Tag: fat loss

3 Reasons To Not Do Cardio Before Lifting

Post author By Remson
Post date May 8, 2017

Tribe By Noire

3 Reasons To Not Do Cardio Before Lifting

One of the most common mistakes that people make in the gym is setting cardio as priority number one. The first thing most people do when they first enter the gym is hop on a treadmill, elliptical, or recumbent bike. In a society plagued with overwhelming levels of obesity, cardio becomes an obsession, due to the belief that its the best and quickest way to lose weight. The truth is, resistance training should be priority number one if your goal is weight loss, and body re-composition. Let’s talk about 3 reasons to not do cardio before lifting.

Lifting is way better than cardio for weight loss

First lets talk about cardio and its primary focus. The purpose of cardio is implied in the name “cardio” as in training your cardiovascular system. There is great benefit to improving your cardio performance, and you’ll even lose some weight from it, but primarily focusing on cardio for weight loss will cause you to neglect training the bodily systems that use the most fat for energy.

Its during rest and other low intensity activities where you burn the most fat. This is why cardio activity like running isn’t the best for fat reduction and definitely not good for your knees. You’re better off walking long distance rather than running. During your workout, your body will use carbs for energy which brings me to my next point. If fat is mostly used during rest, it would be wise to prioritize the activity that causes the most energy usage after the workout (rest). That activity is weight lifting, or resistance training in general.

The reason for this is recovery. It takes longer and requires more energy for the body to recover from lifting than cardio does. I wouldn’t tell you to completely cut out cardio, but if you’re gonna do it, do it at the end of your workout, or on days where you’re not lifting.

3 Reasons To Not Do Cardio Before Lifting

Cardio Before Lifting Will Hurt Your Training Performance

You only have a certain amount of energy to give within your workout, so you don’t want to be wasting it on cardio if you’re trying to build muscle and drop body fat. Lifting or any type of resistance training only builds muscle if the muscle is challenged and stimulated enough. You won’t be able to really challenge your muscle enough if you’re fatigued.

Cardio Before Lifting Will Hinder Movement Quality

When I say movement quality I mean muscular function and range of motion. The reason why this happens is because pre-exhausting the body will cause certain muscles to not fire with the amount of force that they are supposed to. For example, running can cause fatigue and tightness of the quadriceps and calve muscles, often results in excessive stress at the knee joint, hip, and lower back. This will not only hinder movement and create discomfort, but it often results in various injuries.

Cardio Before Lifting Can Lead To Over Training & Muscle Loss

Overall work volume is a big component to effective training. One of the fatal flaws that hold most people back from their fitness goals is doing too much! Doing cardio and then pushing your body through a rough lifting session on a consistent basis can lead to over training and muscle loss. A lot of work and not enough recovery leads to frustration and often causes people to lose motivation and quit. For more info on how over training works, read this.

The Perfect Warm Up

As far as warm ups go, the best way to warm up is to work your way through a couple of dynamic mobility exercises that specifically prep the muscle groups you’ll be using in that training session. For example, if you’re going to be doing legs, prep and get blood flow to the muscles that move your hips, knees and ankles.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, fitness tips, muscle growth, powerlifting, training strategies, weight loss, weightlifting

Nutrition & Supplements

Lose Fat And Fix Your Gut With Prebiotics

Post author By Remson
Post date May 8, 2017

Tribe By Noire

Lose Fat And Fix Your Gut With Prebiotics

Anyone who has taken an interest in gut health more than likely has heard about probiotics and the benefits of them. If you don’t know, the live bacteria of probiotic foods help tremendously in fighting off any issues in the gastrointestinal tract and maintaining a positive environment in the digestive system which ultimately lead to fat loss. They also play an important role in strengthening your immune system. Probiotics are found within the cultures of dairy foods, and yogurt also. However there is the vital resource that is not nearly as popular, but just as important, prebiotics. This guide will teach you what you need to know about prebiotics, how they are related to probiotics, how they help you, and the abundance of foods that contain them.

How Are Probiotics & Prebiotics Related?

Probiotics and prebiotics are essential to healthy gut function. Probiotics are live microorganisms that live in your gastrointestinal tract. They help the digestive process by cleaning out the gut so things can continue to flow smoothly. Like any living organism they need to be fed in order to survive and grow. This is where prebiotics come in. Prebiotics act as a food source for probiotics.

