Are You Malnourished? The Case For Organic Foods

Well, my last post about organic vs non-organic certainly got a reaction.

I have a deluge of emails into my inbox ranging from comments like "About time someone was talking about this!" to "This is utter nonsense. If pesticides were harmful then they wouldn't be allowed to be used on foods. You shouldn't be scaremongering!!" and practically everything in between.

Regardless of which 'camp' you were in, thanks for taking the time to write me with your thoughts on this subject (though I do wish you'd have written them here on the blog so more people could benefit from your comments) : )

By far the most common reaction though, was more like this:

"I understand and mostly agree with the need to eat cleaner, fresher and less adulterated foods but the truth is, they're more expensive and I just can't afford them as much as I'd like. What am I supposed to do?"

Again, another great question, and one that I'm sure most people ask themselves when it comes to making the decision between non-organic and organic produce, right?

Here's my take on it.

Non organic is cheaper, it's true. The average family and especially those on low incomes can buy around 30-50% more food when bought non-organically than they can if they choose the organic option and so it would seem that whilst organic is an ideal scenario, the practicalities mean that most people simply can't justify coming home with a smaller bag of groceries with hungry mouths to feed.

I get it.

I'm a father of four and before my business took off, I was on a low income and felt the same way. I couldn't justify organic foods because of the costs.

Then, over time I started to see things differently.

I noticed that my non-organic shopping, whilst greater in quantity, always seemed to leave my family hungry. They always wanted more. Bigger servings, more snacks in between and practically non-stop cravings for more food.

By contrast, when my family ate organic, they ate smaller portions, less frequently and they rarely, if ever, complained of hunger or asked for more.

It was then that it hit me, truly for the first time ever.

The most important nutritional truth.

Ready for it?

It'll change your life (if you let it!)

Here it is.

Your body doesn't know 'food', all it knows is nutrients.

Bear with me because I know that it probably doesn't sound that amazing as you read it at your PC but it really is.

You see, we get hung up on food all the time. We get hung up on calories, portion sizes, meal frequencies and all manner of things but none of that is anywhere near as important as the nutrients within the things we eat.

Your body just knows that it is running out of certain nutrients.

"Vitamin B6 is getting low" it says and so you get a 'feed me' signal to eat and (hopefully) stock up on the missing vitamin.

"Calcium is running out" it says and again, you get a 'feed me' signal to eat and stock up on some calcium.

It's that straight forward, that simple... and that complex : )

So, when you eat denatured and nutrient poor foods, either because they've been chemically altered or over-processed, your body breaks them down, looks for the nutrients it needs and, if they're not there (which they won't be), simply commands you to eat again so that it can get what it needs.

It's got nothing to do with calories.

You might have already eaten your recommended daily amount of calories but still be lacking nutrients and so you'll be commanded to eat again, and again, and again.

This is not hunger. This is malnutrition.

The truth is hard to believe, but the fact is, many of us are malnourished!

But it's not all bad news, because the reverse is also true.

If you eat a diet that is replete with the nutrients your body requires then you eat less. You eat when your body needs a new supply of nutrients. You stop snacking, you stop feeling hungry all the time and you stop throwing excess calories into your body for no reason.

This is why the elimination diet works so well. It focuses on allowing your body to extract the maximum nutrition from your foods so that you get hungry less often and so lose fat faster whilst at the same time maintaining lean muscle.

What's this got to do with where the conversation started; the cost of organic vs non-organic?

It's pretty simple really.

When you eat non-processed (including chemical processes) foods, you're getting the maximum available nutrition from everything you eat. Because of this, you simply eat less and less often.

What I'm saying here is that you don't have to buy nearly as much organic food as you do non-organic to get your nutritients so it's not more expensive to eat this way at all.

In fact, you may even find, like my family did, that it's cheaper to eat organically than non-organically because you buy much less of the usual rubbish that most families consume on a weekly basis.

