Vegetables ARE for Cool People (and a cool rhyme)

Whatever nutrition strategy you choose to adopt one thing seems universally excepted – eating vegetables is a good thing.

If you choose a low carb diet, a high carb diet, an elimination-style diet, a calorie controlled diet or even the maple syrup diet getting a minimum of five vegetables a day (not fruit) is always a winner.

Crammed full of vitamins and minerals and with the majority packing a healthy dose of fibre vegetables are for cool people.

To help you remember the benefits of veg I made up this handy rhyme…

Roasted, stir-fried or sautéed,
Boiled, steamed or raw,
If half your plate is full of veg,
You’ll be kicking down the door.

I obviously run out of ideas to finish it, but if you can do better lets hear it.

Please feel free to post your vegetable-related poems on my Steve Keywood’s Personal Training Facebook Page

Advanced Fat Loss Strategies: The Effects of Insulin

I’m not shy in my disagreement with the calorie counting theory with regards to weight loss, fat loss and health. I don’t completely disagree with it. I just don’t think it tells the whole story.

One of the shortfalls is due to the fact we have lots of hormones at work in the human body at any one time. Estrogens, testosterone, cortisol, growth hormones, are all relevant to us and our journey from fat to fit (or even fit to fitter…) however it seems clear to all that when it comes to developing a lean, toned body, insulin (or controlling insulin) seems key.

Don’t believe me?

Take, for example, a type 1 diabetic. A type 1 diabetic can eat whatever he wants and doesn’t gain a pound. A type 1 diabetic loses weight because, quite simply, his pancreas does not produce enough insulin. Without insulin the sugar in his bloodstream cannot get into his cells to get fat. Without insulin you cannot gain weight.

Sounds rather glamorous, right? It’s also worth noting that without insulin you cannot build muscle (a metabolically active tissue essential for looking good) and will die. Not so glam now, right?

However, understanding and controlling this hormone could be the answer many of you are looking for in the battle against the bulge.

Have you ever had the misfortune of seeing two people on the exact same diet get very different results? One loses lots of weight whilst the other is left scratching her head as she seems to of put on a pound.

People are different and the sooner this simple fact is understood the better. When this occurs the calorie counting diet can be left wanting. You can either eat less and less and become more miserable or you can wonder, is there something else going on here?

The body has millions of biochemical reactions a minute. Amongst these are the suppression and innovation of many different hormones. The question of how to stimulate the desired hormones to stimulate fat loss might seem like a complicated one but in fact it’s remarkably simple.

You could use a synthetic variety from your doctor which comes with numerous unwanted side effect or you could use something that is cheap and available to all.

What is this wonder drug? …Food!

Understanding your body’s response to food is important when it comes to fat-loss, fitness and health in general. Your choice of food quite simply determines your body’s hormonal response to it.

This is not isolated to insulin. It is relevant to estrogens, testosterone, cortisol, growth hormones, too. All of which have huge implications on the way your body stores fat (and quite possibly where your body stores fat), your metabolic rate and fitness, too.

However, for the time being let’s take a look at the bigger picture regarding insulin…

When you eat any meal your blood sugar rises. Your body knows it needs to keep blood sugar within a healthy range. To keep blood sugar in a healthy range it releases insulin from your pancreas to guide sugar into muscle cells. This is where it can be used for energy. Or as is more often the case it will guide sugar into adipose tissue to be stored as fat.

In essence insulin has two jobs…
1. Get blood sugar back to normal
2. To guide sugar to cells where it can be used for energy or stored for later use.

When this works it is AWESOME. But, more often than not, people eat far too much sugars and starches (carbohydrates), not enough healthy fats, protein or fibre, and as a result blood sugar goes through the roof.

When this happens the pancreas bangs out a huge amount of insulin to deal with the insult and to regulate blood sugar.

The assists the blood sugar to its preferred source, the muscle cells, but they only have limited availability and soon become resistant to insulin and begin turning the sugar away.

