Archive

Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

CrassFit Workout of the Day 2009/11/26

November 29th, 2009 Simon Voggeneder No comments

After being a group of five last week, this week’s workout saw only Peter and me coming – all the others had plenty of reasons to excuse themselves.

This workout came about without real planning, so we were going to work on the basics instead of handling fancy exercises. Peter has finally gotten his own 24 kg Kettlebell, so we based our workout mainly about this tool which still is a tremendous challenge for both of us.

After toying around a while with the Kettlebells (double Kettlebell work is tremendously challenging – I thought it to be easier, going even as far as thinking about doing metabolic conditioning work with it), we decided on a workout. The final result was:

Metabolic Conditioning

3 rounds of

24 kg Kettlebell Complex

  • Push press
  • One-armed swing
  • One-armed high-pull
  • Clean
  • Squat

5 repetitions each, left + right

Each round was complemented with a approx. 200-meter-run.

This workout turned out to be a lot harder than I initially thought and I turned out to do a downwards ladder of 5-4-3 repetitions for the respective rounds, which was challenge enough. Peter was braver than me and completed the full five repetitions for each round. What proved hard to accomplish for me was maintaining the grip. I have to admit that my second and third round were shadowed with an extremely high frequency of resting the Kettlebell on the round – which defies the purpose of training with complexes, which is maintaining the grip throughout exercise execution.

Post-Fatigue

Peter came up with the idea of the ‘Man-Maker’. This is a complex consisting of:

  • Push-up on the Kettlebells
  • Renegade row on both sides
  • Double clean
  • Squat

Three rounds of five repetitions each were planned. I again reduced the number of repetitions due to pain and fatigue, Peter did the whole amount. This exercise is especially challenging for the abdominal section of the body. Doing the renegade rows, it’s the wrong question to ask which muscles of the body currently are working – the right question would be: Which ones of them aren’t working? This exercise feels just like the whole body being under tension. In this respect, I’d like to compare renegade rows with turkish get-ups.

The workout was completed with a few sets of push-ups plus renegade rows as finisher, before we packed our things and started the way home.

Lessons I learned from the workout today are the following

  • A towel is an elementary piece of equipment – you can never know how much you will sweat
  • A second pack of clothes also is a good idea if you have a long way home – especially for the upper body, which is usually soaked in sweat and cold
  • Take something to eat with you for post-workout nutrition. I favor bananas for the job – as for protein, this is a good field of usage for protein powders – as they are easily transportable in a shaker. Add water and drink it.
  • It is essential to train your grip strength. The grip is the first thing that lets loose and limits your abilities.
So far, so good. On to the next workout :)

So far, so good. On to the next workout :)

Train on and stay strong,
Simon

The Warrior Diet: Review

September 14th, 2009 Simon Voggeneder No comments

There are some ideas that sound foolish first and need some time and a rise in awareness to be understood and appreciated. The principles of what is called “The Warrior Diet” can be filed under this category. The first time I heard and read about this way of eating and living, I closed my ears and called it rubbish. The second time I thought about it, I already had bought a book about it. The third time I considered it, I was already practicing it. And up to now, I did not stop to do so.

What is The Warrior Diet?

The Warrior Diet is a way of eating and living that is different from what we know from mainstream living. The author of the book “The Warrior Diet”, Ori Hofmekler, took a good look at ancient cultures and contemporary tribes and studied their approach to dieting, exercising and lifestyle. The lessons that he could learn from his observations are condensed into his book, with a strong emphasis on the nutrition part (hence the ‘diet’ in the book’s title).

This review will incorporate official recommendations as well as personal additions that have begun to dawn on me.

The Warrior Diet Eating Cycle

The Warrior Diet eating cycle is the central element of this diet and the factor that distinguishes it from other diets. While regular diets are keen on changing on either how much or what to eat, The Warrior Diet is much about the question when to eat.

On the Warrior Diet, the human body goes through periods of fasting and feasting, mimicking the primal circumstance of the hunter that had to survive without steady supplies (fasting) and gorged on his prey upon successful hunt (feasting). This is accomplished by incorporating two phases:

  • The undereating phase, where you eat less than normal (down to zero), lasting 20-21 hours of the day.
  • The overeating phase, where you eat significantly more than normal (up to satiety), lasting 3-4 hours of the day (usually at the end of the day).