Still not sure if you agree with me?

Try it for 1 week.

Try feeding yurself and your family from organic sources for just 1 week and see if you can notice the difference for yourself. If not, then hey, just ignore me, what do I know, right? : )

Dax Moy

The UK's Leading Personal Trainer
http://www.mylondonpersonaltrainer.com

P.S - I'd love to hear your comments on this post. Whatever they may be : )

P.P.S - For your very own FREE Copy of my Elimination Diet visit http://www.mylondonpersonaltrainer.com/Free-Elimination-Diet.htm

Elimination Diet Truths: Are Your Veggies Making You Sick?

Since I released The Elimination Diet I’ve been bombarded by emails from people asking me just how strict one needs to be with their nutrition in order to get the benefits I often speak of.

Nowhere more so than in the area of organic vs. non-organic fruits and vegetables.

“Do I really have to buy organic?” they say “Does it really make that much difference? After all, I an afford twice as much non-organic fruits and vegetables as organic ones. Wouldn’t it be better to have more than to be ‘fussy’ about it having to be organic?”

These are the most commonly asked questions and, to be fair, they’re all good ones, especially as we’re always being told to eat our 5 servings a day, right? After all, we all know that organic costs a fair bit more than non-organic and, especially if you’re a parent trying to feed your family on a budget, it would seem to make more sense to buy more so that your family could consume more wouldn’t it?

Wouldn’t it?

Well, some argue that the pesticide contamination on crops is so minimal as for it to be of no concern to our health, yet increasing numbers of health and medical experts are now suggesting that even small doses of pesticide exposure (which are, after all, poison) can have a negative impact on health. Especially if consumed over longer periods of time… like in our foods every day.

And alarmingly, the more diligent you are at feeding yourself and your family their 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, the more likely you are to see the negative effects of toxicity. In fact, an Environmental Working Group study recently showed that if you consume the daily average non-organic fruit and vegetable intake, you would in fact be consuming a cocktail of no les than 15 different pesticides PER DAY!

And the main culprits for this toxic insult to our bodies?

Here they are, ranked in order of worst first:

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Grapes (imported)
10. Spinach
11. Lettuce
12. Potatoes
13. Carrots
14. Green Beans
15. Hot Peppers
16. Cucumbers
17. Raspberries
18. Plums
19. Grapes (Domestic)
20. Oranges

Quite a list, right?

That’s practically every fruit and vegetable that the average family would eat over the course of a week, meaning that in EVERY MEAL or snack, there are adding to the overall toxic load of the body and making more susceptible to these medically linked conditions:

• Cancer
• Fertility problems
• Brain tumors
• Childhood leukemia
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Birth defects
• Irritation to skin and eyes
• Hormone or endocrine system problems including weight gain
• Nervous system damage

And that’s not to mention conditions that haven’t yet been proven to link to pesticide ingestion, though new studies are coming in all the time.

So, what can you do about this?

Well, contrary to popular belief, simply washing or soaking your fruits and veggies isn’t enough to remove the build-up of pesticides. After all, these crops have been sprayed throughout every single phase of their growth. Washing and peeling will remove some of the build-up, but nowhere near enough.

The only way to be 100% sure is to eat organically grown produce.

Yes, it’s more expensive, there’s no getting away from that, but that’s because growing crops without pesticides is harder, longer and more labour intensive. However, the end result of organic farming is healthier, more nutritious and more likely to contribute to the long term health of you and your family, which cannot be said about non-organic.

Don’t let the greater quantity fool you into thinking that non-organic is ok. In truth, eating more simply means that you’re poisoning yourself with pesticide faster, right?

Food for thought isn’t it?
Dax Moy

Dax Moy

To Grab Your Own FREE Copy Of My Elimination Diet
Visit http://www.eliminationdietblueprint.com


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Can You REALLY Get Fit, Firm and Fat Free From Just 4 Minutes??

