I can be very critical of diets and diet advice in the press. Most of it is bullsh*t and/or duplicated re-written or replicated cr*p. However, when it comes to huge organisations, such as the NHS, who are trusted by millions, you would expect their diet advice to be absolutely spot on. The NHS Guide to Weight Loss starts off badly by calling it weight loss, not fat loss. To lose weight, you need to lose body fat, whilst aiming to preserve and increase lean muscle tone. Therefore, to convey the appropriate initial message, the page should be all about fat loss.

The first page on the NHS ‘Weight’ Loss kicks off with the heading “Start Losing Weight”, with sections titled “Commit to Change”, “Do Today”, “Do This Week”, etc. and sounds more like management talk, rather than actual hands on fat loss advice. Reading the article, you will see it goes on to talk about your Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a highly inaccurate measure of body composition, which basically divides your weight by your height. I have a body fat percentage of around 8% and my abs are clearly visible, etc., but their calculator puts me in the “Overweight Category”, half way towards “Obese”, which is clearly wrong. The advice goes on and on and whilst the presentation is excellent, the content is very poor and just upsets me, so I’m not going to cover any more of it.

My Advice to the NHS Weight Loss Team

Innovation is a buzz word in the Public Sector and you guys at the NHS should be more innovative and consider which group of people know how to control the appearance of their body better than anyone, yes, bodybuilders. Don’t be scared away by the Pro Bodybuilders, there are drug free bodybuilders out there who are all about good health you know! Research their training and diet principles and apply it to a fat loss diet and exercise programme that will work for overweight people much easier and quicker than the advice you are promoting currently.

The site is overloaded with information, without getting across the main messages, relevant to food choices in the supermarket. There is a distinction to be made between getting fit and losing fat and between eating a healthy diet and eating a diet to increase fat loss. Along with appropriate exercise, these are the main tips that should be provided in my honest opinion.

For fat loss…

1. Low fat food is great for reducing calorie intake, but if it is high in sugar, then that is very bad. If you look at the labels on the back of most low fat foods in the super markets, you will find they contain shockingly high amounts of sugars. The only way to get avoid these sugars is to cut out ready meals, tinned foods, etc. and cook your own meals from the basic ingredients. A bodybuilding style diet addresses these issues and there are thousands of websites out there offering bodybuilding meal recipes and instructions, with most meals being pretty tasty.
2. Gym instructors, TV shows and magazines all promote cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging, cycling, etc. for losing weight. But, it is better to lose mainly fat and build muscle tone for a better looking physique and quicker results. It is therefore a better choice to lift weights and do cardio for the combined effects of increasing muscle tone and burning off more calories, for optimum fat loss, leading to optimum weight loss. This has been proven in numerous studies, which again can be found online.

The message I am trying to convey is that you should know what you are doing AND why you are doing it.
Cardio –> Burns calories whilst you are exercising and raises metabolism slightly
High Intensity Resistance Exercise –> Burns calories whilst you are exercising and raises metabolism significantly (and increases strength and muscle tone)
Low Calorie Diet –> Ensures a calorie deficit, so you have to use your long term energy stores, i.e. body fat, for exercise
Low Sugar Diet –> Avoids insulin spikes associated with hunger pangs and bingeing

For more information on fat loss, read our 11 Tips For Sustained Fat Loss. Supplements are not the answer for weight loss, but they can complement an exercise and diet program and are an addition, not a replacement for good exercise and nutrition.

As owner of Promart Supplements, I am sick and tired of seeing weight loss programmes devised by scheming individuals who are first and foremost looking to make money, at the expense of frustrated people who want to improve themselves. The majority of these diets you hear about from your friends and see on TV are rubbish. They aren’t good for you and they rarely give the results they advertise.

