Glycemic Index Values

Curious about the Glycemic Index values of common foods? Check out http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm for an accurate list. 

Remember:

• Low GI: < 55
• Medium GI: 55-70
• High GI: > 70

Always aim to eat carbs with as low a GI as possible to keep blood sugar levels under control. Constant spikes lead to fat loss and Type-II diabetes.

Review: Bigger, Stronger, Faster

 
I recently watched the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster and I was really impressed by how interesting, informative, and surprising it was. It explores the evolution of steroids, HGH, and other performance enhancing drugs and how they have essentially become synonymous with American culture. It also explores how the supplement industry manipulates its consumers (it's NOT subject to FDA regulations or any other standards) and has become a 24 billion dollar business. He gives a pretty hilarious demonstration using two Mexicans hired off the street to show how stupidly easy it is to formulate a new supplement and make a profit.

It's pretty insane, performance enhancing drugs are used everywhere...bodybuilding, schools, modeling, baseball, football, cycling, Olympic running, and even porn. Our society has become so dependent on drugs. Public speakers and musicians take beta-blockers as a way of blocking adrenaline and staying completely calm and relaxed during high-pressure events, and students are selling adderall in schools because it has become so popular for its focus-enhancing abilities...It's getting a little bit ridiculous. At some point all of this drug use is going to catch up to us and bite us in the ass. I pride myself on building my body in as naturally as possible...something that has become practically extinct in the bodybuilding community, and surprisingly even amongst average gym-goers.

Check this out:

Students Reporting Steroid Abuse 1991–2002
Year	8th Grade	10th Grade	12th Grade
1991	1.9%	1.8%	2.1%
1999	2.7%	2.7%	2.9%
2001	2.5%	3.5%	4.0%

It's scary stuff that kids this young are using steroids, and what's scarier is that it's on the rise.


Here's the link to the documentary, sorry the quality is pretty bad. If you have a netflix account they have it on demand. If you google search it or check any movie website you may be able to find it in better quality. Enjoy!


http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/bigger-stronger-faster/

Understanding Insulin, HFCS, and Carbs -- Window to a Healthier, Leaner You

Today I have 2 amazing videos explaining the insane impact that carbs and insulin have on the way that our body deals with body fat. These videos reinforce what I've been advocating for so long, that losing weight is not as simple as calories in vs. calories out. Fat storage and fat burning are determined by the hormones in our body, specifically insulin. If you've been dieting and aren't seeing the weight or fat loss you're looking for, tweaking your diet to manipulate insulin levels effectively may be the answer! I'll also explain High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Here's how carbs, insulin, and blood sugar interact:

• Carbs are key to fat storage and fat loss.
• Different carbs are rated on an index called the Glycemic Index or GI. The GI is a measure of how fast carbs raise our blood sugar levels. The higher the GI a food has (on a scale of 100), the faster these carbs will be digested and create a blood sugar response. Pure glucose is used as a reference point and is rated as 100. Something like wheat bread will have a much lower GI than white bread. Go to http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm for an accurate list of GI values for common foods.
• The GI of a particular carb can be effectively lowered based on the Glycemic Load or GL. When you consume carbs at the same time as fat or protein they will digest slower and raise blood sugar levels at a slower rate.
• Insulin's major function is to tell our body when to store nutrients, including fat. Insulin determines when the body store's fat and releases fat. Body fat manipulation is dependent on insulin!
• Insulin takes blood sugar that circulates (blood sugar levels rise when we eat carbs, which are then broken down into glucose) through our bloodstream and shuttles it into the cells of our body. 
• Muscles are the largest storage site of blood glucose. The blood glucose stored in our muscles is known as glycogen.
• Think of our muscles as a gas tank. When we have an abundance of glucose circulating through the bloodstream insulin shuttles that glucose into our muscle cells until they're full and can't accept anymore glucose. 
• Once muscle cells are full they decrease the sensitivity of their insulin receptors which signals to the body that no more glucose can be transported in.
• When this happens it potentially creates a glucose backup. Any excess glucose in the bloodstream no longer has anywhere to go and it starts to build up in our bloodstream, which signals insulin to rise. Insulin's function in the body is to control high blood glucose levels. When insulin levels rise we begin to store any excess glucose as body fat. 
• When we constantly spike our insulin levels by ingesting really high amounts of carbs at once or by eating a lot of simple/refined carbs, we develop insulin resistance. Over time our bodies become unresponsive to insulin, we can't control blood sugar levels, and we develop Type-II Diabetes.
• A few of the ways to help control insulin levels include:
• Eat slow digesting, low-GI, complex carbs
• Eat carbs with protein and healthy fats
• Split the day into 5-6 smaller meals and include protein/fats with any carbs consumed. Eating frequent, small meals stops blood sugar levels from spiking to extreme levels and helps prevent a backup of glucose in the blood...which of course is stored as body fat.
• The one time it's advantageous to eat high GI carbs (fast digesting) is after an intense workout. Working out or doing any other kind of intense physical activity burns a lot of calories and depletes the stored glycogen in our muscles. Exercising empties our tanks. It's really important to refill those tanks as soon as possible to facilitate new growth and prevent muscle breakdown/loss. Spiking insulin with high GI carbs allows us to quickly shuttle glucose, protein, and other nutrients to our hungry muscles as quickly as possible.
• To lose fat insulin levels have to drop. 
• The enzyme that removes body fat from fat cells is called Hormone Sensitive Lipase or HSL. HSL is sensitive to insulin levels. It functions when insulin levels are low, and is suppressed when insulin levels are high.
• If insulin is too high, even if you're in a caloric deficit, HSL will not be signaled to function and you'll be physically incapable of losing body fat! All you'll do is burn off your muscle and maybe gain a little bit of fat...not good.