The Undereating Phase

During this phase, you are entitled to fast. This is the time, in which your body digests your feast meal and draws upon the energy storages it has. It is occupied expending energy and has no energy to lose for digestion, which can draw up to 40% of the total energy available. Furthermore, the body detoxifies during this phase and tries to cleanse itself from the metabolic junk that meals bring with them. The foods consumed during the undereating phase are intended to aid the detoxification process, keep blood sugar levels stable and enrich the body’s enzyme pool to strengthen the immune system.

Foods that are okay during this phase are lean and easily digestible proteins (preferably dairy or eggs), raw vegetables (abstain from salads, they are hard to digest and sedative) and fruits (with low fat content). Occasionally, a handful of (ideally raw) nuts is okay, but not recommended. Ori recommends vegetable juices for their high mineral, vitamin and nutrient content – I can agree although I do not use them. Fruit juices are far from ideal as they critically influence your blood sugar levels.

To me, the optimum solution for the undereating phase has become to eat small portions of cottage cheese or yogurt (quark, here in Austria, which can be stirred to creamy consistence) with fruit (apple or peach, berries are very good too), seasoned with a teaspoon of bee pollen and some cinnamon. The smaller the portions, the better. You tax the digestive system less by eating less at a time. Four small meals is therefore better than two bigger ones.

The Overeating Phase

After the work of the day is done, time has come for the big feast of the day. The body is primed for food consumption and will have better ability to digest more of the food you ingest.

Ori recommends starting the Overeating Phase with a salad, consisting of as many different tastes and textures as possible. The salad enriches the body with enzymes that help digestion and helps against cravings – it diminishes the possibility of eating too much afterwards.

The first course thereafter are steamed vegetables and protein plus fat sources. Eat as much as you like of these foods until you are satisfied. Only if you are hungry afterwards, choose on carbohydrates to finish off the meal. Ori recommends this to prime the body to use fats as its primary fuel but also talks about cycling the main fuels – days of high fat content should be alternated with days of relatively high carbohydrate content, ideally in form of whole grains and legumes.

I personally skip the salad and concentrate on the main course which normally consists of vegetables and protein plus fat sources like aged cheese, whole eggs or meats (preferably fish) and do well on this regimen. Occasionally, I eat high-carbohydrate meals, especially when eating with my wonderful girlfriend. She cooks like a goddess. Good that the Warrior Diet is not too strict on these regulations :) You might as well eat what you want to – without looking at the macronutrient content – but keep aware that the quality of the food determines the quality of your well-being afterwards.

The Warrior Diet and Athletics

Ori Hofmekler looked back not only on the general population of ancient cultures but more specific on the warrior castes of the cultures – so his research has a lot in common with athletics. He wrote about how there are not enough elite athletes to be found on this planet now to row a battleship with the speed and over the distance slaves have rowed it back then – a mark to describe the decay of athletic performance over centuries.

The Warrior Diet is designed to maximize the athletic performance by minimizing digestive stress and priming the body to go into a fight-like state, hormonally. Working out on an empty stomach is one of the key elements for a optimum performance as Ori Hofmekler describes it – workouts are therefore situated in the undereating phase, where the energy output is the central biological mechanism. Replenishing the energy storages is the duty of the overeating phase.

Competitive athletes know that the nutrition around the athletic performance is important to their progression and regeneration and Ori Hofmekler does not miss out on this topic. While he does not write too much about it in his second book, “The Warrior Diet” (the first one was “The Anti-Estrogenic Diet”, wherein he talks about the epidemic ramifications of our estrogen-loaded environment), he goes more into detail about this in his third book “Maximum Muscle Minimum Fat”, wherein he writes about the biochemical background of the mechanisms, that are the foundation of the Warrior Diet. While pre-workout nutrition is reduced to a minimum (to alleviate digestive stress, as explained), post-workout nutrition is described as essential for good regeneration. Ideally, it consists of a 2:1 ratio of protein:carbohydrates, in this case the simple ones. Austrian climber Jürgen Reis, who wrote four books up to date about training and nutrition and is an adamant follower of the Warrior Diet principles, recommended an amount of 24g of protein and 16g of carbohydrates for post-workout nutrition. This number has to be adapted to personal requirements. One hour after the first post-workout meal, it is reasonable to add another post-workout meal, a magnitude smaller than the first one.

I personally do not use post-workout nutrition, because my workouts normally are the last thing I do before I start the overeating phase – this is my post-workout meal in this respect. If I work out during the day, I resort to yogurt, some bee pollen, cinnamon and a banana for the simple carbohydrates. This normally is just perfect as a replenishing meal.