Weight loss is not simple, but if you can follow the 8 tips below, then you will lose weight healthily, progressively and best of all, you will retain and even increase your muscle tone – meaning that once you lose the excess body fat, your physique will be much more athletic. Here are the rules:

1. Consume between 10 calories per day for every pound that you weigh, i.e. if you weigh 12 stones, that is 12 x 14 = 168 pounds, so consume approximately 1680 calories per day. This amount of calories will create a calorie deficit, without being so low that it puts your body into starvation mode, where your metabolism slows down.
2. Split your daily calorie intake over 5 small, low sugar, low fat, high protein, even sized meals to reduce insulin spikes to regulate energy levels, reduce hunger and avoid the accumulation of body fat; show your body there is an abundance of food available and so your long term energy stores (fat) are not so important and can be used; boost your metabolism; and maintain/increase muscle tone
3. Drink more water, i.e. 8-10 glasses per day, as drinking more water can boost your metabolism by up to 30%
4. Sleep 8-9 hours per night at the same times every night
5. Do not drink alcohol
6. Eat the right foods for weight loss. This means avoid sugary and fatty foods and keep protein intake fairly high, using protein shakes if necessary. Ideally, you should consume less than 5g sugar per meal. This means that ready meals are not an option. A typical diet is shown below.
7. Perform low intensity cardio sessions, first thing on a morning before breakfast, when your hormone levels and depeleted glycogen levels put your body in the perfect place for fat loss. Note: at other times of the day, you are likely to use a small amount of fat, glycogen stores in your liver (from food) and also some muscle mass will be used for energy, through a process called gluconeogenesis. Three or four 40 minute sessions per week will provide the best results, but remember to aim for low intensity, i.e. 60% of your max heart rate for your age.
8. Perform high intensity anaerobic exercise 3-4 times per week, to increase muscle tone and strength. Don’t worry about getting big and muscly, as consuming just 10 calories per day for every pound of bodyweight, whilst exercising regularly, will not provide your body with enough calories for your muscles to grow big, although they will get much more toned.
9. Consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, as their nutritional benefits help weight loss and improve your overall health and appearance. However, you should only consume fruit in small portions, typically on a morning and before/after exercise due to their high sugar content.
10. Consider using supplements, such as protein supplements to boost low protein meals, meal replacement powders to provide 2 of your 5 meals per day, multivitamins to make up for lack of fruit and veg in your diet and green tea to burn an extra 100 calories or so per day for every 3-4 cups. I wouldn’t bother with other supplements such as fat burners, fat blockers or carb blockers as following the above tips means you don’t need them. They are worthwhile supplements for bodybuilders wanting to reduce body fat levels below normal ranges, but not so much for normal weight loss.
11. Be consistent. Results won’t happen overnight. I can guarantee success to anyone who follows all of the above points, but unfortunately only a small numbe rof people will, whilst the rest will part follow some of the tips for a couple of weeks then try something else. Don’t let that happen. Get motivated. Forget eating a single sweet, chocolate, biscuit, or anything like that and see where you end up in three months. When it works, get in touch and let me know your progress. Small improvements every week add up to a new physique after a few months.

Let me know how you get on, but be consistent. If you are going to follow these tips, follow all of them precisely, or results will be greatly affected. However, before undertaking any new diet or exercise programme, please make sure you consult your GP beforehand.

Regards,

Martin Procter

Myoplex Diet Bars & Fat Loss

Myoplex Diet Bars

Myoplex Diet Bars, from EAS, are a convenient, great tasting, low calorie snack bar, ideal for anyone wanting to lose weight. The idea is simple, eating 5 or 6 small nutritious meals per day, whilst staying within your calorie limits boosts metabolism, regulates insulin levels, increases absorption of nutrients and increases energy. Myoplex Diet Bars can act as 3 of your small meals per day, when eaten between normal meals, keeping your daily diet as simple as breakfast, lunch and dinner, with myoplex diet bars in between. A good way of understanding this approach to fat loss, is that when you eat nutritious meals so often throughout the day, your body thinks there is an abundance of food available and there is less need to hold on to your long term energy stores, i.e. body fat! Exercise will increase your fat loss abilities, by burning off more calories and raising your metabolism further, but is not essential.

Typical Daily Diet For Fat Loss, Using Myoplex Diet Bars

1. 7am – Small bowl of porridge oats in semi skimmed milk and 1 banana
2. 9:30am – Myoplex Diet Bar
3. 12pm – Lean meat, cheese or tuna salad sandwich in 2 slices of wholemeal bread and 1 apple
4. 2:30pm – Myoplex Diet Bar
5. 5pm – Small Evening Meal
6. 7:30pm – Myoplex Diet Bar

The above diet will be approximately 1500 calories, but you need to tweak your own diet to suit your weight loss requirements. A good rule of thumb is to consume 10 calories per day for every pound of bodyweight, when trying to lose weight. See below:

Why Myoplex Diet Bars?

