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Health, Nutrition, performance nutrition

The Cortisol Connection

Reduce Stress, Maximise Performance?

This month I wanted to cover why we are all in danger of getting burnt out by the stressful living we all seem to endure in this modern world we live in. Everything in life moves way too fast and our bodies just aren’t keeping up. Financial, relationship, work, nutrition, environmental and digestive stress are just some of the things that are having a major impact on your health and you may not even know it.

On top of that, being chronically stressed all the time will certainly hammer any performance gains, in fact the more stressed you are for longer, the fatter you will become.

Heres why….

The body is a complex animal, whilst we get on day by day doing our thing, our bodies are waging a constant struggle to keep things in balance, which we are completely oblivious to. You might feel stressed, but I am guessing you are not aware of the battle waging within your body.

The thing is, our bodies are simply not set up for this fast pace we find ourselves in. We evolved in nature and this is how our body still tries to act out.

Ever spent time away from the humdrum of life? With no technology around? Your brain switches off. “Getting away from it all” is of huge benefit to you and your health!

Our primal survival instinct is fight or flight (or freeze). When we are put under threat or stress our brains think our lives are in danger. It simply cannot distinguish between a sabre toothed tiger chasing us and the threat of a company deadline looming where you are pulling your hair out to achieve it. The response is identical.

The brain does not know the difference between psychological stress and physical stress. Under stress/threat your body still prepares for fight or flight, even though there is not a big cat chasing you!

Now this is great if we are about to jump on the matt for a competition or go for a grading, but in everyday life it is a different story.

Now that is great if your life is really in danger, but not if it is because you are doing a presentation at work.

Cortisol is the master stress hormone in your body. In times of stress the hypothalamus in your brain signals release of cortisol from your adrenal glands. Cortisol regulates the way your body uses various fuel sources, unlocking energy from the blood, muscles and fat cells to either run away or fight for your life and is essential for recovering energy for your body once the stress response subsides. When your adrenal glands are healthy you will produce around 40mg of cortisol per day.

Circadian Rhythms

Cortisol production is an essential process within the body. It follows the circadian rhythms of your body over 24 hours. It naturally decreases in the evening and through the night to help promote sleep and then rises again in the early morning. The body allows it to rise to allow you to wake up and get moving. Once awake the cortisol levels present in early morning subside and continue to decline throughout the day.

Under normal circumstances your cortisol levels should fluctuate is a fairly rhythmic pattern.

The Problem with Excess!

When there is too much cortisol in the body brought on by stress, amino acids usually used for protein synthesis in the body are shuttled straight to the liver to be used for energy instead.

The Primary Role of Cortisol is to Help Mobilise energy for fuel

So if you are involved in a strength program to build mass you may actually experience decreased muscles mass and increased fat storage if you have too much cortisol. You must take steps to reduce your stress/cortisol levels. Cortisol in the number one reason why athletes of all levels from recreational weekend warriors to pro level take 2 steps forwards and one step back in their training.

Remember the less stress in your life the more material you have for growth and repair. It is exceptionally difficult to be lean and healthy if you cannot control stress.

The biological stress response is supposed to be short to get you out of danger. If you are chronically exposed to it day in day out It will affect your health and performance. As mentioned before, body fat levels will increase. Prolonged exposure to Cortisol with elevate blood sugar for energy and will be stored as fat, especially in front of your abs!

Cortisol is one of the main reasons why you struggle to remove that layer of lard around you middle.

When there is too much cortisol coursing through your veins, your liver removes it as much as it can acting as a filter. The abdominal fat cells are used to remove cortisol from the blood. These fat cells have 4 times the amount of cortisol receptors than elsewhere in the body, making them respond strongly to fat storage when you are continually in a stressed state.

Excessive cortisol stimulates your appetite, since it is mobilising energy to deal with stress, it will make you crave sugary, high fat food.

When there is too much sugar in the blood, insulin steps in and removes it and puts any excess into your fat cells!

Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenaline is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and is also released in response to stress along with cortisol.

The main purpose of the adrenals is to allow the body deal with all types of stress from injury to disease or work and relationships.

Adrenaline released for short periods is not a big deal but becomes problematic when it is prolonged. When adrenaline is constantly being released the adrenals become exhausted and wear out.

Adrenaline is highly inflammatory and causes a subsequent increase in cortisol to drive down the inflammation.

Adrenaline resistance comes from too much stress: work, poor sleep, relationships, financial, excess caffeine consumption, stimulants like most fat burners, too much intense exercise.

Balance adrenaline by adding in more restoration activities: swimming, tai chi, Qi gung, yoga, joint mobility, meditation, massages, vacations.

Signs of Adrenal Fatigue

Check out the list below to see if you or someone you know can relate to any of the symptoms. If many of these seems familiar, then there is a good chance you are suffering from some form of low adrenal function or fatigue.