To remove the sugar from the blood stream the pancreas will give another blast of insulin into the blood stream and as the muscle cells do not offer the sugar and insulin a friendly reception they go to the next best place, the fat cells.

Meanwhile, the pancreas has pumped the blood stream with an elevated level of insulin this leads to a sharp reduction in blood sugar, crashing tiredness, cravings and weight gain.

When this happens on a regular occasion the cells become less hospitable to insulin and more often than not store sugar as fat.

Hence the reason sugar makes you fat and not fat.

This is called insulin resistance and is essentially a major factor in a new age condition called Syndrome X. (…I don’t want to go off track so if you want to know more google it!)

I’m not negating the calorie counting theory completely. If you eat too much and do not exercise, independent of any metabolic disorder (hormone imbalance, etc) you will get fat.

BUT for many of us we recognise that it’s easier for some people to get fat than others. This is probably to do with some degree of insulin resistance.

If you have a normal insulin response to food you will quite possibly thrive (for a while at least) on a calorie-controlled diet (slimming world, weight watchers, etc)

HOWEVER if you are one of the many people (most of whom are undiagnosed) who are somewhat insulin insensitive then calorie counting diets will spell disaster.

What’s the score?
At the end of the day you will need to eat food that produces a balanced hormonal response in order to accelerate fat-loss.

To do this you will NOT want high levels of insulin in your bloodstream.

Whilst you have high levels of insulin your body will more likely store more fat.

Your body does not burn fat in the presence of high levels of insulin.

You must also understand insulin is not the enemy here. You need insulin to live. You must create a balance between insulin and its opposing hormone glucagons (this increases blood sugar when its to low) for optimal health and fat loss.

What can I do to create a balanced hormonal response?
Avoid starches and sugars (energy dense carbohydrates) such as bread, pasta and cereal and to a lesser extent potatoes and rice. Take it easy on the fruit (sugars sugar) and avoid large meals in general. These will all spike blood sugar. Try eating a little more protein at each meal and snack. This will raise blood sugar slowly, keep it there for a longer period of time and slowly bring it down.

Balance your blood sugar TODAY and turn your body into a fat burning furnace!

Morning Glory

How you start your day is indicative of how the rest of your day will be.

For many people I train there previous routine involves hitting the snooze button several times, skipping breakfast or even worse having cereals or toast, and rushing off to work.

Sound familiar? Well take note. If you feel rushed this is no way to start your day.

Being proactive and taking control of your morning can set you up for the rest of the day. Follow my fail-safe guide to kicking your day off perfectly…

Step 1: When your alarm goes off, get up.

Get out the habit of hitting the snooze button. Start the day like you mean business. Get out of bed and get moving.

Step 2: Drink a HUGE glass of water.

After eight hours of sleeping you are certain to be dehydrated. Speed up your metabolism and make some inroads into your two litres a day target by having a big glass of water.

Step 3: Open the curtains, look outside and take a deep breath.

It’s a great way to get some perspective. First thing in the morning, it’s normally quiet and still outside. Take a deep breath. This is great for helping you relax.

Step 4: Get moving!

If you struggle to fit exercise into your routine now’s a good time to get it done. Try one of my 10-minute bodyweight routines like The Five Alive. This will get you burning calories at a higher rate for the rest of the day. No time in the morning? Get up 10-minutes earlier.

Step 5: Eat breakfast.

You MUST have protein at breakfast. Put two boiled eggs in some cold water before you start your bodyweight circuit, get them on the hob at a high heat and by the time you’re done so will you breakfast be. Eating protein at breakfast will balance blood sugar, keep you full up until lunch and make a much better alternative to cereals, toast or fruit and yoghurt.

Start your day like you mean business and the rest of the day will be easy.

Think Quality NOT Quantity

I think its common knowledge these days that free-range eggs are far superior than battery farmed ones. The majority of people recognise a chicken with the ability to roam will lay a better quality more nourishing egg than one that’s been cooped up in a small dark cage.

