Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 • 29 Comments
Sugar is a HUGE conundrum for many, because it’s in pretty much everything you buy….and that’s especially the case for processed foods, pre-packaged foods and all fast foods.
Sugar is addictive…no doubt about it. And it’s lethal combination of abundance and addiction that has resulted in our current health debacle where over 60% of the adults in the nation (US) are either overweight or obese.
At this rate some experts say that it can reach 75% by 2015. That’s 3/4 of the entire nation!
This problem has spawned a MULTI-MILLION dollar industry of sugar alternatives as a solution to help curb sugar consumption in an effort to beat the overweight and obesity problem.
Artificial sweeteners are 300 times sweeter than sugar, they don’t cause an insulin spike and have low (or no) calories.
Sounds good to me…all the pleasure without the guilt.
Although, there are some “minor” health like issues like headaches, migraines, seizures and even brain tumors, that’s been linked to active ingredients like aspartame in artificial sweeteners—it’s all good because it still helps you lose weight (I’m being very sarcastic here if you didn’t catch that).
Well, that is until recently…
Studies have now come out that indicate sweeteners aren’t as effective at helping you lose weight as initially thought. In fact, now there’s evidence that they actually promote weight GAIN!
Don’t get left in the dark about this ...read the full story here and find out what you can do about it:
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 • 47 Comments
Do you workout but your one problem area never seems to go away…your belly fat? If you’ve been on a quest for a flat belly or even a six pack, it’s what you don’t know that may be sabotaging your efforts of budging that stubborn fat off your stomach. The right information can be the difference between looking at your same old belly a few months from now or seeing a brand new you with flat abs you haven’t seen since your high school days. Find out what’s keeping you from losing your gut.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 • 22 Comments
Losing weight isn’t the hard part, it’s maintaining your hard earned body that’s tricky. Most people gain their weight back within 2 years of losing it all. And the reasons aren’t what we initially thought. Gaining your weight back and more, may have more to do with your body’s biological processes. There is strong evidence which shows, once you lose the weight, your body does everything in it’s power to regain that weight back. Your thinner body needs less calories to sustain itself, but your craving for food intensifies, making it increasingly difficult to maintain your hard earned lean body. But not all is lost, where there’s a will there’s a way! Find out what you can do to keep your weight off and maintain your lean body for the long term and avoid being the 90 - 95% of people that gain it all back.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, January 06, 2010 • 29 Comments
What image comes into your head when you think of fat? You may think of fat as an inanimate blob that just takes up unwanted real estate in your body. But new research has shed light on this unpopular and otherwise inert substance and it can actually help you lose more fat! Yep you read correctly…fat that burns fat. Up to 300 - 500 calories a day! Check out how.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Monday, December 28, 2009 • 26 Comments
You are what you eat. It’s something we all understand (intellectually) but don’t take it seriously enough. (And I was reminded of that myself, after watching a documentary called “Food Inc.” A great film…and I have to say, even for me, some of the information was quite disturbing. So much so, that I decided you need to know about it…so I wrote a little about it myself. I highly recommend you watch the film.) It’s much easier to look over the obvious and pretend that everything is fine. I mean everyone else is eating it… so it must be okay…right? Well, considering the epidemic rate of obesity and diabetes, I’d say that following what majority of others eat, is not such as wise idea. But in all fairness, the food industry makes it extremely difficult for you to eat well. I mean have you noticed that you can buy a burger for a buck but you can’t buy an apple for the same price? How does that make sense? In fact, if you went to your local grocery store and started comparing prices of processed foods to real foods like vegetables and fruits, 9 out 10 times the processed foods are cheaper. How can that be? It’s processed, doesn’t that mean, it should cost more? It takes more time and energy into making each product right? You would think that what comes out of the ground or grows on trees as mother nature intended would naturally be cheaper than anything that has to be processed. But logic takes a back step when greed and profit become the primarily motivator. What’s happened to our food industry is not only alarming but darn right scary. Find out more…
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 • 23 Comments
People look at exercising as a means to lose weight, get rid of belly fat and get a lean well-defined body. And while most of us work hard to get that look on the outside…what’s happening on the inside, often gets ignored. In fact, it’s what goes on inside your body, that allows you to get the look you’re after. It’s the unglamorous side…I know. We all want the end result…yesterday. But the benefit to you, is that the more you know what goes on inside your body, the better and faster results you’ll achieve on the outside. So if you’re serious about shedding pounds and losing stubborn body fat, you’d better learn about the little dudes that really calls the shots in your body.