Difficulty getting up in the morning
Continuing fatigue, which is not relieved by sleeping
Cravings for salt or salty foods
Lethargy or lack of energy
Increased effort to do everyday tasks
Decreased Sex Drive
Decreased Ability to handle stress
Increased time to recover from an illness
Light headed when standing up quickly
Mild Depression
Less enjoyment and happiness with life
Symptoms get worse if meals are skipped
Thoughts foggy instead of sharp and focussed
Memory is less accurate
Decreased tolerance of anything
Decreased productivity

If you are relating to at least 3 of these symptoms then it is time to change your lifestyle to do something about it.

Steps to Reduce Excess Cortisol & Adrenal Fatigue

Sleep – Aim to get at least 8 hours of quality sleep per night. Lack of good sleep can lead to excessive daytime tiredness and lethargy, morning headaches, poor memory, anxiety and depression. Remember Cortisol follows a similar sleep pattern. If you continually disrupt it you will become more stressed. Even better get into bed by 10:30, don’t become a night owl. Late nights induce stress as well as this is when your body regenerates. Remember the circadian rhythms.

Ditch the junk food – Removing fatty, sugary and processed foods and Eating healthy foods such as fresh meats, vegetables (especially green leafy veg), fruits, nuts and seeds provides your body with all the nutrients it requires to maintain good health. It also helps reduce digestive stress. If you don’t like veg (really??) then get yourself a quality greens drink such as lean-greens.co.uk, packed with nutrients to aid the body.

Drink more water – All of our organs, especially our brains, need water to function properly. If you’re dehydrated, your body won’t function optimally and that can lead to stress. Studies have shown that being just half a litre dehydrated can increase your stress levels. I recommend drinking 1 litre of bottles/filtered water for every 50lb of bodyweight per day.

Avoid Caffeine – Caffeine is a stimulant that increases adrenaline in the body, the very hormone you are looking to reduce. Instead go for a glass of water or herbal tea. One of the best teas to have is Tulsi tea, well known for its stress-lowering effects.

Exercise – Even 10 – 15 minutes of exercise will help bring your stress levels down. A High Intensity Interval workout would be best however even going for a short walk, doing some stretching or breathing exercises will help. Exercise also produces endorphins, which are Chemicals in the brain that creates a feel good feeling.

Take Regular Breaks – You may have deadlines to hit but it’s proven that you will get more done by taking regular breaks. I recommend taking at least a 5 minute break for every 20-30 minutes worked.

Have A Power Nap – If your stressed and tired then you’re going to be agitated and not be able to function properly which will make you even more stressed so if you can take a little 10 -20 minute nap to recharge your batteries. Daytime naps can boost memory and increase productivity, provided they are not too lengthy so that you wake groggy rather than refreshed.

Learn to Say No – We seem to have developed a nasty habit of people pleasing and agreeing to do things we don’t really want to, which leads to stress. It is much more powerful to say no and be stubbornly protective of your time. Only agree to things you want to do.

Make time for laughter – EVERY DAY! – nothing is more powerful than laughter to set your frame of mind and reduce the feelings of stress. Start every morning reading or watching something funny. If you are stuck, then search out comedy clips from tv shows and stage shows and let the belly laughs roll.

Schedule more fun stuff with your friends – Get out with your friends and schedule in some fun time. when was the last time you did that? go to the cinema, the beach bowling, paint balling, anything to let you just relax and take time out.

Stop watching the news – How often do you see happy, empowering news? Exactly! the news is full of misery and sadness because misery sells. News providers know that people like to know there are people worse off than themselves to make themselves feel better. but when does a constant negative feed add to fun, love and happiness?

Volunteer for something… because you can – Helping others less fortunate than yourself and believe me there are, without any thought for yourself is massively empowering. What can you volunteer for to genuinely help?

Cut the negative people from your life – Spend time with people who make you smile and laugh and make you feel good. If you know people who make you feel down or doubt yourself then you know what to do. You do not need energy vampires draining the life from you.

Turn off your mobile phone – Give yourself a break from your mobile phone, most people have smart phones which can mean one-quarter of the working day is lost to interruptions from e-mails, phone calls and text messages, adding to stress. A failure to switch off from work is driving up stress levels. Put it on silent and check it 1-2 times a day.

Take Magnesium – Magnesium helps you to sleep restfully throughout the night and de-stress. Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system, meaning that if you are deficient your heart rate and sympathetic nervous system will be sent into overdrive. Additionally, lack of magnesium has shown to cause agitated sleep and frequent awakenings. Magnesium also makes your brain work better and improves memory!

Get Some Vitamin D – Vitamin D is essential for bone health but it also plays a role in serotonin levels which affect your mood. So if the weather is nice get outside and get some sun or alternatively use a good quality supplement.

Increase Vitamin C – Vitamin C is rapidly utilised by the adrenal glands in the production of all adrenal hormones (Cortisol). I recommend taking at least 3000mg per day divided up throughout the day.