However, not many people recognise how in other ways the food on our plate is reared/grown can affect our health, nourishment and vitality.

Take for example farm-raised salmon compared to Wild Alaskan Salmon. Salmon is an incredibly healthy food but is a classic example of how with advances in modern farming techniques food can change. In salmon farms, salmon are crowded into pens with hundreds of other fish. In this environment disease can spread rapidly. Salmon are naturally carnivores – feeding off mackerel, sardines and krill, but when raised in pens they are fed on grain. Grain is not the natural diet of the salmon and as a result the fish you eat is vastly different from what you might expect. Grain-fed fish are high in inflammatory omega-6 (something we get far too much of), have a rather unpleasant dose of antibiotics (to prevent disease) and actually contain far less omega-3 fats than you would expect.

Compare this with its wild Alaskan brother and you will see the difference. Immediately you will notice the delicious pink colour. Wild Alaskan Salmon gets its colour from eating krill and shrimp. These foods contain high levels of antioxidants (cancer fighting nutrients). If you find a pink farm reared salmon there is a chance it has got its colour from a different source. In the US (not sure if this happens here…) they use a farmed salmon colour wheel to determine how red or pink you want your salmon to be. Somewhat worryingly they will manipulate the type of food they use to create the type of food the consumer (or supermarket) will prefer.

It’s not all so straightforward mind you. Many people will argue that the benefits of naturally reared fish are counteracted by mercury contamination. Whilst there is an element of truth to this the above should provide the perfect example why paying a little bit more for better quality food is important.

A similar storey can be told for grain-fed cattle, non-organic vegetables and even tap water. I realise that if we listened too much to this stuff we would end up not eating anything but making better decisions in the supermarket (or even better at your local farmers market!) can have big implications on your health and fitness goals. Paying a little bit more will mean you get closer to the real thing.

Therefore, it would seem the storey of the chicken and the egg is just the tip of the iceberg.

Is Your Shopping List Sabotaging Your Fat Loss?

I went to the supermarket last week, grabbed what I wanted and got to the till. I emptied my basket and got to the front of the queue. Looking at my t-shirt the cashier saw I was a personal trainer and made a standard remark, ‘oh, I could do with your help.’ As with most of these instances I smile and say something polite, ‘no you don’t, exercise is bad for you, ha ha ha… (polite laughter)’

Without drawing breath the friendly cashier told me she’s started to eat ‘healthy.’ Now, I stopped advising people as to what eat or what not to eat in these situations when I realised that most people who ask me questions in these situations don’t really want to know the truth nor are they in the ‘right place’ to action it. I.e. they are still content to go down the same routes they always have done and either cut the fat out their diet (big mistake) or go to a slimming club (never really works, does it?).

Anyway, she looked in my basket and saw I had full fat organic yoghurt and said the immortal words ‘I wouldn’t of thought you’d be eating this’ aside from how unprofessional I thought she was, I actually asked why not. ‘Well,’ she told me, ‘we all know fat is bad for us, don’t we?’ I raised my eyebrows.

The next item through was an organic steak. ‘I’m not so sure about organic food.’ She said ‘I read an article in the daily mail the other day that said it was all a load of nonsense.’ I smiled politely again.

She scanned my green leafy salad, lemon and extra-virgin olive oil and told me that if I was making a salad I should take a look at the salad dressings in the produce section. ‘They are all fat free and are on offer at the moment.’

During our brief time together she told me about the diet she was following and how she can drink sugar-free diet coke, enjoys snacking on fat-free rice cakes, has healthy cereal bars for breakfast when she’s in a rush otherwise it’s special k, the plan she follows is great because she can save her points up for the weekend…

During our brief time together not once did I make a comment on her diet. I knew it wasn’t worth it. I did wish her luck and went on my way.

However, it did cross my mind as to how badly informed the general public are when it comes to health, weight loss and fitness.