How Do I Get Prebiotics?

Prebiotics are un-digestible plant fibers that live inside the large intestine. When you consume foods high in prebiotics, those prebiotics will then fuel the growth of probiotics, resulting in healthy gut function.

You’ve more than likely already ingested prebiotics and not even realized it. Prebiotics are found in a variety of foods, mainly in high fiber vegetables. Vegetables that are high in fiber are typically also high in probiotics.

Here's A List Of My Top 7 Prebiotic Foods

Raw Chicory

You can find chicory root in healthy food stores as a supplement or in grounded form. People often use it as a replacement for coffee because it tastes like coffee, but without the side effects that some people experience like jitters, headaches, and trouble sleeping.

*The prebiotic statics of Raw Chicory Root are, 65% weight in fiber. Amount of daily serving needed would be 9.3 grams

Raw Jerusalem Artichoke

It looks more like ginger, but its name comes from it tasting like an artichoke. You can put it in salads and you can also boil it, satee it, or roast it to get a creamy potato. The Jerusalem Artichoke has a low glycemic index so it can be a good alternative to potatoes for diabetics.

*The prebiotic statics of Jerusalem Artichoke are, 31.5% weight in fiber. The daily serving amount needed is 19 grams.

Raw Dandelion

To get the prebiotics of Raw Dandelion Root into your diet try putting it in with your salads, sandwiches, stews, casseroles, soups or herbal teas. The taste of it can be a bit acrid so to deal with that, you can blanch them in boiling water for 10 – 20 secs, but not too much, or you’ll neutralize the prebiotics.

*The prebiotic statics of Raw Dandelion Root are, 24.3% weight in fiber. The daily serving amount needed is, 24.7 grams.

Raw Garlic

Add Garlic to your diet in many different ways.

Guacamole
Hummus
Vegetable Stir Fry
Add it to pasta for some extra flavor.

*The prebiotic statistics of Raw Garlic are, 17.5% weight in fiber. The daily serving amount needed is, 34.3 grams.

Raw Leeks

Aside from the fact that raw leeks are a great source of prebiotics, they actually taste pretty good and go well with just about anything. Try’em in garden pastas, salads, and also as anedible garnish if you feel like getting fancy.

*The prebiotic statics of Raw Leeks are, 11.7% weight in fiber. The daily serving amount needed is 51.3 grams.

Raw Onion

Most of the flavonoids are in the outermost layers of the onion, so try to peel off as little as possible before chopping, dicing. Onions are a tremendously potent food and are a great source of prebiotics, but cooking them will lower the nutritional quality and kill off a large quantity of the prebiotics.

*The prebiotic statistics of raw onion are, 8.6% weight in fiber. The daily amount needed is 69.8 grams.

Raw Asparagus

Raw asparagus is another great source of prebiotics. For many of us, raw asparagus is tough to eat, but it can be pretty tasty and less tough when its fermented. You can also try blending it into a smoothie.

*The prebiotic statistics of raw asparagus are, 5% weight in fiber. The daily amount needed is 120 grams.

How Much Prebiotics Should I have?

In order to get the full effects of prebiotics, you should try to consume at least 5 grams of prebiotic-dense foods per day.

*Note that cooking these food source can also lower the quantity of prebiotics in them, so I’d suggest eating raw if you can.

Over all, prebiotics is the key to having a healthy gut and speedy metabolism. Eat your greens and get lean!

For more info on gut bacteria and the micro biome, click here.

Hope this helps you guys out!

-Remson

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags diet strategies, fat loss, gut health, improve metabolism, nutrition plans, plant based diet, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss

Nutrition & Supplements

5 Important Things To Know About Fiber

Post author By Remson
Post date May 7, 2017

Tribe By Noire

5 Important Things To Know About Fiber

Generally when people talk about diet, they talk about protein, carbs, fat, and calorie counting. You may even hear a general mention of fruits and vegetables, but when was the last time you heard an in-depth discussion about fiber and gut health? Well if its not something you’ve heard about often, I want to talk to you about 5 important things to know about fiber.

1. What is Fiber & Where Is It Found?

Fiber is basically the threads that make up the tissue of plants. In regards to your diet this fiber is known as dietary fiber, or roughage. Its a type of carbohydrate that can not be digested by the human body. Due to the fact that it can’t be broken down by our bodies, it passes through our digestive tract pretty much intact, but what it does along the way is what’s important.