Treat yourself to a massage – Getting a massage on a regular basis can help to lower your heart rate and blood pressure and promote muscle relaxation it also helps to lower your stress levels and help with the feel good factor.

As you can see, it is vitally important to reduce stress to remain healthy. Our bodies are designed to cope with it in small burst, but continual stress from the numerous sources around today can affect your health. From a training perspective, it is vital to be able to control stress as it has a massive impact on getting lean and strong. Under normal circumstances cortisol helps mobilse energy from various sources, pretty important!

Next time you feel stressed out, get it under control and let it work for you!

To your strength and Health

Dean Coulson

Nutrition, palate

Insulin – Friend or Foe?

Insulin – Friend or Foe?

This month I wanted to look at the second of the most important hormones in our bodies and that is INSULIN.

This bad boy, Like Leptin (See Here) is a master control hormone.

Insulin is something everyone should be familiar with because if our bodies cannot produce it by itself then diabetes ensues. Type 1 diabetes occurs from birth and is why type 1 diabetics have to take and manage insulin injections. However, Type 2 diabetes is completely preventable if you eat correctly and completely reversed if you stop eating junk food and bad food choices.

Is Insulin Bad?

Insulin gets a bad rap these days as it is also commonly labelled as a fat storage hormone by many.

Whilst this is partially true, it ain’t the whole story. A better label would be that it is a storage hormone and it depends on not only what you eat but when you eat whether it stores fat or nutrients in your cells.

Insulin is an anabolic hormone that is essential for life. If you do not have adequate insulin levels and receptor uptake your cells die. So as you can see, this can become a serious condition very quickly.

The reason why insulin is so important, not only for life but for sports performance is because insulin is what drives glucose (energy) into the liver, muscles, and cells.

Quite vital don’t you think?

From a training perspective, it is madness not to have an understanding about how your body provides the fuel for you to train and compete, so let’s delve in a little further.

How Insulin Affects Performance

Now let’s look at how we can maximise our performance by understanding how insulin works…

When we eat, the carbohydrates in our food get broken down into simple sugars (e.g. glucose), which are then transported into the bloodstream. When that happens the body releases insulin to take the glucose out of the blood to where it is needed namely into our cells to be stored as fuel. If insulin didn’t do its job the result would be the starvation of energy for our cells resulting in us feeling tired and hungry as well as our metabolism taking a dive. Alternatively, if you constantly eat lots of carbohydrates, any that you do not need are stored as fat.

It is too easy these days to supply sugar to your body, there is in fact an overabundance from energy drinks to chocolate bars and sweets, crisps and pasta. There is so much around the list is never ending. However this can really screw you over.

Why?

Although your body is amazing at adapting, poor food and drink choices come at a cost. Using this type of crap to fuel your body is madness and will lead to mood swings and energy crashes leaving you burnt out over time. Your body works best with a constant supply of good carbohydrates and doesn’t need the yo yo effect that comes with eating garbage foods. Your energy levels will fluctuate as your body struggles to maintain balance of its blood sugar level, this can leave you feeling lethargic and irritable.

Constant abuse will lead to insulin resistance and insulin storing all this rubbish as fat!

The resulting effect wreaks havoc on our bodies and insulin in particular. Despite what you may hear, read or watch, you DO NOT need this stuff to perform at your best. There are far better strategies!

Insulin Resistance

When you put too much sugar/energy drinks etc constantly into your body you can become insulin resistant.

Insulin resistance is a condition in which Insulin becomes less effective at driving glucose into the liver, muscle, and cells. Insulin receptors in your cells (how insulin actually gets into the cells) are worn out and are no longer sensitive to the effects of insulin. As a result a large insulin response occurs in order to force insulin uptake by the worn out receptors.

High levels of insulin increase inflammation, which increases the likelihood of heart disease and a variety of serious health issues. A high insulin response to a meal will also drive down blood sugar and make you hungry soon after. When insulin is high you are no longer in a fat burning state.

In addition insulin has an inverse relationship with growth hormone. When insulin is high, growth hormone is low. Not what you want for sports performance.

Insulin sensitivity

To get the best out of your training and your health, you need to aim to get your body efficient at utilising and transporting glucose to your cells. This is called improving your insulin sensitivity.

Insulin sensitivity is directly related to how well your cells respond to insulin. People that are highly insulin sensitive require very little insulin to store carbohydrates. By reason then, people that are insulin resistant (type II diabetics), need larger amounts of insulin to shuttle those carbohydrates around to your cells.

What this means is that when you have high insulin sensitivity, you are able to eat carbohydrates without such a large rise in insulin. When insulin is kept low enough, fatty acids can still be released for energy. However, once insulin gets too high, fat loss comes to a halt.