Insulin Stability

Gary Taubes wrote about the role of insulin in nutrition and body composition extensively in his seminal book “Good Calories, Bad Calories”. Insulin is the strongest anabolic hormone and therefore the root of all tissue growth. While the athlete wants to have a decent rate in muscular growth, the growth of adipose tissue is heightened in particular by the (over)secretion of insulin. Keeping the insulin level low therefore is essential to give the body the chance to utilize his fat storages for energy output.

The Warrior Diet eating cycle helps stabilizing the insulin levels. During the undereating phase, insulin is low throughout. Energy stores are used as fuel for activity. The dominating hormones in this phase are glucagon (raising blood sugar levels) and adrenaline (stress hormone), priming the body to expend energy rather than storing it. The overeating phase in return triggers the anabolic switch hard – insulin sensitivity is at peak levels and the body is able to utilize the food for growth ideally.

This function helps to alleviate problems like type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity and metabolic syndrome which correlate with problems with insulin secretion. To read more about this, I recommend reading Gary Taubes’ book, he does a great job reviewing the scientific side of the topic.

The Warrior Diet and Weight Loss

Like described above, insulin stability is a key factor to weight loss in general. If following the Warrior Diet principles, the individual should be able to stabilize its insulin levels and trigger the switch to start losing the excess weight. With the Warrior Diet eating cycle, the metabolism is accelerated, as the big meals in the evenings fire up the metabolism at a pace that the fasting phase cannot fully diminish.

Weight loss is not the primary goal of the Warrior Diet, rather a byproduct. I have experienced a few kilograms of weight loss since starting out with the Warrior Diet, but am not representative as a subject, as my weight was already relatively low (75 kg at 184 cm). I believe that the Warrior Diet helps the body to normalize its body weight down (or up) to a point that is ideal.

The Warrior Lifestyle

A major point Ori points out in his book is the decay of the warrior instincts in our civilization. People have become scavengers that eat whatever they are presented rather than consciously choosing what is good for them and only these foods only. This leads further to the way people live their live – they act like dead fish and swim with the stream, devoid of individuality.

Ori’s writing is an appeal to start acting conscious again – making good judgments what to do, what to eat and with whom to share your time. This is what a warrior is about – he fights not only to survive but to survive the best he can while defending his values and ideals. It is a plea not to succumb to common wisdom and start to live life again with a distinct sense of freedom.

I can support Ori’s vision of a ‘warrior spirit’ that permeates everything a man does. In respect of nutrition, this means consciously choosing what to eat. Most choices we have during the day are below ideal and should therefore be avoided. On a regular diet, man is implied to eat thrice a day and has to succumb to the offers he is made through the day. The search for food becomes an endeavor that leads people to consume what does them no good. Furthermore, people nowadays often have problems sustaining a time span of as small as three hours between meals – they seem to hunger for food all day and have lost the feeling for a sensation of hunger that is essential for good digestion and taste of food. This is a scavenger’s behavior. The warrior has no problem sustaining the whole day without food supplies and is eager to accomplish what he has planned. The warrior has learned to endure hunger and makes hunger his ally rather than his enemy. The feast afterwards is thousandfold more rewarding than any scavenger’s meal can even be.

I personally have learned to endure hunger over longer periods and remember days that have gone by without any food consumed. This is mere adaption – every person is able to do this. During daytime, I have better things to do than think about where to get food from next. I can fully concentrate on what is to do and have the freedom to abstain from food. I experience a sense of freedom by doing so – Ori’s vision holds true for me.

The Warrior Diet and Social Life

If you swim against the mainstream you should expect some resistance. Eating with the Warrior Diet eating cycle is sure to gain you numerous questions on why you are skipping breakfast and lunch and some people will even feel threated by your behavior. It is not easy to convince people that what you are doing is okay, fine for your physical health and rooted in human history.

From my own experience, it is a useless endeavor to convince people of the rightness of your diet. The best argument you can provide to convince your social environment is to just do it. Explain to them, why you are doing it, if they ask and do not talk about it when not necessary. Simply live the eating cycle and the benefits you gain from it. While I faced quite some resistance from my family and friends during the first few weeks, they gradually adapted to my behavior and fully accepted that this is my way of eating. Once they understood that it was fruitless to convince me of the contrary they gradually became open to the possible benefits of living this way. While none of the people in my environment has followed me on this path, the problems I faced have diminished.