Here are some of the functions of dietary fiber.

Regulating digestion
Regulating blood sugar
Maintaining cholesterol levels

Dietary fiber is exclusive to a plant based diet and is not found in meat, dairy, or eggs.

2. Soluble Fiber & Insoluble Fiber

There are two different types of fiber that both important to have in your diet called soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Most plant based foods have a mixture of both even though its not specified on the label.

Soluble Fiber

Soluble fiber dissolves or swells in water almost becoming a gel like substance. This is also soluble fiber interacts with the fluids in your gut. To give you a quick visual, think about the consistency of oatmeal when it sits in water. That’s a sign of a particular food being high in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber reduces cholesterol levels and stabilizes blood sugar levels. Foods that are high in soluble fiber are beans, fruits, and oats.

Insoluble FIber

Unlike soluble fiber, Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. The purpose of insoluble fiber is to add fecal bulk which is great for preventing constipation. All plant based foods, especially vegetables, wheat, wheat bran, rye, and brown rice, are full of insoluble fiber.

3. Fiber Fermentation & Gut Bacteria

Fiber fermentation is a process that both soluble and insoluble fiber goes through in the large intestine that result in the production of certain gases and acids that have many significant health benefits. Here are some of those health benefits.

Stimulation of good bacteria production in the colon
Stabilization of blood glucose which helps people avoid diabetes
Suppression of LDL (bad cholesterol) which helps avoid the hardening of arteries and heart disease
Increase of lower gut acid levels, which protects against cancerous polyp formations and helps the body absorb essential minerals such as iron, calcium and magnesium
Inhibition of inflammation by improving the protective layer in the lower gut
Stimulation of the immune system by boosting production of helper cells and other antibodies
Reduction in the number of dangerous conditions associated with an unhealthy diet, including obesity and a diverse array of gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis

There are 7 foods that are highest my list in regards to fiber.

Chicory Root
Jerusalem Artichoke
Dandelion Root
Garlic
Leeks
Onion
Asparagus

For more information about how to fix your gut health and increase good gut bacteria, read this article here.

4. How Much Fiber Should You Consume Daily?

Statistically the average adult only consumes about 15 grams of fiber per day which is nowhere near enough. I won’t give you an exact cookie cutter amount, but a good baseline minimum is around 20-25 grams per 1000 calories. This is only a minimum and in reality your fiber intake should end up much higher than this on a balanced plant based diet.

5. can you consume too much fiber?

Having too much fiber in your diet is a very unlikely circumstance, but it is possible. This can be caused by overeating foods that are very high in fiber. Here are some signs that you’ve consumed too much fiber.

Gas and bloating – caused by the expansion of soluble fiber.
Loose stool – caused by excess water retention in your fecal matter
Constipation – soluble fiber absorbs water and too much water absorption can harden fecal matter
Dehydration – fiber uses up a lot of water in your system so increasing fiber intake without increasing water intake can deprive your organs of water.

In order to avoid these issue, increasing fiber intake should be gradual process, not anything drastic because your body needs to acclimated to these dietary changes.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags diet strategies, fat loss, gut health, improve metabolism, nutrition plans, plant based diet, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss

Nutrition & Supplements

Improve Gut Health With These 5 Plant Based Fermented Foods

Post author By Remson
Post date May 3, 2017

Tribe By Noire

Improve Gut Health With These 5 Plant Based Fermented Foods

More and more now, scientific studies are showing the importance of bacteria in regards to gut health. This information is changing the way we view food and the approach to diet. Fermented foods have been in human history for generations, but now the science has brought them into the spotlight. Let’s talk about fermented foods and how to improve gut health with these 5 plant based fermented foods.

Why Are Fermented Foods Good For You?

Fermented foods are foods that have been through the process of lactofermentation where natural bacteria feed on the sugar and starch in the food creating lactic acid. This process preserves the food, and creates all kinds of beneficial enzymes, b-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids, and various strains of probiotics.

The natural fermentation of foods has also been shown to preserve nutrients in food and break the food down to a form that’s easier to digest. This, along with the cultures of probiotics created during the fermentation process, is why the consumption of fermented foods leads to the improvement of gut health and digestion.