I resisted the urge to tell her…

**Cutting fat from your diet is a sure-fire way getting fat. There is now an abundance of research to support this. The reason the government won’t u-turn on this is because it would mean losing face, upsetting a number of tax-generating industries and creating a huge void in public understanding. Dietary fat is important for cellular health, satiety, contains vitamins and increases the uptake of vitamins and minerals in the body. I agree the quality of fat is important – hence the reason I choose organic steak.

**The fat-free rice cakes she is consuming are nothing but refined starch with no fibre that will quite simply break down into sugar immediately in the body causing a massive spike in insulin causing you to store more fat and feel hungry almost straight away.

**Sugar-free diet coke is probably worse than the real thing and is full of chemicals. This will give your liver (a fat-burning organ) even more to do to try and detoxify your system and stop you from burning fat efficiently.

**The so-called healthy breakfast cereals and cereal bars are full of wheat that will leach vitamins and minerals from your body making you malnourished and hungry.

**The fat-free salad dressings she referred to are full of sugar not a good option.


Most people are fooled by so-called healthy foods. As a general rule if it has health claim on it it’s worth avoiding. You don’t see health claims on real healthy foods because they are difficult to engineer. The so-called healthy foods at first glance appear all good and well but if you flip it over and look at the ingredients generally they are full of sugar (or a sugar alternatives), salt and various unpronounceable ingredients.

You need to understand if you can’t pronounce it there is a good chance your body will not recognise it as food either. Try sticking to the basics and as a general rule if it didn’t swim, fly or run or if it didn’t grow out the ground be suspicious.

In reality, everything the cashier was buying was full of chemicals, sugar and refined ingredients. I am fairly confident when I re-visit the supermarket in a couple of weeks she will be in the same shape.

It’s not her fault the labels you find on foods are confusing. This combined with mass-marketing, conflicting opinions on nutrition and a lack of intuition makes her a victim.

Forget what you know (or think you know) and try eating naturally derived foods and watch the weight fall off.

Miranda Kerr (Uber-Hot) Scoffs Coconut Oil. I Think You Should Too.

This week the Mail Online featured an article suggesting Victoria Secrets model and uber-hot chick Miranda Kerr’s secret to jaw-dropping hotness was eating fat.

BOOM! What the hell?! An uber-chick with jaw-dropping beauty scoffs fat?! Surely not.

HOLD THE PHONE. This just got interesting….

Not just ANY fat. Coconut Oil. [Cue hordes of women looting Holland & Barrett in search of this nutritious wonder…]

BUT hold up, this must be crap right. Like all the things these freakishly hot chicks say, it must be nonsense.

It would appear not.

Unlike wrapping yourself up in cling film, using vibrating dumbbells or even the most ridiculous myth of all doing sit-ups for a flat stomach (wow! That’s controversial…) eating coconut oil is indeed the cats’ pyjamas when it comes to getting in shape.

And I didn’t want to say I told you so, BUT… I wrote this back in November 2009. http://stevekeywoodspersonaltraining.blogspot.com/2009/10/coconut-oil.html

Suddenly when a super-model mentions it in an interview you girls sit up and listen.

To quote Miranda Kerr, ‘I will not go a day without coconut oil. I personally take four tablespoons a day, either on my salad, in my cooking or in my cups of green tea.’

I think I love her.

Extracted from the flesh of mature coconuts, coconut oil can be eaten raw, used in cooking (particularly good as it has a high smoke point which prevents oxidation...) or even applied directly to the skin.

And don’t be put off by idiots who say it’s a saturated fat beware. They truly are thick. (I will elaborate on this another time..)

Consuming coconut oil (and other healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish oils) can elevate your metabolism and speed up fat-loss.

They also have important functions in terms of cellular health and satiety (the feeling of satisfaction you get after a meal – its no wonder fat free diets make you hungry and miserable!!)

…anyway I seem to of gone of track.

Coconut oil WILL (as part of a healthy, clean and nutritious diet) make you seriously hot just like Miranda Kerr, which I think is a good thing.