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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

3 Foods to AVOID for Flatter Abs

I just read a great article 3 so-called healthy foods to stop eating. This website sends me occasional updates on ways to lose belly fat and this article is by far the best. I recommend reading the whole thing if you have time. If not, here is an overview. Today we consume on average 67% of our diet in just 3 foods and their derivatives; corn, soy, and wheat. A healthy diet should only consist of 1%-5%. These foods lead to allergies, intolerances, and fat build-up. He talks about the derivatives; ie. high fructose corn syrup, soybean/corn oil, and others and how over consumption of these products is throwing our bodies out of whack. Even our meat and eggs are high sources of corn, soy, and wheat because it's cheap and fattens up livestock. So really our intake of these foods is even higher than 67%. Here is what he says about why it is so bad to consume so much of these foods.
Well, this section could encompass an entire book, so to keep this short, I'll just throw out a few random reasons...
  • Skews the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in our diet to as high as 30:1, when a ratio of 1:1 to 2:1 is considered healthy.
  • Problems with gluten intolerance (related to heavy wheat consumption)
  • Problems with weight gain, blood-sugar swings, and reduced insulin sensitivity (and progression of diabetes) due to excessive refined corn and wheat flours, as well as HFCS in our diet
  • Soy and corn are the most genetically modified crops (which also allows more pesticides and herbicides to be used, which are usually xenoestrogens)
  • Many of the pesticide and herbicide residues in these crops are xenoestrogens, which can increase "stubborn" belly fat 
  • Soy products and derivatives contain a double-whammy of xenoestrogens as well as phyto-estrogens... again creating an environment in your body for fat storage, carcinogenic effects, and even "man boobs" in very severe cases
  • The feeding of corn and soy to animals reduces the health and nutritional benefits of those animal products
  • and the list could go on and on and on...
He recommends buying only 1-ingredient foods; fruits, veggies, beans, etc., and steering clear of any processed foods, deep-fried foods, and soda. It's okay to eat some pastas, breads, etc but our bodies were not meant to consume such large amounts of these. Once again, I am a total hypocrite but I am hoping to incorporate more 1-ingredient foods into my diet. It just sounds better and if I can lose fat at the same time, it's worth a try. 

So today after my 1-hr walk, I did my first P90X workout, the Ab Ripper. I had to modify a few of the workouts because my abs are still weak from being stretched to the limit 3 months ago. I feel pretty good right now and might try another workout this afternoon. Then, from what I hear, I will be in tears most of the day tomorrow. I'll let you all know how that goes. Anyone who has done P90X, let me know your thoughts on it. Thanks for the videos A!

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