the raw food more and to the greater calories burned from digesting the raw foods. Cooked foods are “pre-digested” and many of the compounds are broken down, resulting in less energy expenditure from digesting cooked food. There is also less water in cooked food, making the cooked diets more energy dense.Eating more of your foods in raw or minimally cooked form will mean you decrease the energy density of the food you eat, and you will experience the various health benefits listed below. You can eat significantly more raw vegetables and fruits to get the same energy intake as if those same foods were cooked or processed, and you’ll get more nutrients and antioxidants too!
#2 Eat the Raw with the Cooked For Best ResultsStudies show people who eat strict or even mostly raw food vegetarian diets have significantly lower body mass indexes, with less body fat, less lean mass, and lower bone density. Although eating a raw diet may seem to be a great solution if you struggle with fat loss, there are some serious negative health effects. Evidence shows raw diets lead to poor fertility in both sexes and that half of women who eat raw diets have impaired ovulation. The reason is likely a combination of low energy intake and lack of healthy fat from which sex hormones are produced.Researchers suggest that raw diets are undesirable from a survival perspective. Cooking makes survival and reproduction much easier and has significantly supported human evolution. Historically, when energy was scarce, cooking increased the calories available from gathered food and it makes meat much more attractive and palatable since it becomes more easily digested, safer, and tastier.Take away the understanding that in the modern, energy dense society, eating cooked food is okay, but optimal health can be achieved by including raw foods in the diet. If you’re trying to lose fat, substituting more raw fruits and vegetables for cooked ones, while eliminating processed foods and cooked grains is a beneficial plan. Be sure to get adequate “smart” fats such as the omega-3s from fish and wild meats, and monounsaturated fats from foods like olive oil avocados for optimal reproductive health.
#3 Eat Raw Foods Instead of Packaged to Lose Fat and Avoid an Energy Imbalance Another finding of the Harvard study is that food labels are significantly underestimating calorie content of cooked or processed foods. Energy content of food is typically based on an accepted calculation of the calories in uncooked and unprocessed food. Heating or processing the food will significantly increase the calories present, but most food labels base the energy content on calculations of raw food.People who rely on these values are lowballing their energy intake, which can obviously lead to fat gain. To stay or get lean, all processed foods should be avoided in favor of whole foods, whether they are cooked or raw.
#4 Eat Raw Produce Instead of Grain-Based CarbohydratesSubstitute grain-based carbohydrates for raw produce to decrease your glycemic load and lose fat. Shifting the balance of a meal toward vegetables and away from refined AND whole grains will mean that your body experiences a much more gradual and moderate insulin response because raw vegetables take much longer to digest.It works like this: In general, grains are digested much faster than vegetables, and digestion breaks the chemical bonds down into glucose or blood sugar. The presence of glucose in the blood triggers the pancreas to produce insulin so that the glucose can be moved into your cells or stored as fat. If you eat fast-digesting grains, your body will produce too much insulin all at once when you don’t need it, which means much of the energy will be stored as fat. Plus, grains are much denser in energy than vegetables, so for every serving of rice or bread you eat, you are getting many more calories than if you ate the same serving of kale, broccoli, or salad.
#5 Eat Raw Foods Before Taking a Bite of Cooked Food—You’ll Ingest Less Energy OverallA fascinating new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine using college students found that whichever food the students ate first from their plate ended up being the food they ate the most of at that meal. So, the students who started with vegetables ate more veggies overall, which translated into them eating less high-glycemic carbs (the other choices were dinner roles and French fries) and less energy overall.The research group suggests that as long as you see and eat the same volume of food, you are likely to feel full and satisfied despite the lower intake in energy. Making it a habit to always eat raw fruits and vegetables first before taking a bite of cooked food can produce significant fat loss in the long term.