Hey There,

As we're moving into spring it seems like the phones in my London Personal Training studios have been ringing off the hook with enquiries from people looking to start their new 'get fit for spring' routines.

First and foremost amongst their questions is "How can I fit enough exercise into my life to make enough of an impact on my goals?"

Fair question really, after all, it's lack of time that's the reason behind why most of us are out of shape in the first place, right?

It takes time to get home from work, get changed, get to the gym, workout, shower and get home again. For most of us that's simply time we don't have, or at least, that we don't have MUCH of.

That's why I advocate short workouts to all of my clients as part of their homework strategy when training with my team. Most workouts are 20 minutes or less but occasionally, even 20 minutes is too long for some of my clients... or so they say : )

So what about 4 minutes?

Sound too long to you?

It's something that could quite easily be fitted in between TV commercials or chapters of a book even.

And yes, it'll still provide an awesome, powerful fat burning workout. Check out these videos for more of what I'm talking about here.

Video 1 is an explanation of intensity and the other 2 are the 4 minute workouts themselves. Try one out and see how much work it gives you. You'll be very surprised!







See, pretty tough right?

And a great cardio, strength and fat burning session all rolled into one.

Does it produce great results!

You betcha!

Give my 4 minute workouts a try for just 1 week and see what happens. (Obviously, if you can fit in 2, 3 or 4 of these you'll get better results but even 1 is still worth doing).

Enjoy!

Dax Moy
Want To Look Great Naked?

P.S - Once you try them out, leave me a comment!

You Can't Out-Train A Poor Diet!

Well, these Q and A's are going really well aren't they?

I'm getting tons of excellent feedback on them already.




Here's another...

"Hello Dax,



My main goal today is not fat-loss (I think I don't have too much fat to lose when I look at myself), but it is to get bulky and muscular.

Will I be able to achieve that goal with a quite normal (as healthy as possible, but without having to count on different food portions) diet and not a fitness supplement, but mostly based on long term results of reasonably hard resistance training (I mean near muscle failure, but trying to avoid it)?



Thank you for your kind answer,"



JuanMa

My Answer...

Hey JuanMa

Great question, and one which I’m sure many, many people will be asking.

Now, to the answer : )

The truth is, most results in body composition, whether they be gaining muscle mass like your goal, or losing bodyfat like many, are created in the mouth and the old truism ‘you can’t out-train a poor diet’ is a good one to bear in mind… regardless of your goal.

That said, I’m a firm believer that apart from the extreme end of the spectrum (like bodybuilding for competition) there is no need to count calories, weigh and measure food or take supplements.

Most goals are able to be accomplished on a quality diet with good. Wholesome, ‘clean’ foods that have not been altered through chemicals or additives.

The elimination diet allows for practically any goal to be achieved because it’s so clean. All you have to do is ensure you’re following the diet most of the time (after the 30 days I recommend the 80/20 approach – 80% of the time you follow the diet strictly, 20% of the time you let your hair down. Most people are following the exact opposite!)

Ensure that you get a good quality and variety of protein sources from meat, fish and poultry, eat a wide variety of vegetables, nuts and legume and you’ll have no problems building muscle.

As long as you follow a relatively rigorous muscle building program of course! : )

Hope this helps

Dax

P.S – Got a question of your own? Pop it down and I’ll try my best to answer it.

P.P.S - Did you guess right about my weekend 'mystery trip' as part of my MAGIC Hundred goal achievement program?

Let's find out : )





Not bad for a weekend huh? : )

Where's Dax Going? Can You Guess?

Hey Guys

Tomorrow I'm off with my 8 year old son Connor and my wife Deana to accomplish a goal that he had set as part of his MAGIC Hundred quite some time ago.

We've put it off a little due to being pretty busy but his school is doing a whole bunch of great stuff about the importance of having goals and he's been talking about it again.