People that have bombarded their bodies with high-glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates and processed foods over their lifetimes have become somewhat resistant to the effects of insulin. Therefore, when they eat carbohydrates, it causes a larger release of insulin. This inhibits the release of fatty acids.

Higher insulin levels = more fat storage

Maximising Insulin for Performance

Muscle cells are very sensitive to insulin after training. If glucose and amino acids are available, insulin will shuttle these into the cells to increase the synthesis of muscle proteins and muscle glycogen at a very rapid rate.

The post workout window is THE time that insulin serves you best. The best and quickest way to get these nutrients down and utilise insulin is to take a HIGH quality protein/carbohydrate shake.

One thing to keep in mind. When training intensely, you have got around 45 minutes of training time (excluding warm ups) before conditions change.

When Insulin is high cortisol (our stress hormone) is low and vice a versa.

If you train too long (greater than 45mins to the max of an hour) Cortisol rises, which can have a detrimental effect on your muscles as they start to breakdown for energy. By ending your training session in the time mentioned and getting in a post workout shake, you are deliberately releasing insulin by taking carbohydrates on board, this stops the cortisol in its tracks and kick starts your body into recovery mode.

Steps to increase Insulin Sensitivity

It may sound complicated, but it isn’t. to increase insulin sensitivity, try to ulitise as much of the following list as possible

Avoid high glycaemic meals and high carbohydrate intake (more than 50% of calories)

Have a balance of protein, fat, and low glycaemic carbs at each meal (clean carbs e.g. Veg)

Have Longer stretches in between each meal, it takes 4-6 hours to digest a meal.

Use Intermittent fasting as it improves insulin sensitivity.

Avoid excessive amounts of caffeine as caffeine stimulates insulin production. 1-2 cups per day is fine if you don’t have adrenaline resistance, otherwise keep off it.

Engage in high intensity training like sprinting, kettlebell training or add high intensity interval conditioning at the end of a martial arts session. Training in this manor scoops up glucose out of the blood steam and increases uptake into the cells, muscles, liver.

Coconut Oil: The Medium Chain Fatty Acid’s (MCFA’s) in coconut oil nourish the cells without the need of Insulin. In other words insulin is not needed to transport the MCFA’s to the cells. The fat in coconut oil also helps block insulin spikes, which can lead to insulin resistance over time. Coconut oil lowers the glycaemic index of a meal (due to the fat). I would aim at 1 tablespoon 2-4 times per day. Helps reduce sugar cravings as well.

Supplements that help

Magnesium: Magnesium is necessary for the production, function, and transport of insulin. Magnesium is necessary for insulin to open cell membranes for glucose. The rule of thumb for men and women is around 600-900mg of magnesium per day for a 200lb man. Hard training athletes will be at the higher end of the scale (900mg for the example of a 200lb man and 400-680mg for the example of a 150lb woman). The most absorbable form of magnesium is transdermal magnesium oil.

Apple Cider Vinegar: A study by Dr. Carol Johnston showed that 2 tablespoons before a high carb meal cut blood sugar surge in insulin resistance group by 50%.

Carnitine : (acetyl L-carnitine or carnitine tartrate) has been shown to increase cells fuel burning activities and improve glucose tolerance. Carnitine helps fatty acids get burned to be used as fuel by the cells. Carntine helps move excess fuel from the cells to organs that may need it. 1-2 grams 2-3 times per day. Stacks well with R-lipoic acid.

Cinnamon: Has insulin like activity, which helps to lower blood glucose levels. Cinnamon has been proven to lower blood glucose levels, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels. 1 teaspoon per day works well.

R-lipoic Acid : acts as an insulin mimicker and increases glucose metabolism (usage of glucose so not as much gets stored as fat) 1 x 100mg cap with meals 3x per day.

Vitamin D: low vitamin D leads to insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction. Most clinical studies in a variety of health areas point toward a blood level of vitamin D is 60 to 80 ng/ml, for preventive health. 2000iu to 5000iu works well to get Vitamin D in the optimal range.

Omega 3 Oil: Essential fatty acids (EFAs) cannot be manufactured by the body, so they need to be ingested through your diet. They also affect inflammation, hormones, mood, metabolism, behaviour, and cellular signalling. Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are the two fatty acids that are essential. A diet supplemented with omega 3 fatty acids improves insulin sensitivity and lowers triglyceride levels.

The problem with modern nutrition is that the ratio of omega 6 to 3 in our diets has been skewed over time. Western diets have a ratio of 20:1 (or more) in favour of omega 6. You really want that number closer to 1:1. That means you need to be eating more foods that are higher in omega 3 fatty acids. Foods like salmon, tuna, flax seed, walnuts, and omega 3 eggs will all help bring that ratio into line. You could also supplement with fish oil.

Omega 3 Fish oils containing DHA/EPA (600-1000 mg) a day improves insulin sensitivity.