#6 Eat Raw “Water-Rich” Foods to Lose Fat & Improve Cardiovascular HealthEating more “water-rich” raw fruits and vegetables is an easy way to increase your water intake to maintain hydration and lose fat. In fact, a compelling study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritioncompared a reduced fat diet with a reduced fat diet that included more water-rich fruits and vegetables. Participants were counseled on how to reduce fat from their diet so that they ended up eating 28 percent of their calories from fat, 54 percent from carbs, and 18 percent from protein.Results showed that the “water-rich” food group lost an average of 17 pounds, about 3 more than the reduced fat group by the end of the one year study. Since they were eating more of their diet from fruits and vegetables, they took in 113 fewer calories daily than the reduced fat group, but they ate 25 percent more food daily! They reported significantly less hunger than the other group, and improved their cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure more than the reduced fat group, indicating better overall health.
#7 Eat Raw To Make You Chew More and Improve Hormone Response to FoodIt’s well known that people who chew their food more times will eat less, but it is a surprisingly hard practice to consistently perform. Eating raw foods before any other food type is the easiest way to force yourself to chew more—just the fact that you are eating crunchy, fresh food will remind you to work your jaw a few extra times for each bite.A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritionfound that obese people naturally chewed fewer times and ingested more food than lean participants. Chewing the food 40 times before swallowing rather than 15 times resulted in a 12 percent lower energy intake.Ingestion rate strongly correlated with the number of chews per gram of food, but perhaps more interesting, the greater the number of chews per bite was associated with a better hormone response to the food. The hormone ghrelin (increases appetite) was lower in participants who chewed more, and the hormones CCK and GLP-1 (decrease feelings of hunger) were higher when participants chewed more, regardless of body weight status. Increased chewing is thought to release nutrients from food more efficiently, which leads to this better physiological hormone response to food.
#8 Eating Raw Produce Is One of the BEST Ways to Increase Fiber IntakeStudies show that dietary fiber intake is associated with less body fat and researchers have suggested that simply getting enough fiber can be a treatment for the obesity epidemic. The average American adult fiber intake is less than half of the government recommendation, and less than 3 percent of Americans are thought to get adequate fiber! Plus, a variety of studies have shown that increasing fiber content can produce greater fat loss than a diet with reduced fat but no increase in fiber—one 2010 study showed that a high-protein, high fiber diet produced 2.2 pounds more fat loss than a standard diet with reduced fat.Eating raw foods at every meal is the easiest way to boost your fiber intake and lose fat. Fiber helps slow digestion and decrease the blood sugar response, and greater fiber intake is linked to less disease risk. In addition, if you are eating lots of protein you need even more fiber—the 2010 study mentioned above included at least 35 grams of fiber a day.
#9 Eat Raw To Get More Fruits and Veggies to Prevent Cancer & StrokeA large-scale European study found that participants who ate more raw vegetables had less risk of ischemic stroke (a blood clot in a brain blood vessel), and raw fruit intake was associated with lower rate of hemorrhagic stroke (a blood vessel in the brain becomes weak and bursts open). Overall, an intake of raw fruit and vegetables of more than 262 grams a day (roughly two cups a day) resulted in a 30 percent lower risk of stroke than a low intake of less than 92 grams a day.There’s a wealth of studies that link the intake of antioxidant-rich produce with less cancer risk (thyroid, breast, and prostate). A clear outcome of these studies is that processed produce (fruit cocktail, canned vegetables) aren’t associated with cancer prevention. Plus, raw vegetables have been shown to be much better than cooked vegetables because the cooking causes a dramatic drop in antioxidant and vitamin content.
For example, an analysis of cooked and raw kale found that cooking the kale decreased vitamin C content by 89 percent, polyphenols by 56 percent, and zinc by 13 percent. Antioxidant activity of the cooked kale dropped to 38 percent of the raw.Opt for antioxidant-rich foods such as dark red, blue, and purple fruits, and dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, chard, and collards. Deep orange fruits and veggies, tomatoes, white turnips, and grapes have been highlighted in studies as being especially high in antioxidants.
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