The Warrior Diet Cult

Like every (semi-)popular diet, the Warrior Diet has a wide range of followers that gradually grew close to the idea, that their diet is the only truth of the universe and that is has to be followed in a religious way – straying from the ideal literally is considered blasphemy. It is hard to talk with hardliners about the possible problems of a diet and about options to optimize it further – I would go as far as to call it useless to do so. Hardliners are the people you should not follow on your path to learn new truths – they all suffer from tunneled vision when it comes to a certain subject.

Nutrition is not religion. Like I laid down in my article about a healthy attitude towards nutrition, nutrition is there to nourish you, both body and mind. Therefore, use the Warrior Diet principles like a tool, not like a dogma. There are days in life where the Warrior Diet may not be the tool to use and you can fall back to eating three meals a day anytime. I too have phases wherein I adapt to a different eating cycle before returning to the Warrior Diet eating cycle. New experiences bring you to new understanding – so be open to them. If you have the option to adopt a new eating cycle, try it out and stick to it if it serves you better than the former – if not, you can always fall back.

Always do what is best for you. There is no universal truth.

Personal Experiences

I personally did a smooth transition to the Warrior Diet in late 2007 and have been a follower of the nocturnal eating cycle ever since. With the exception of periods of a few days when I ate in other temporal cycles, the Warrior Diet was the diet of choice during the time.

Eating a diet low in carbohydrates has proven to be optimal for my bodily requirements but I have also performed well on meals high in carbohydrates. What has proven harmful are foods that influence my insulin secretion too extreme – white flour and refined sugar, to be exact. I avoid these foods most of the time. I do good on legumes and whole grain products, they seem to provide a steady stream of nutrients instead of a temporary spike. Still, fat seems to be the macronutrient that is better suited to provide long-term energy. At the same caloric amount, I get hungry on complex carbohydrates significantly earlier than on fat-protein foods. Even if you have never done it, I recommend trying out a diet cutting out all starches and sugars and rely heavily on fat-protein foods. After an adaption phase, you are likely to have good results on it.

Detoxification has been intense for me and still is. I have a direct bodily feedback on whether or not food does me good by the symptoms of detoxification on the next morning. The best mark for this is slime in the throat and a very yellowish and smelly urine secretion. If the food was okay, slime is minimized and the urine is transparent and has no scent.

During the day, I have a great feeling of lightness. With no food in my stomach, I feel that I can perform at my best with no ballast dragging me down – and normally this proves to be true. The feeling of sublime hunger has become an ally for me – it is a good feeling that makes me alert and enhances my performance. While this is mostly a psychological thing, it has immense importance for my daily life. Feeling good is the root of all productivity.

The freedom not to eat has been the greatest asset of the Warrior Diet for me. Since I do not have on the lookout for food supplies constantly, I can focus my energy on other (more important) topics. This sense of freedom is the main reason for me to stick to the Warrior Diet – I could spare the other benefits – detoxification, the light feeling and a good body composition – but never want to let go of the freedom to be independent from food for a long period of time.

In conclusion, this diet has worked out well for me and I wholeheartedly recommend it both as an eating cycle and a way of life. By becoming a warrior by design you take back control over the primary components of your life like personal environment, goals and nutrition. Living this way should be normal for a healthy individual so it is normal to be attracted by this lifestyle.

Try it out, give it a serious chance and consideration and report your experiences in comments.

Live life freely,
Simon



A Healthy Attitude, Part 1: Nutrition

August 28th, 2009 Simon Voggeneder No comments

Many people are frustrated with their situation and do not make any progress. What they have in common is – from my perspective – that they all share several misconceptions.

To progress in training as well as in life, the attitude is the most important factor. The attitude is the underlying stream of thought carrying your every effort – if the attitude is flawed, either the input (what and how you do it) or the output (the effects of your doing) or both will be below optimum as well. This four-part series of articles is dedicated to help you augment your attitude in all of the following areas. Concerning training, a constructive attitude consists of four pillars:

  • Nutrition
  • Training
  • Regeneration
  • Mind Set
  • Each of the four is equally important. Most people have at least once experienced the collapse of one of the pillars, endangering the stability of the remaining three. A solid foundation for athletic success always requires all four pillars intact.

    This approach towards a healthy attitude is not aimed at being scientific – it merely represents the principles of a path I have chosen to walk down and recommend to follow to converge towards mental and physical health. The manifest itself is therefore constantly under construction – new revelations render the path different.