Understanding Insulin is key to reducing your overall size and increasing your sports performance. As you allow your body to better utilise quality carbohydrates for energy, it becomes more efficient at controlling its fuel, you will reap the benefits, by becoming fitter and leaner, which can only help how you perform when you train and compete.

To your strength and Health

Dean Coulson

Conditioning, General Physical Preparedness, Mental Strength

There is ALWAYS Time!

I am sure most of you guys are like me, trying to juggle the work life balance.

I get insanely busy, my mind is on constant overdrive with an ideas book bulging with information on how I can help the people of the is world with their fitness goals.

Today was always going to be a busy day and a struggle to get training in.

However that is NO excuse.

It is easy to turn around and say you cannot get the planned training session in and not do anything.

Easy to just skip the session and put your feet up and think Bollocks to it I haven’t got time

There is ALWAYS time!

you don’t need to spend hours in a gym to get a result, most people who do are on the completely wrong track anyway.

Getting in shape doesn’t have to take long

So what if you cannot get your planned training session in.

Cut that shit loose.

Find Something you can do in 20 minutes, 10 minutes what ever fits and believe me if you think you cannot get a good training session in in 10 minutes you are sadly mistaken.

So if you find yourself short on time, DO NOT use it as an excuse. Find a way.

Anything short of Training is an excuse.

Here are some Ideas…

Put 10 minutes on the clock and see how many burpees you can do in that time.

Too Easy?

put a push up at the bottom? still not busting a gut? had a tuck jump in at the top

If you have a weight vest put that on. Increase the resistance until 10 minutes later you are crawling out of the session.

As you know there should be NO easy sessions. You simply will not grow, your body needs a new stimulus to adapt.

But don’t get easy and simple mixed up here. Doing one exercise for 10 minutes is simple, but crank up the intensity and you will wish you were finished quick enough!

IMPORTANT!!!!

Since I was running behind, I had minimal time to get my training in, But I still got it in!

Here is what I nailed today, you can get creative with this if you haven’t got the equipment I used.

There is Always a way!

Only six exercises, I went for 30 seconds of each and 10 seconds of rest in between:

KB swings
Renegade Rows
Squats
Squat Jumps
Dead Lifts
Push Ups

Sound too easy?

do single arm kb swings, add dumbbells to the renegade row, add dumbbells or kettlebells for goblet squats, use resistance like a med ball for the squat jumps, make the dead lifts heavier, do weighted push ups.

Whatever it takes to make it just beyond your level.

Remember we are looking at a short window of time here. I went for 4 rounds because of time and took around 17 minutes, you can add or take away rounds.

I wanted to add resistance so this is what I went for:

Double kettlebell swings
Dumbbell Renegade Row Push ups
Double Kettlebell Squats
Squat Jumps
Double Kettlebell deadlifts
Depth Push Ups.

There is only one ingredient missing that I added to make it as intense as I wanted it…..

A weight vest.

Adding to your own body weight and adding resistance is a sure fire way to push the limits and work both your strength and conditioning. Weight vests are perfect for that.

In this case, it increased the intensity and kicked my ass!

Remember, there is no excuse to miss a session. Find a way!

To you strength and Health

Dean

Nutrition, palate

Is Your Fuel Gauge Faulty?

This month I want to start to look at Hormones and their effect on overall health and performance.

Hormones are chemical messengers that carry messages through the bloodstream from and to organs and cells in the body. They make sure that all parts of the body can communicate in a coordinated way, from the speed of your metabolism to the digestion of food or where to store nutrients. Everything is controlled by hormones.

Hormones can only be manufactured from what you ingest in the body, whether it is good or bad. Your body can only work with what you put in, so if that food is junk, guess how you will perform and feel?

You have to get this right and more and more people expect the performance of a Ferrari after putting diesel in the engine, it just ain’t gonna happen. The right fuel going in allows your body to perform as it should. Nutrient dense meals along with supplementation allows the body to function optimally, which is exactly what you need to not only perform at your best, but feel great too. Far too many people accept how bad they look and feel, putting it down to old age, when in fact giving the body the right tools to do it’s job makes a MASSIVE difference!

Let’s begin with what is considered to be the main hormone the body uses and that is Leptin.

Leptin is a master control hormone and is one of the most important hormones in the body.

Why?

Because it acts like a fuel gauge for the body.

Leptin is a hormone in fat cells that communicates with the brain to determine energy expenditure and it is also directly involved in our survival. Dramatic though that may sound, it has direct control on how our energy is used and how much energy we have available and how it is used.

When functioning adequately, leptin lets us know when we have enough fuel so we can stop eating before nutrient spill over occurs. When you eat too much, your cells, muscles, and liver are nourished and then whatever is left over is stored as body fat. Leptin tells insulin (an anabolic storage hormone) when we have enough energy.