Simply put, fermented foods are nutrient dense foods that end up being alot easier to digest and absorb because of the fermentation process. For more information on gut bacteria and digestive health, read my article on gut flora and the key to gut health

5 Great Feremented Foods To Put Into Your Diet

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage that comes very thinly sliced. Its loaded with vitamin C, B, and K. It also contains a ton of probiotics, including leuconostoc, pediococcus, and lactobacillus. If you decide to go to the store and get some of this stuff, make sure you get it unpasteurized because pasteurization kills the good bacteria. Look for it in the refrigerated aisle.

Kimchi

Kimchi is an extremely popular South Korean food that they typically eat as a side dish. This type of fermented food is made with cabbage, radish, or cucumber. It’s packed with flavor, filled with vitamin C and carotene, and can either be eaten on its own or incorporated into a whole wide array of different dishes.

Miso

Miso is made from fermented soy beans and is often used in soups and can also add a nice flavor to other dishes like miso hummus. Its packed with micro nutrients like manganese, zinc, and antioxidants.

Coconut Yogurt

Coconut yogurt is packed with probiotics, and since it’s non-dairy, it’s a great vegan alternative and a lot easier to digest than conventional yogurt. Coconut is antiviral, anti-fungal and antibacterial, plus it’s high in calcium, potassium and magnesium.

Pickles

Pickles are filled with active bacterial cultures and enzymes. Like sauerkraut, buy lacto-fermented pickles unpasteurized from the refrigerator section, not the kind made with vinegar. They may taste similar, but they don’t have the same health benefits. Its also a good idea to drink the pickle juice.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags diet strategies, fat loss, gut health, improve metabolism, nutrition plans, plant based diet, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss

Fitness & Training

3 Keys To Building Muscle And Burning Fat At The Same Time

Post author By Remson
Post date May 1, 2017

3 Keys To Building Muscle And Burning Fat At The Same Time

One of the biggest myths in fitness today is the belief that you can’t build muscle and drop body fat at the same time, atleast not a substantial amount. Because of this belief, it is a common practice to alternate between 3 different phases known as bulking, cutting, and maintenance. My goal here in this article is to simplify the process and explain the 3 keys to building muscle and burning fat at the same time.

The Vicious Cycle Of Cutting & Bulking

This vicious cycle will have you bouncing back and forth from one extreme to the next. You want to get lean and sexy, so you neurotically cut calories in efforts to drop weight fast. You drop the weight, and a clothing size or two. You feel good about it for a bit, but the feeling fades when you realize you look flat. You’ve gotta put some muscle on, and add some shape to this now thinned out physique. Popular opinion says you’ve gotta eat big to get big, so you begin doing just that, over eating. You hit it hard in the gym and pack on some good size, but only a small portion of it being actual lean mass. Ladies and gentlemen, the vicious cycle of bulking and cutting.

Debunking the calorie myth

Before we go any further I need to clarify what calorie is and is not. A calorie is not a form of nutrients, it is actually a measure of thermo energy. To be specific it is the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C. Basically food works in the body much like how gas works in your car. The fuel heats up creating a caloric output (energy use). The more “calories” we consume, the more potential caloric output we have.

Understanding that, we can now see that the only purpose for increasing calorie intake is to have more usable energy. Whatever potential energy we have left over is stored in either the liver, muscle tissue, or fat cells. If you have your calorie surplus too high, you’ll gain body fat. If your calorie deficit is too low, you’ll lose muscle. Sounds simple enough, but this is actually where calorie counting falls on its face.

Are all calories created equal?
Does it matter where the calories come from?
How do you calculate how many calories you need?

I’ve often had clients drop body fat and increase muscle mass by increasing their food intake, so what’s the missing link here?

Quality Over Quantity

When thinking about food, quality comes first. The quality of your food is its macro and micro nutrient balance. A good example of this would be fruit vs cake.

Cake has little to no nutritional value, and very high in “calories”. Cake is known to be fattening because not only is it high in “calories, its also low in fiber, so you end up eating way too much of it before actually feeling full.

Fruit is low in “calories” but loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber which greatly improve energy, recovery, and digestion. This means more muscle growth and fat burn.