So we're taking him out of school a couple of days early this week to make sure that he accomplishes this goal and also so that I accomplish one of mine too (cool when your MAGIC hundred lines up with other people's huh?) : )

So, c'mon...

...where do you think I'm going?

Take a guess!

Dax moy
www.daxmoy.ning.com

P.S - Connor is one of the best travelled and World-experienced 8 year olds I know.

He's snorkled on the great barrier reef, been to Ayers Rock, Kakadu National Park, Cape Tribulation, The Blue Mountains in Australia, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Hanoi and Hoi An in Vietnam, Elephant Trekking in far Northern Thailand (in fact he's been to Thailand 16 times), he's survived the Tsunami (yes, he was actually IN it!), he's been to the leaning tower of Pisa, The Coliseum in Rome, Monte Carlo, Cannes, all over Spain, Dineyland Florida 3 times...

Blimey!

I can't believe I'm writing about MY kid : )

All of my holidays were in the UK until I was 21!!

Not just 'cos he's my kid, but he's an awesome little by who loves life, loves helping people and has high expectations of what he's going to do, where he's going to visit and the things he's going to experience.

Great lessons for us all :)

Oh, and by the way, he has NO idea that we're taking him anywhere. He thinks he's coming to see me off at the airport for a business trip : )

What's The Best Training For Fat Loss?

Well, yesterday's Q and A seemed to go down pretty well with many of you emailing me to tell me that the answer about losing saddlebags and muffin tops was really helpful.

Great!

I'm so pleased to put that one to bed. We should be seeing much faster results now right? : )

Anyway, onto today's question.

It's an interesting one from Susan...


"Dax, my training philosophy has been that if you want to lose weight/fat, the best strength training protocol would be circuit training using a lower than max. weight/higher reps/little to no rest between sets.
Cardio would involve HIIT 2 - 3x/week.

Conversely, if you want to add mass/bulk, you would look towards a hypertrophy program such as 5x5 - max. weight/lower reps/rest between sets. Cardio would be steady state.

Obviously, there are diet manipulations based on the goal, but I was having a discussion w/ someone this week who told me its a "myth" that you won't cut lifting using a program such as 5x5 or Rippetoe. That through diet manipulation they can cut as much weight using a training program focusing on hypertrophy based on their diet, and not sacrifice muscle.

I would love your expert opinion on this to clear up any misconceptions I may have.

Thanks!"

Susan

My Answer...


Hi Susan, that's not a bad outlook actually. Circuit training with either multiple stations, peripheral heart action patterns, supersets etc is indeed a very effective system of increasing metabolism and buring lots of fat.

Makes sense when you think about it.

There are around 600 muscles in the human body and the more we can work in any given session, the more metabolically active we become, the more immediate calories we burn and, of course, the more EPOC based calories (after exercise) we burn too.

I call this my '600 rule' and build all of my fat loss training around this power principle.

This makes a circuit-based approach VERY effective for fat loss when combined with the right diet.

That said, whilst one of the methods of performing the circuits is to use lighter weight and more reps, one shouldn't think that this is the ONLY way to go.

It's not.

In fact, circuits and supersets with heavier loads can work just as well for fat loss. This is due to the fact that it's not so much reps that determine the fat burning effect of a set, but rather the total force exerted. The more force, the more energy expended and tissue 'damage' done. This is a good thing as the energy costs are high over time.

Personally, I'd shake up your training so that you use a good variety of rep ranges either from circuit to circuit (my favourite), from workout to workout, or from 'phase' to phase (like, 3 weeks heavy, 3 weeks moderate, 3 weeks lighter).

You can do a circuit with 4-6 reps, another with 8-12 reps, another with with 15-20 and even go as high as 40 reps (yes, I know!).

In truth, it's the mix of repetition ranges and loads that will provide the best metabolic effect as all fibres, energy system and motor-units will be recruited meaning that maximum muscle usage and, of course, energy usage occurs.