Leptin Sensitivity

Leptin sensitivity means that only a small amount of leptin is needed to work efficiently with the brain receptors. When leptin sensitivity is high your metabolic rate is set high and you have an abundance of energy for fat loss, building muscle, sports performance and producing sex hormones such as testosterone and DHEA in men and progesterone and estrogen in women.

Leptin Resistance

The problem most people have when they have put on too much weight through poor diet choices is that you start having what you call leptin resistance. When leptin resistance occurs, the receptors in the brain do not get the signals from leptin adequately, in essence the brain thinks that there is not adequate energy in the body, so it slows everything down to help protect the vital organs, leptin tells the thyroid to slow down and go into conservation mode. A sluggish thyroid is often a sign of leptin resistance.

People who are overweight have very high levels of leptin from high calorie diets but the brain does not get the signal adequately, so thinking that there is actually a shortage of stored energy it keeps the metabolic rate set very low. Therefore, you are eating a lot, you feel that you are hungry all the time as your brain is signalling to you to eat more as it is not getting the leptin signals to shut it off. Couple that with the low metabolic rate, makes you a professional fat storing machine.

The other problem with this is that high levels of leptin produces a lot of inflammation which increases the stress hormone cortisol. High levels of leptin also increase somatostatin which lowers growth hormone levels. Growth hormone is a potent fat burning hormone and is also important for longevity, workout recovery, restoration, and healthy skin.

Going on a low calorie diet is also problematic. Leptin tells the brain that not much fuel is coming in and metabolic rate is slowed down. Subsequently so is energy for fat burning, sex hormone production. You are no longer in a thriving state.

Action Plan to get rid of Leptin Resistance

Get more sleep. Lack of sleep, leads to lack of leptin as well as the disruption of insulin metabolism.
Cut out all junk food such as foods with high levels of fructose. Fructose increases levels of triglycerides (fats) and elevated triglyceride levels prevent the transport of leptin across the blood brain barrier. A common source of high fructose is high fructose corn syrup used in fizzy drinks.
Billed as an alternative to sugar, agave syrup is often recommended due to its low glycemic index. The problem is agave syrup can be up to 90% fructose and this will drive triglycerides up and cause leptin and insulin resistance.
Focus on the highest quality organic food you can afford. If you eat meat it must be organic and from healthy animals. Factory farm meats can be loaded with toxins and stress hormones due to poor diet and poor living conditions. There is never any consideration regarding the welfare of the animals and the direct correlation to how stressed they are and the poor meat that results from this. It is ridiculous to think that you can be healthy eating meat from unhealthy animals.
Make sure you are drinking at least 2-3 litres of bottles clean water per day. This will aid the release of toxins stored in your fat cells. Your body will not release these toxins if there is no outlet for them.
Get a balance of protein fat and low glycemic carbohydrates at each meal. Essential fatty acids are important to energize the cells, balance inflammation, and brain health. Glucose is necessary to fuel the brain and protein is necessary for rebuilding.
Make sure breakfast is a high protein meal as protein increases your metabolism much more so than carbs or fat. It is a myth that you need carbs from cereals and toast for breakfast, most of it is processed garbage and as a result sets you for a day on sweet cravings and hunger. Try getting some organic or free range eggs with some greens such as spinach. Or try some wild caught fish such as salmon. Who said it had to be processed food in a bowl of milk? Try out a smoothie or a power shake. For example you could create a shake with 40-50 grams of protein, low glycaemic fruits such as acai, blueberries, essential fats from chia seeds, flaxseeds, hempseeds, and add some coconut milk or coconut oil, which is loaded with MCFA (medium chain fatty acids burned very well for energy).
Take longer stretches in between meals for fat loss (no less than four, and six is better). An alternative is to eat more frequently on days you train or cheat days and less frequently a few times per week.
For building muscle, focus on protein and fat during the day and eat more carbs after training and with dinner. Have a protein-fat meal every three hours during the day and post workout.
Look carefully at sources of emotional and physical stress in your life. The best nutrition and training plan in the universe will do little if you are still wired up and unable to balance your life due to stress. Sometimes intense exercise is the worst thing you can do as it compounds the total stress put on your body. Try a yoga class and reduce the amount of hard exercise you are doing for a few weeks.

Take your time chewing food as the slower you eat the more satisfied you will be with less. Digestion starts in the mouth and alerts the brain as to what foods are coming so it can prepare the stomach accordingly. Eating fast requires you to eat more as you are getting less energy from fast eating as digestion will be poor.
Gastro Intestinal tract health is important. If you have been eating sub optimally (especially consuming a lot of wheat and gluten, consider adding Glutamine (5 grams per day on empty stomach), probiotics (15-50 billion species before bedtime) and digestive enzymes (1-2 caps with meals) to help repair and heal the gut wall. If you are unsure whether gluten is an issue, then look into food sensitivity testing.