 The High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Story:

• There are many different types of sugar, a few include: lactose, which is found in dairy products, fructose, which is found in fruits, and glucose which is a product of carbohydrate breakdown. These sugars are not chemically identical and have much different effects on our blood sugar levels. Most fruits have a relatively low GI. Even though they're high in sugar, they're slower digesting because they're primarily composed of fructose (which digests slower than other types of sugar).
• Sugar is made up of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. HFCS is a chemical meant to imitate sugar that's made up of a higher % of fructose depending on the type (hence the name "high fructose"). Typical HFCS is 55% fructose, 45% glucose, but some variations can go as high as 92% fructose. 
• The issue with HFCS is that our body, in particularly the liver, isn't used to such a high % of fructose in normal sugar.
• The high fructose component of HFCS is sent directly to the liver and completely bypasses the bloodstream. In the 1000 years of existence our liver has never had to deal with such a high amount of fructose in sugar. It doesn't know what to do with it--so it converts it into fat immediately and sends it out to the fat tissue to be stored. 
• What's even worst is that because HFCS skips the bloodstream it has no effect on our hunger levels and we keep eating more and more. Because we never get any hungrier this creates an endless cycle of HFCS consumption, fat gain, and ultimately obesity. NASTY STUFF!

 Enjoy the videos!

Workout Music

Working out with music (preferably loud) can improve your workout in so many ways, both mentally and physically. On the physical side music with a high BPM (beats per minute) can actually increase your heart rate and put you into a rhythm. This is ideal for high intensity cardio. It also pumps you up and excites you, which can potentially allow you to lift more. That added mental focus and intensity is incredibly valuable. I LOVE IT! With music my workouts are infinitely better and there are noticeable differences in the amount I can lift and the intensity at which I do cardio. Mentally, music isolates you from the rest of the world (or gym in this case) and helps get your mind off of any self-consciousness you may have. It focuses you on you and your workout, and only you and your workout. 

You shouldn't be worrying about how fat you think you are, how much the guy next to you is benching, or what skimpy, spandex outfit that hot girl (or whatever girls think is hot on a guy) is wearing...your mind should be concentrated solely on what YOU are doing. You're in the gym to improve your own well-being...so worry about improving yourself while you're there. Focusing on anything other than your own workout will only be a distraction and result in less than desired performance. 

Here are some of my favorite workout songs, I personally prefer hip-hop/rap and anything else with a high BPM. I'm not a huge fan of listening to heavy metal music, but I know a lot of people swear by it:

 Cardio/Abs (* are also on my workout playlist):