Other than the convenience of being able to carry a great tasting diet bar around with you, when away from home, Myoplex Diet Bars are also a highly nutrtitious food supplement. Each bar provides 18g of high quality, slow releasing and highly digestible protein, 27g of carbs to provide energy and 8g of good fats, resulting in just 246 calories. The bars are designed to provide the perfect combinations of macronutrients for weight loss, whilst also helping increase muscle tone. Also included in each bar are 24 vitamins, minerals, trace elements and prebiotic fibres, which optimise bodily functions and improve health. Myoplex Diet Bars are our most popular weight loss bars and you can buy them from our store with free UK delivery, at low cost, with multibuy discounts and customer reward points, see Myoplex Diet Bars product description.

Please note: The advice in this article is intended to give readers the information need to lose mainly body fat, resulting in overall weight loss, to achieve a more athletic toned appearance, rather than a skinny-fat look. Also, there are possibly quicker ways of losing weight, which are doomed to failure – this advice is more about achieving progressive, continued, sustainable weight loss in a healthy way, making you feel good and your weight should only be checked monthly, on a morning, before breakfast, for accurate results. I’m sure you will be happy!

Regards,

Brian

CNP Professional Pro-MS

CNP Professional Pro-MS – Meal Replacement Diet Shake for Women

CNP Professional, based in Manchester, are a long established company that manufacture a variety of sports supplements, used heavily worldwide. One of CNP’s most popular products is called Pro-MS, which was the first meal replacement diet shake manufactured specifically for women trying to lose weight, whilst improving health and energy levels.

Pro-MS, from CNP Professional is a meal replacement diet shake for women. Each box of Pro-MS contains 15 individually wrapped sachets, which can be mixed easily in water for a great tasting low calorie, high quality, thermogenic shake – perfect for helping you reach your fat loss goals.

What makes Pro-MS the best Diet Shake for Women Trying to Lose Weight?

Pro-MS has a low Glycemic Index (GI), due it’s low sugar content. But, more importantly, Pro-MS provides a low Glycemic Load, which means that it will help maintain steady insulin levels, which are required for fat loss. This is because the carbohydrates in Pro-MS come from multigrain food sources, rather than cheaper sugary sources.

Pro-MS also contains more protein than rival products, with 25g per serving. The protein in Pro-MS comes from a mixture of high quality, expensive sources, i.e. micellar casein, whey protein high fraction concentrate, soy protein concentrate with phytoestrogens and peptide bonded glutamine – The benefits of each of these protein sources is described below. Other products use cheaper sources of protein, which are less effective, i.e. skimmed milk powder, which contains high amounts of sugar.

Pro-MS is also very low in fats, with the fats included in Pro-MS being good fats, that have purposely been added for their health and weight loss benefits.

Pro-MS Vitamins & Minerals (Micronutrients)

Pro-MS also contains a wide array of vitamins and minerals which promote all round good health. Typically 30-100% of the RDA of most vitamins and minerals are included in every serving of Pro-MS.

Pro-MS Additional Benefits

Further to all of the above benefits, Pro-MS also includes an antioxidant and thermogenic fat burning blend of:

1. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA);
2. Raspberry essence;
3. Green Tea extract;
4. Jojoba extract;
5. white kidney bean extract; and
6. maitake mushroom meal

which is formulated to suppress appetite and assist in fat loss and also maintain a healthy immune system. CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is also shown to significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer in high-risk women.

An added benefit of Pro-MS is that it also contains bifidus, acidophilus and yoghurt organisms, which are the healthy bacteria needed to promote an efficient digestive system, which will enable you to metabolise more nutrients.

Where can you buy CNP Professional’s Pro-MS?

Pro-MS is available from our website cheaper than any other shop or website in the UK, including from the manufacturers themselves. This is because we sell large volumes of this product and we can buy the product in bulk quantities at discounted prices. We also offer free delivery of this item to any address in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Scottish Highlands, etc.). At £22.99 delivered, each serving works out at around £1.50 per serving, which is most likely cheaper than your lunch would cost and much healthier!

This article just gives a summary of Pro-MS, so if you would like any further information, please leave your comments below and I will respond to all comments received. Otherwise, please look at the product page for Pro-MS for more information.