Look at including intense exercise into your regime such as sprinting or high intensity interval training, which increases growth hormone and leptin sensitivity.
Supplements that help include:

Magnesium 400-800mg per day depending on bodyweight. I use magnesium oil as the transdermal delivery is more efficient. Also increases DHEA levels, which is critical for stress management.
Take Fish oil. Omega 3 Fatty acids help reduce inflammation and boost your fat burning potential.
R lipoic acid: Increases glucose metabolism and glutathione levels. 100-200mg with meals three times per day.
Acetyl carnitine: helps leptin make it to the brain. 1 gram two times per day on an empty stomach. Morning and pre-workout.
Digestive enzymes: Helps you absorb more nutrition from the food you are eating. 1-2 caps with meals.
B vitamins: critical for energy production, protein synthesis, and stress management. Stress depletes B-vitamin levels. 1 tablet with three meals per day.
CoQ10: 100-200mg per day. Important for heart health, cellular energy.
Look at taking a greens drink, such as lean greens (www.lean-greens.co.uk), which as well as containing a potent blend of vitamins and minerals also includes green tea extract to increase fat burning

If you implements the steps above you will see progress. Combined with an appropriate exercise program you will see results accelerate faster than you might think it possible! Forget phasing these in if you want quick and lasting results. If you have stubborn body fat it is because your internal machinery and hormones are in a mess.
Mastering leptin is key to reducing your overall size and increasing your sports performance. As your body becomes more efficient at controlling its fuel, you will reap the benefits, by becoming fitter and leaner, which can only help how you perform when you train and compete.

To your strength and Health

Dean Coulson

Nutrition

Vitamin D- The Power of Sunlight

The Power Of Sun Light

Today I am going to talk about an essential vitamin, which I would say everybody is at least borderline deficient in. This one vitamin is actually produced by your body and it is vital for health, however, in this day and age, where we spend most of our lives indoors, we struggle to produce it and that can cause an array of health problems.

This very vitamin is directly related to the sun and it is vital that we have sun exposure every day if possible to allow our bodies to produce it.

Hands up, who feels great when the sun is out? There are clearly psychological reasons for loving summer days, but what people do not realise are the factors that lie beneath this that people do not understand.

I’ve had many clients complain of eating well, sleeping lots and training hard but never quite feeling their best at certain times of the year. Who usually feels flat after the Christmas period, but has no idea why? Maybe you put it down to too much excess and whilst that is partly true, post Christmas combines with the end of the fun and festivities, there are other factors at play.

Just recently I personally felt myself struggling to ‘get on it’ in training and constantly felt this niggle of not quite being on the right train tracks in life.

This is a strong indicator towards a Vitamin D deficiency!

So what’s the problem?

In winter in the UK the majority get up, leave home in a car, get to work where we work all day indoors with no sunlight, get back in the car, drive to the gym where we have a workout then get back in the car to drive back home where we hit the sack ready to go again the next day!

And even if we do get outside, the sun is so low and far away that we still don’t get any benefit from it.

Then when summer comes everyone smothers themselves in creams which block any chance of getting vitamin D anyway!

There is a general over reaction to the sun these days. Although the sun and its power has to be respected and precautions have to be taken, it gives incredible benefits and it can affect how we feel as well as how we perform when training.

Contrary to popular belief the sun is one of the most important anti-cancer, anti-obesity tools you can have.

Why?

Because it provides us with the nutrient vitamin D.

You see, vitamin D is unique in that it is made in the skin as a result of an exposure to sunlight.

To give you an example, 15-20 minutes exposure to the sun in the summer months between June and August at noon, in a country near the equator is the equivalent to taking around 20,000IU of vitamin D orally.

It is nearly impossible to get adequate levels of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body. However the healing rays of sun light that generate vitamin D in your skin cannot penetrate glass, if you are indoors, make sure you get outside as much as possible.

Here’s the thing though, the further away you live from the equator, the longer exposure you need from the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Putting that into perspective, the UK, Canada and certain US states are far from the equator and it may be that even with sun exposure it is not enough. Not only that, the darker your skin type the longer the exposure has to be for the same benefits.

For example, to guarantee adequate levels of vitamin D from the sun in the UK would only occur between the months of June to August, when the sun is at its highest between the hours of 12pm and 3pm. After that you will struggle, as the sun’s rays are not strong enough. That is why it is important to take further measures to top up you levels.

Topping up your vitamin D

There are a number of ways to increase your intake of Vitamin D

Food Sources – The best sources that are rich in vitamin D include fish like wild salmon, tuna, mackerel, as well as fish liver oils. Some vitamin D is also present in beef liver and egg yolks.

Sunlight – Exposing your skin to natural sunlight, this acts as a pro hormone, rapidly converting to vitamin D in your skin.

