Friday, January 11, 2008

3 Ways to Get Rid of the Firefighter Belly!


1. Don't put anything that has High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in your body!

HFCS is a sweetner made from corn. Since its introduction, HFCS has begun to replace sugar in various processed foods in the USA. Studies suggests that fructose increases obesity. Large quantities of fructose stimulate the liver to produce triglycerides, promotes glycation of proteins and induces insulin resistance.

So drop the Coke and Pepsi since they're made with HFCS.

2. Follow Nutrient Timing.

I don't advocate diets but I do like nutrition programs and principles. One simple principle that works for the firefighters and athletes I work with, is to save starchy carbohydrates (bread, rice, pasta etc.) till after the workout or for breakfast.

Starchy carbs are an acceptable food choice for breakfast because in the morning your glycogen levels
are low, from the overnight fast, and the carbs you eat in the morning are going to fill your liver glycogen stores.

Post workout the carbs are used by the body to fill the energy void created by the workout, so they don't have a tendency
to get stored as fat.

3. Stop with the beer already.

There's a reason it's called a "beer belly," but telling a firefighter to drop the beer is grounds for being tarred
and feathered, and being run over by the Engine wheels...several times, but hey you're going to have to make a choice. It's either the beer belly or drop the Bud. It doesn't have to be foreever but just till you start dropping some of the fat.

The fat around the belly is the worst for us, and associated with all sorts of health risks.

Because of the carbs in beer, you'll autotmatically increase your insulin levels when you drink, and EVERY TIME you
increase insulin, the body stores fat, with the exception of post workout when insulin is used to drive nutrients into the muscle. The rest of the time you're outa luck.

Three things you can do today to drop the beer belly.