Find out how these little dudes actually help you burn more fat.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, December 02, 2009 • 17 Comments
Let me start off by saying that NOT all exercises are created equal…and the way you do exercises can mean the difference between looking at your same old body in front of the mirror or staring at a brand new you with curves and muscles you never though you had. But it’s not just all about looks. Now science has discovered that the way you do exercises can also help prevent the deadliest disease in the world…cancer.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 • 19 Comments
Exercise promotes health…but did you know that certain types of exercises can actually make you more fragile? What may seem like a healthy, active lifestyle may be missing something critical that’s keeping you in the high-risk category.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, November 04, 2009 • 39 Comments
Will you get better results if you workout in the morning or the afternoon? Some say exercising in the morning forces your body to utilize fat as the energy source, so it’s the best time to workout if you want optimum fat loss. Others say your lean muscle building and fat loss hormones peak in the afternoon, so if you want a better body you’d better workout later in the day. So which is it, AM or PM?
Written by Shin Ohtake on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 • 19 Comments
The science of aging has always been considered controversial. A little like chasing Big Foot or the Lock Ness monster, people are intrigued but no one takes it very seriously…until now. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, Dr. Carol Greider, and Dr. Jack Szostak were were the scientists who were awarded the Noble Prize for discovering what may in fact be the key to aging. Until recently, the aging process was just an accepted process of human development.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 • 28 Comments
Death by running? Talk about an oxymoron. The once savior to all heart disease is now a possible culprit? Say it ain’t so! Well, just this past week there were three deaths in the Detroit Marathon. The incidents all happened within 16 minutes of one another—most likely all from cardiac arrest. But don’t worry, as suggested by the CNN article titled, “Despite 3 deaths in Detroit race, runner fatalities are rare”, these incidents are not common. Whew! A sigh of relief if you love running and participate in long distance events like the marathon, right? Not so fast. What I’m about to tell you may have you thinking otherwise…
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 • 30 Comments
The fitness community has always been obsessed about muscle and how it makes us lean, fit, and strong, but there’s a group of researchers that argue that our focus has been on the wrong part of the anatomy, especially when it comes to maximizing your fitness potential while staying injury free.
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 • 29 Comments
Exercising within your “target heart rate” zone has long been accepted as a standard training protocol, but what if I told you that the formula for calculating your max heart rate is inaccurate? And that even the doctor that created the formula admits to being completely surprised at how the medical and fitness communities have made it the standard formula, without anyone actually doing any extended research. Here’s the real story on how the formula for calculating your max heart rate came about (from the NY Times Health):
Written by Shin Ohtake on Tuesday, September 08, 2009 • 24 Comments
Strengthen Your Abs With Suitcase Squats:
One question I’m often asked is, “What ab exercises can I do other than the traditional sit-ups and crunches?”. Well, if you’ve been following me or have read any of my articles, you know that I’m not a big fan of “traditional” ab exercises. Here’s why:
Written by Shin Ohtake on Wednesday, September 02, 2009 • 24 Comments
So the question still remains… were we born to run or walk? According to Bramble and Leibermann, we are and they did have some compelling anatomical evidence that suggests so. Although I find the evidence extremely interesting and intriguing, I’m not completely sold on the idea (at least not yet anyway). It’s hard to imagine that we ran everywhere we went. I feel that more evidence is needed before any conclusive statements can be made. But, asking this question brought up another interesting and often debated question amongst runners: Are we naturally forefoot/mid-foot runners, or is heel striking the way to go? As you read in Where We Born To Run, Not Walk (Part 1) of this article, I’m a strong advocate of forefoot or mid-foot running, either barefoot or with very little cushioning. And, since so many of you commented on the last article wanting to know exactly how to forefoot run, I’ll get straight to the video demonstration before I continue on with the rest of this article:
How To Make The Transition From Heel-Striker To Forefoot Runner:
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