• *Akon - I'm So Paid, Beautiful (ft. Kardinal Offishal), Wake It Up (ft. E-40)
• All-American Rejects - I Wanna
• *Birdman - Southside (ft. Lil Wayne), 100 Million (ft. Lil Wayne)
• Black Eyed Peas - *Boom Boom Pow, Don't Phunk With My Heart, I Gotta Feeling, Electric City, *Pump It
• Blink 182 - First Date
• Brokencycle - Freaxxx
• Carolina Liar - Show Me What I'm Looking For
• *Daddy Yankee - Gasolina (Remix)
• Daft Punk - One More Time
• *David Guetta - Memories (ft. Kid Cudi)
• *David Rush - Shooting Star
• *DJ Class - I'm The Shit (Remix)
• DJ Earworm - United States of Pop 2009
• *DJ Khaled - Out Here Grindin', Fed Up, We Takin' Over, All I Do Is Win, Go Hard
• *Drake, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Eminem - Forever
• *Eminem - Run Rabbit Run, Till I Collapse
• *Eve - Give It to You (ft. Sean Paul), Tambourine (ft. Swizz Beats)
• Fergie - Fergalicious
• *Foo Fighters - Best of You
• Iyaz - Replay, Solo
• Jack's Mannequin - Dark Blue, The Mixed Tape
• Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
• Jason Derulo - Ridin' Solo, In My Head
• *Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind, Run This Town, A Billi (ft. Lil Wayne)
• Kanye - *The New Workout Plan, Love Lockdown (Remix ft. LMFAO), *Stronger (Workout Remix)
• Ke$ha - Tik Tok
• Keane - Snowed Under
• *Keri Hilson - Knock You Down (ft. Kanye West)
• Kid Cudi - Cudi Zone, Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Remix feat. MGMT & Ratatat)
• Lifehouse - First Time, Halfway Gone, Disarray
• *Lil Wayne - KnockOut (ft. Nicki Minaj), Got Money (ft. T-Pain)
• *LMFAO - Shots (ft. Lil Jon)
• *Ludacris - How Low
• Lupe Fiasco - Go Go Gadget Flow
• M.I.A - Paper Planes
• *Maino - All The Above, Soldier
• *Matchbox Twenty - How Far We've Come
• Matt & Kim - Daylight (Troublemakers Remix ft. De La Soul)
• *Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA (yep)
• MGMT - Kids
• Moby - Raining Again
• Mr. Hudson - Supernova (Ft. Kanye West)
• *My Chemical Romance - Dead!
• *Nelly - Heart of a Champion
• O.A.R. - This Town, Shattered
• Outkast - Roses, Hey Ya, Bombs Over Baghdad
• Owl City - On The Wing, Fireflies, Hot Air Balloon
• *Pitbull - Shut it Down, Hotel Room Service, I Know You Want Me, Krazy, The Anthem 
• Priscilla Renee - Dollhouse
• *Saul Williams - List of Demands (Reparations)
• Sean Kingston - War (ft. Lil Wayne), Face Drop
• Sean Paul - Temperature, So Fine
• Silverchair - Straight Lines
• Sum 41 - Fat Lip, In Too Deep
• *T-Pain - Church
• *T.I. - Hell of a Life, No Matter What, Live Your Life, Remember Me
• Taio Cruz - Break Your Heart (Remix ft. Ludacris)
• *Three Six Mafia - Shake My, Stay Fly, Feel It
• *Tyga - Coconut Juice, Diamond Life
• Wale - Chillin', World Tour
• *Young Jeezy - Go Getta

Workout (add songs with * from cardio list)

• Baby Bash - Outta Control
• Bone Crusher - Never Scared
• Buckcherry - Crazy Bitch
• Busta Rhymes - Break Ya Neck, Arab Money (ft. Ron Brownz)
• Crazytown - Butterfly
• David Banner - K.O.
• DMX - Up in Here
• Drowning Pool - Bodies
• Eminem - Lose Yourself
• Fabolous - It's My Time
• Fat Joe - Aloha (ft. Pleasure P)
• Flo Rida - Jump, Right Round
• Foo Fighters - DOA, The Pretender
• Fort Minor - Remember The Name
• Ja Rule - Uh Ohhhh (ft. Lil Wayne)
• Jackie Chain - Rollin' (Remix ft. Kid Cudi)
• Jay-Z - Public Service Announcement, On to the Next One, Jockin' Jay-Z
• Jay Sean - Do You Remember
• Joe Budden - Pump it Up
• Juvenile - We Be Getting Money
• Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing, Jesus Walks
• Kevin Cossom - I Get Paper
• Kevin Rudolph - Welcome to the World, Let it Rock (ft. Lil Wayne)
• KRS-One & Buckshot - Robot
• Lil Wayne - Fireman, Drop the World (ft. Eminem)
• Linkin Park - Papercut, One Step Closer, Crawling, Given Up, Faint, Numb
• Ludacris - Call Up the Homies, Wish You Would, Get Back
• Maino - Million Bucks, Floating
• MOP - Ante Up (Remix ft. Busta Rhymes)
• NaS - Hero
• Nickelback - Animals, Next Go Round
• Notorious BIG - Spit Your Game
• Papa Roach - Last Resort, Time is Running Out, Forever, Scars, Getting Away With Murder
• Plies - Becky, Plenty Money
• Rihanna - Hard (ft. Jeezy)
• Roscoe Dash - All the Way Turnt Up
• Savage - Swing
• Sean Kingston - Fire Burning
• Shark City Click - Head Bust
• Shawty Lo - Foolish
• Snoop Dogg - Pronto (ft. Soulja Boy)
• Soulja Boy - Turn My Swag On
• Swazy Baby - Half of it
• Swizz Beats - It's Me Bitches
• T.I. - Bring Em' Out, Big Shit Poppin'
• Tech N9ne - Strange Music Box, Caribou Lou
• Trapt - Headstrong
• Trey Songz - Say Aah
• Trick Daddy - Let's Go (ft. Lil Jon)
• Triple C's - Go (ft. Rick Ross and Birdman)
• Usher - Yeah
• Wyclef Jean - Warrior's Anthem
• Young Jeezy - Crazy World
• Young Money - BedRock
• 50 Cent - Get Up, Ayo Technology

If anyone has any good workout songs that I haven't listed please post any and all of them, I'm always looking to add new stuff to my playlists.

How Can You Live To 100?

I recently stumbled upon a really interesting and insightful article about some things you can do in life to help increase your lifespan. It's a very quick, light read that has a lot of surprising facts. A lot of the ideas it mentions are things that I make sure to do on a daily basis, minus the having babies part.

Enjoy!

How You Can Live To 100