Blog

Beth Colucci

Thanksgiving is a great time of year to remember what you’re thankful for, including your body. We all have changes we would like to make to our physiques, but when you take a step back and look at what your whole body is capable of, you realize what a truly miraculous thing it is. It’s time to acknowledge & express a little gratitude for all your body does...

1. Your legs are powerful…

While you may judge the size of your thighs, don’t lose sight of the fact that your legs are powerful enough to walk, cycle, or run to wherever you want to go. There is someone out there who is struggling to just walk around the block. Never let the size or shape of your leg...

FEELING HUNGRY? THAT’S GHRELIN TALKING.

Not to be confused with gremlins—the nasty creatures that result from feeding a Mogwai after midnight, according to the 1984 film, Gremlins.

Some of you, including my wife, weren’t even born yet and probably won’t get the reference. But let me say, the way many people respond to a spike in ghrelin isn’t much different than how gremlins behave. (Go to YOUTUBE and you’ll see what I mean!)

Mike Lipowski

Last month we looked at ketogenic diets, flexible diets, and low-fat diets. As with part one I won’t be taking a position on which I like most or least but rather just present you the facts. However since I was asked by many of you what my preferred approach to diet is I will release an article soon that will detail what it is and why.

Let's get it on!

Intermittent Fasting:

HISTORY: The concept of fasting dates back centuries and has played a role in almost every religion. Fasting was a way of life for our ancient ancestors who would frequently go days without eating as they hunted their food. However, fasting as a weight loss strategy or a means of improving health biomarker...

You workout so you can develop more muscle, right? (Even if this is not the reason you say you workout it actually is--here me out.) Maximizing muscle development leads to increased strength, a toned body, more energy, stronger bones, better heart health, improved cardiovascular conditioning, greater functionality and flexibility.

Did I hit on a few reasons you workout!? If so, then muscle development is important to you. But I'm not here to talk about that today. I want to talk about one of the common [negative] side-effects of exercise and a healthier way to handle it.

LET ME ASK YOU TWO QUESTIONS:

1. When the pain sets in after training or other activities, do you reach for the Advil? Alleve? O...

THERE ARE SEVERAL HORMONES THAT, WHEN OPERATING PROPERLY, WILL OPTIMIZE METABOLIC FUNCTION.

We’ll start with the more familiar, insulin. The job of insulin is to simply transport glucose (carbohydrates) out of the bloodstream and into either the liver, muscles, or fat.

Your liver is able to store approximately 100 g of glucose in the form of glycogen. The muscles can store between 325-375 g of glycogen on average. And you can safely have 25 g or so circulating in your bloodstream.

So what happens when the amount of glucose coming into your body exceeds the available storage space in the muscles and liver? It gets converted and stored as fat.

However, as I’ve preached for almost two d...

FEELING HUNGRY? THAT’S GHRELIN TALKING.

Not to be confused with gremlins—the nasty creatures that result from feeding a Mogwai after midnight, according to the 1984 film, Gremlins.

Some of you, including my wife, weren’t even born yet and probably won’t get the reference. But let me say, the way many people respond to a spike in ghrelin isn’t much different than how gremlins behave. (Go to YOUTUBE and you’ll see what I mean!)

GHRELIN IS KNOWN AS, THE HUNGER HORMONE.

When ghrelin is secreted by your stomach (because your stomach is empty) it increases your appetite and encourages fat storage.

CONVERSELY, THE HORMONE LEPTIN TELLS US WHEN IT’S TIME TO STOP E...

DID YOU THINK WE’D MAKE IT TO THE END OF THIS SERIES?

I was questioning it myself. The deeper I dive into other articles, research, and testimonies on fasting the more I want to say.

However, I realize that not everyone likes to nerd-out on this stuff like I do. I hope those of you that do, have gotten what you came looking for, and those that don’t—I hope you’re still hanging with me.

TO TIE A NICE LITTLE BOW ON THIS BOX LET’S LOOK AT THE ROLE GROWTH HORMONE (GH) PLAYS IN MAKING US A METABOLIC BOSS.

Growth hormone is produced by the pituitary gland that helps us grow as children and adolescents. As adults, GH aids in muscle growth and preservation, and it also help...

WEIGHT LOSS IS ONE THING. FAT-LOSS IS ANOTHER. BUT A CHANGE IN BODY-COMPOSITION IS THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF ANYONE WHO WANTS TO LOOK, FEEL, AND FUNCTION BETTER.

That’s because a change in body-composition is not just assuming a loss of body-fat but an increase in muscle.

Does skipping breakfast hold the key?

I wouldn’t go so far to give a definitive, yes, but I’ll explain how it contributes.

All of this talk about skipping breakfast is really nothing more than a conversation around the concept of intermittent or extended fasting.

HERE ARE THE LOGISTICS AND RATIONALE FOR SKIPPING OUT ON “THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY”, AS IT RELATES TO FASTING.

Firstly, people ...