Sun beds/sun lamps – Using a safe home tanning bed to replicate similar results to exposure to natural light. Make sure it is a UVB sunbed and your exposure is no more than 3 times a week for no more than 2 minutes each time

Supplements – Taking an oral Vitamin D3 supplement whenever natural skin exposure is limited

To put things into perspective…..

My good friend and fitness professional Alwyn Cosgrove made a relevant point when I spoke to him regarding supplementation. Alwyn owns one of the top 10 gyms in the United States, ex competitive taekwondo practitioner and cancer survivor and is based in California. He made the point that despite living in the sunshine state, supplementing vitamin D daily, when his bloods are tested, they come back as borderline to ok for vitamin D. Now compare that to the UK where the sun hardly shines in the summer never mind the winter and Just think what effect that has on us in our normal day to day lives, never mind how it affects your performance?

Health Benefits of Vitamin D

There are numerous health benefits to vitamin D, let’s take a look at a few of them…

One key job for Vitamin D is to prevent healthy cells becoming diseased which can lead to any number of diseases resulting from cell degeneration including all forms of cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Lowers the risk of respiratory infections by 50%
Reducing systemic inflammation
Vitamin D is essential for liver function. As the liver produces bile which aids in the digestion of fats, a deficiency of Vitamin D may lead to high levels of fat in the blood vessels, ultimately increasing your risk of heart disease.
The maintenance of healthy bones; bizarrely, there has been an increasing number of cases of osteomalacia (rickets for adults) caused by Vitamin D deficiency in the past few years. Although this is only caused by a severe shortage of Vitamin D, it is something worth being concerned about.
It is a crucial component for healthy immune systems; Very helpful in the fight to keep common winter ailments at bay.
Reported to be linked to maintaining a healthy body weight and brain function.

So as you can see, there is already a wealth of information pertaining to your overall day to day health, but what about its effect on your performance.

Lets take a look…

Performance Considerations…

Bone Health – Low levels of Vitamin D contribute to more brittle bones and increased risk of breaks and fractures. This is because Vitamin D is important in calcium absorption in the body (remember how you can’t isolate nutrients). A Vitamin D deficiency can therefore lead to weaker bones thus increasing the risk of injury (as well as osteoporosis) and enabling your body to cope with heavy weightlifting sessions.
Muscle Strength – Low vitamin D can lead to abnormal muscle contraction and relaxation, which in turn affects force production by the muscles. It has also been shown to aid the production of natural steroid hormones in the human body thus aiding muscle growth. This will clearly effect everything from strength and power to burning body fat more efficiently.
Muscle Power and Force – Research has shown that optimum levels of vitamin D improve muscle power development. The ability of the muscles to contract and produce force is impaired with lower vitamin D levels.
Lean Body Mass – As discussed low levels of vitamin D affects muscle performance, but it also can allow for increased fat storage.
Insulin Sensitivity – Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to increase the sensitivity of insulin (meaning you only need small levels of insulin to provoke a response to lowering blood glucose levels), making your body work more efficiently.
Asthma – Vitamin D has been shown to improve respiratory function.
Cardiovascular Health – Is known to improve heart function.

How much Vitamin D do you need?

Research suggests that adults 5000 IU per day to put the majority of people into the recommended level. However, supplementing with vitamin D alone, might not be the best way to increase your levels. There is a relationship between Vitamin A and Vitamin D. Vitamin A helps the body use vitamin D and if you did not supplement then there is a good chance you will become vitamin A deficient, which will have consequences with your health.

This is another indicator that your body works in synergy. You cannot just concentrate on one thing as everything is interlinked, All vitamins and minerals work together to help numerous functions within the body.

Here is your Action Plan

Try to expose the skin to 10-20 minutes of sunlight at least every other day (with no creams on the skin)
No Sun? Get yourself on holiday 3 months after you summer finishes. The liver stores around 3 months’ worth of vitamin D before it needs a top up.
Cannot get Away? Use a UVB sun bed in SHORT bursts. No more than 2 minutes at a time, 3 times a week.
Ensure you have a high magnesium intake which encourages D absorption. I recommend supplemental sources of magnesium ending in -ate (e.g magnesium citrate) and transdermal magnesium for great absorption. This will ensure you get enough. Eat enough nuts, bananas and leafy greens for magnesium as well.
Supplement with Vitamin D3. Aim for between 3000 and 5000 IU’s per day.
Do not smother yourself in sun screen, Check the table to see how long you need before you cover yourself up.

Remember!

UVB rays are the only rays that help create Vitamin D, these rays are only available when the sun is over head, typically between the hours of 12pm and 3pm

UVB rays are easily blocked and cannot penetrate pollution or cloud, make sure the sky is clear

UVB rays are blocked by sun screens so aim to get the exposure before you put it on.

If it is not possible to be in the sun at these times supplement with fish oils, each more fish and take a Vitamin D Supplement.

Make sure you are getting adequate levels of Vitamin D, to increase your sports performance.

To your strength and Health

Dean Coulson

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