The 3 Keys To The Right Gains & Losses

1. NITROGEN SURPLUS

Consuming protein increases the nitrogen levels in your body. This nitrogen is what builds the muscle tissue in the body. Simply put, you will build muscle as long as you have a nitrogen surplus in the body during recovery. Studies show that the optimal consumption of protein per day for muscle building is 1.5 to 1.8 grams per kilogram of lean body mass.

2. TRAIN INTENSE & TIME EFFICIENT

Your training sessions should be fairly quick and intense, typically within 40 – 45 minutes. Having long drawn out training sessions can drastically reduce performance and inhibit your recover because of over use to the nervous system. Your body only has but so much fuel available at a given time so make every minute count.

3. RECOVERY

The body builds muscle at rest almost entirely when you sleep, which is why the best thing you can do for muscle growth is sleep. The body also metabolizes the most fat at rest in order to generate and stabilize your hormones and other functions. Its pretty much impossible to get the results you want without sufficient recovery.

Leave a comment below! Let me know what info you’ve found most useful here and feel free to ask if you have any further questions. Thanks for reading!

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Nutrition & Supplements

6 Key Benefits Of Fasting

Post author By Remson
Post date April 30, 2017

Tribe By Noire

6 Key Benefits Of Fasting

Fasting is one of those things that are really beneficial to us, but is often confused with starvation and regarded as unrealistical and dangerous, so I want to clear some things up and tell you about the 6 key benefits of fasting.

Fasting Vs Starving

Let’s establish the difference between fasting and starving here because there is a huge difference. Just because you feel hungry doesn’t mean you’re starving. Starving basically means undernourished. When you’re starving you’re not getting the nutrition that your body needs which causes some pretty serious health issues.

Ironically in my years of coaching I’ve come to learn that a great deal of people are undernourished even though they eat consistently. There are two main reasons for this.

Your diet does not contain enough of the nutrients you need.
You have digestive issues that keep your body from absorbing and using the nutrients you consume.

On the flip side there is fasting that acts as solution to these problems. Fasting does not necessarily restrict what you eat, but restricts when you eat. You basically set a time frame of when you don’t eat, but there are ways to consume enough nutrients without breaking your fast. The nutrients I’m referring to is micro nutrients, meaning vitamins and minerals.

6 Key Benefits Of Fasting

1. FASTING HELPS WITH FAT LOSS

Fasting is an extremely effective way to lower your body fat percentage. The way this works is there are 2 main sources of energy that your body uses called fat and carbs. Both of the energy sources get broken down into a simpler form called glucose which is what your body operates on. Carbs are the body’s preferred source of energy because its easier to convert into available energy. Fasting allows the body to burn through all of the carbs, and start converting and using fat as energy at a much higher rate.

2. FASTING HELPS IMPROVE INSULIN SENSATIVITY

Insulin sensitivity is major factor in maintaining an efficient energy balance and body fat percentage. Basically insulin sensitivity is the rate out how effective your body is at utilizing blood glucose for energy. The pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream to collect glucose and transport it to where its needed. Fasting increases the efficiency of this process, which comes as a great benefit to people struggling with fatigue, weight gain, and diabetes.

3. FASTING IMPROVES THE METABOLISM

Its a common belief that not eating for long periods of time can slow down your metabolism, but fasting actually does the complete opposite. Eating constantly creates a lot of work for your digestive tract which over time can cause a slowdown or even a complete burnout. Fasting gives your digestive tract a break from the constant workload thus giving it a jump start to work much more efficiently.

4. FASTING IMPROVES BRAIN FUNCTION

There have been many scientific studies that show Fasting improves brain function because it boosts the production of a protein called brain derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF. BDNF triggers brain stem cells to convert into new neurons, and triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health. This protein also protects your brain cells from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

5. FASTING IMPROVES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

fasting improves the immune system by reducing free radical damage, regulating inflammatory conditions in the body and starves off cancer cell formations. It is very difficult for the body to focus on both digestion and recovery which is why when you get sick, your appetite diminishes. Fasting allows the body to concentrate on recovery much more effectively.

6. FASTING PROMOTES LONGEVITY

Contrary to popular belief, the less you eat, the longer you live. Numerous scientific studies show that in both animals and humans, a reduction in food intake results in an increased lifespan. Aging is caused by a slow metabolism and a lack of recovery from cellular damage. The combination of all of the previously listed perks of fasting result in a body that stays younger for longer.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags diet strategies, fat loss, fitness tips, muscle growth, weight loss