    Part 1: Nutrition

    Keep your nutritional efforts as simple as possible. Nutrition should – above all – be something you truly enjoy, be uncomplicated and not be a burden. It should nourish and energize you.
    Eat as much living food as you can – fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. Use dairy, if you can tolerate it. Meat and (some) grains have their place, if you decide on using them. Answer some key questions for yourself:

    Q: Do I like eating breakfast?
    A: If you feel good after eating breakfast, then do so. Choose foods that are of great taste and do you good. Chew your food thoroughly and stop at the point of satiety. If you like eating breakfast but do not find the time to do so, either rise earlier or skip it. Never eat in a hurry – it equals treating someone else in a hurry and without proper care and love – in this case you treat yourself without the love and care you deserve. Consuming food should always be a conscious act – an act of showing love to your body. Take your time to eat – your time is yours, anyway!

    If you are amongst the people who do not like to eat something early in the morning, then consciously skip eating breakfast. There is nothing wrong in doing so. If you are in between those two extremes and like to eat something but not too much, one or two pieces of fruit, supplemented with a good cup of tea or water will be enough to get you going.

    Regardless of your opinion, keep aware of the word breakfast’s etymology – it means breaking the fast of the night. Breaking the fast consequently means breaking the cleansing, detoxifying and regeneration process of the fast. Raw fruit is more an accelerator of detoxification than an inhibitor, especially when low in sugar content, it is therefore the ideal means to prolong the detoxification even when breaking the fast.

    Q: What about sensations of hunger?
    A: Eat only when you feel hungry. Most people like to eat at midday, hence they should do so. Here, the rule of consciously consuming your food applies as well. Eat what you like only and do not be dependent on the choices other people propose (e.g. when eating out). Most often, it is easier to take care for your food yourself than to find out, whether or not the offered food does you good. You are not in control of what is offered.
    Do not eat anything that gives you the feeling that it does not do you good. Eat to satiety on which does you good.

    Make it a habit to drink a glass of water prior to consuming food. Often, the feeling of hunger is thirst in disguise and hence misleading you – consuming food cannot satisfy your thirst and eating when your body is not in need is unnecessary ballast. Do not, however, drink with and directly after eating – it diminishes your ability to digest the foods you consumed by diluting digestive secretions. Wait at least half an hour before consuming any more liquids.

    If you are hungry in the evening, then feel free to consume whatever does you good – in whichever quantity that does you good. Most people that eat a good portion for lunch prefer light dishes like salads in the evening hours.

    Some people do not have the sensation of hunger throughout midday and afternoon or have the impression that the foods offered during this time period do not do them good. Pack up yourself a lunchbox: Some raw vegetables and fruits, maybe a handful of nuts. Try adding a cup of yoghurt. Develop a feeling for satiety and eat until satisfied.

    If your hunger appears mostly in the evening hours, you are closest to your human nature. After you have finished your duty as human being and call a close to the day, you are invited to enjoy an abundant meal. Prepare it with love and enjoy it. Chew every bite consciously and savor its taste and texture. Eat to satiety, but no further.

    Q: Do I like to drink?
    A: If you like to drink, you are doing something good to your body. Pick crystal clear still (mineral) water or (cold) unsweetened teas and cleanse your body with these fluids. As they are devoid of nutrients, they tax the body effortlessly – everything of nutritional value consequently requires metabolic work – digesting and resorbing the nutrients.

    Make sure to drink enough. If you drink only when feeling thirsty and have a dry feeling in your mouth, odds are that you have already missed the first appearance of thirst. Make 40 ml per kg body weight the lower bound for clear fluid consumption (water and unsweetened tea). Remember, that hot temperatures and intense physical drills increase the amount of water you sweat out.

    Fruit juices are very sweet in taste and need plenty of water to become comfortable for sensible taste buds. Vegetable juices are less sweet and often bitter. Drinking vegetable juices feels more refreshing than (diluted) fruit juices and does not lead to a sharp rise in blood sugar.

    Treat caffeinated beverages as tools. Caffeine manipulates your hormonal balance by increasing the secretion of adrenaline and thus manipulates natural regulatory systems. The consumption of more than the equivalent of two cups of coffee daily is regarded as a state of addiction. Caffeine is utilized best when used sparingly.

    Carbonated sodas are devoid of nutrients but dense in calories. They are no viable fluid for human nutrition, not even in forms without caloric value. Artificial sweeteners trigger the secretion of insulin and thereby cause unnecessary hunger.