Regardless though, it is nutrition and not training that accounts for the greatest impact in fat loss. If your diet is poor and you don't control what goes into your mouth, how often, how much and of what quality then your training will make you fitter, make you stronger and give you better endurance but you'll never be lean.

That's why my free Elimination Diet is a great accompaniment to any fat loss program as you'll clean up and 'lean up' faster, even without changing your exercise program.

Hope this helps!

Dax Moy
The UK's Leading Personal Trainer
Join My FREE Community Over At
www.daxmoy.ning.com


P.S - If you're looking for a great circuit-based workout system that'll speed up your fat loss then you should check out Circuit-style training, supersets and shorter, high intensity workouts such as Turbulence Training or Warp Speed Fatloss as they both work excellently.

How To Speed Up Saddlebag or Muffin Top Fat Loss

Well, I've gotten quite a few questions posted here on the blog and the community over at www.daxmoy.ning.com over the last few days so, I guess I best got on and answer them.

I'll be picking one or 2 questions a day, so if you have any of your own, don't forget to add them ok?

Here's Question 1 from Kelly


"I know I can't target a particular spot on my body and shape it without doing total body workouts to burn fat, but what is the best exercise for 'saddle bags'? (As in the excess fat women carry on top of their butt at the back of their hips)

Thanks for all of your hints and tips - I love that I have such a reliable source of information. I've been checking out your website and blogs for the last year, but only this year when I did your ED did I really get a handle on how bad I was eating. My progress has now sped up considerably and I've lost 9kg and 10cms of my waist since sorting out my diet. So a million times thank-you for your support and great reality checks!!!"



First off, thanks for you kind words Kelly, I really appreciate hearing about the great results you've been getting from The Elimination Diet, Keep up the great work!

Now, to your question...

It's a very common question that I receive from both readers and clients and, perhaps surprisingly, it's a very easy question to answer.

The site you're talking about is a common fat storage site in both men and women who notice first a 'thickening' of the area and then a 'fleshing out' and finally the growing of 'love handles' or 'muffin tops' as some people call them. No matter what you call them, they're fat and, as such, they respond (almost) like all fat.

Meaning that you CAN burn them off and expose the firm, muscular abdominals, obliques and lower back muscles again. Regardless of how long you've had them.

Now, the reason I say 'almost' is because, whilst this type is the same as abdominal fat, the reason for it being laid down is different. Whilst all fat has its roots in over-consumption of calories, the sites that fat is deposited tell us a lot about the hormonal balances of the body as the time it was laid down.

For example, whilst belly fat is closely related to cortisol (the stress hormone), the area of the back and hips (including the lower back/love handle area) is related to over production of insulin relative to other hormones.

Knowing this, we can approach fat loss more strategically.

For a start, insulin over-production is directly related to over-consumption of carbohydrates. Sugars. I don't just mean table sugar (but DEFINITELY includes this) but all simple carbs.

Go for low GI (Glycemic index) carbs and reduce the overall carbohydrate intake and make sure that those consumed are spread throughout the day to avoid insulin 'spikes' that will command your body to store fat. Maintain a steady protein and fat intake and be sure to supplement your diet with a high quality fish oil too.

Regarding training, shorter, more intense workouts utilising resistance training carried out twice a day seem to work out best for this area. I've found that 2 x 15-20 minute sessions are more effective at mobilising fat in general (and this area specifically) due to increased insulin resistance over time.

Circuit-style training, supersets and shorter, high intensity workouts such as Turbulence Training or Warp Speed Fatloss work excellently for this... as long as an Elimination Diet protocol is followed.

Also, try training more often, like daily, rather than 3 times a week. Just as 2 mini workouts a day is more powerful at mobilising this seemingly stubborn fat, so too are daily sessions better than less frequent ones.

Hope this helps!

Dax Moy
The UK's Leading Personal Trainer
Join My FREE Community Over At
www.daxmoy.ning.com


Got questions?

Post 'em here!