    Alcoholic beverages share the attribute of all toxins: The dosage is of vital importance. Very small amounts of alcohol enhance the resorption of nutrients while higher dosages are entirely toxic to the body. Some alcoholic beverages (good wine and beer) are nutrient-rich and are beneficial if used wisely.

    Q: What about sweets, fast food and other vices of modern nutrition?
    A: Recalibrate your perception of these foods. Keep in mind the fact that they are heavily advertised in order to be sold. Imagine milk or grains being advertised in the same intensity as fast food is. Products of good quality sell well over long periods of time without advertising. Word of mouth is their driving force.

    Experiment with fast food. Keep away from all kinds of fast food for a month of clean eating and retry them afterwards. Consciously experience the taste of these foods and update your opinion on these foods. Most people become sensible enough to be unable to bear the artificially enhanced taste intensity of these products.

    The more conscious you experience the foods, the closer you get to their true nutritional nature. Continue to enjoy their taste if they do you good. Let yourself be wisely led by your senses.

    Q: Is going out with friends even possible like this?
    A: Grant yourself days out with friends where everything is allowed – but do keep conscious in acting. It is your time, your life, and it is your body. Let your senses be your guide, what to consume and how much of it. Eat conscious and enjoy the taste, if you do. Choose dishes that do you good – either physical or mental or both.

    Do not coerce yourself to do something. Give yourself all the freedom of choice you can.

    Q: What exactly should I eat then?
    A: Try out everything and experience the taste and the feeling that the food arouses in your body. Try to combine every food choice at least once and experience the taste and feeling as well. There are combinations that do not do you good – find out, what they are.

    These combinations are proved not to work out well:

  • Grains and fruits high in acid
  • Grains and sugar
  • Raw nuts and salt
  • It will be a substantial time investment to try out all products. Do not urge yourself to test foods and combinations pro forma. Take the chance whenever it appears. Do only combine natural foods, not the processed choices.

    To pre-limit the range of foods that are worth testing both mono and in combination, stick to foods of these groups first:

  • Vegetables of all types
  • Fruits not too sweet for your taste
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Pseudo grains (oats, quinoa, and amaranth)
  • Legumes (soaked, cooked well)
  • (Raw) dairy
  • Meat and fish of the best available quality
  • Add different choices thereafter.

    Be aware that you are unique. No one else reacts to food choices like you do. Therefore test everything for yourself instead of relying on generalizations. There is no guideline that can know better what is good for you than your own body does. Be willing to spend more money on best quality food – your body is the wrong place to start cutting costs.

    Q: Can I trust the language of my body?
    A: Whether or not you can trust the language of your body depends on your attitude towards nutrition prior to your decision to listen closely to your body. In the modern world, many food choices, if eaten regularly can alter the experience of taste and hunger and therefore influence the correctness of your internal compass. The body is keen on providing correct feedback, and like any other instrument it requires regular maintenance in order to work properly.

    Cleanse your body from extrinsic alterations by doing a one-week water fast prior to changing your diet. Fasting on nothing but water and minimal amounts of lemon juice changes your perception of how food affects your overall well-being and resets the settings of your internal compass, again rendering it a suitable tool to judge the subjective quality of food choices.

    Inform yourself thoroughly about the process of fasting and make use of the innate healing power of the body throughout this period. It is normal to experience sensations of hunger during the first two to four days. Hunger ceases thereafter, when the body becomes adapt to the circumstance that it is fed no food to digest. The body starts to live off its reserves in fat and protein entirely. Hormonal homeostasis is restored and stored toxins are released and excreted in this process.

    Following the fast, have deep confidence in the language of your body. Your readjusted compass will now safely guide you.

    Q: Do I want to lower my body fat percentage (drastically)?
    A: Healthy, conscious living will normalize your body fat percentage. It will naturally lower itself to a point that is regarded healthy by your internal bodily regulatory mechanisms. Becoming obese is virtually impossible when deciding consciously. If you insist on cutting the percentage further, use methods that drive your body towards losing its fat storage. Cleanse it, challenge it and let it rest. Read through the next parts and focus.

    Nutrition has the purpose of nourishing the body. The body has the ability to express itself. Listen to your body closely and cleanse it so that it is able to communicate to you, what nourishes him and what deals him harm. The questions as to what and how much you should eat answer themselves thereby.

    Categories: nutrition Tags: ,