In a recent “60 minutes” episode, hosted by Leslie Stahl, Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity doctor at Mass General Hospital and associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, stated that obesity is a brain disease.
One Year Later
As I look back over the past year I realize that while there has been a strong focus on mask wearing, social distancing, and getting vaccinated, we have not received any information or health education on how to stay healthy and fit.
SB Downtown Business Spotlight Interview
I was honored to be a part of the Downtown Business Spotlight’s Virtual Interview Series along with Adrienne Smith, the owner of Power of Your Om, and Robin Elander, the executive director of SB Downtown Organization.
Become Stronger, Healthier, and More Resilient
We are living in uncertain times. But, what if we could turn all this negativity into something positive? What if we could use this pandemic as a growth experience to teach us how to become stronger, healthier and more resilient for the future?
Groundbreaking Research on Probiotics
Emerging research reveals a new category of probiotics creates major improvements in gut health, “spore-based organisms.”
The Super Nutrient Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin known as the “sunshine” vitamin because the body manufactures it after exposure to sunshine. Surprisingly, up to seventy-five percent of Americans are deficient due to indoor lifestyles and a lack of nutrient-dense foods.
Are You Fat Adapted?
The human body requires energy to function which is provided by proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Since carbohydrates are the most readily available, most people are sugar burners; they rely on carbohydrates and sugars to keep the brain and body running.
What’s The Difference Between Paleo and Keto?
Paleo and Keto are two buzz words associated with rapid fat loss and healthier lifestyles. Both diets have overlapping foods and benefits, but what are the differences?
Your Microbiome and Circadian Rhythm
You knew that gut microbes could affect your digestion, your weight and even your immune system. But did you know that that gut flora can also affect your circadian rhythm?
Are You Ready To “Go Keto”?
As you may know, the ketogenic diet (keto for short) has become extremely popular over the past year or so. When you understand the benefits it makes perfect sense. “Going keto” can be refreshing; you’re leaner, you’re not hungry, you have a steady flow of energy, and your brain works better!
5 Reasons To Start Intermittent Fasting
Humans have been practicing intermittent fasting (IF) for hundreds of thousands of years. So it makes perfect sense that IF may benefit us in our modern lives as well.
Amp Up Your Santa Barbara Summer with the Keto Diet!
In the summer, Santa Barbara comes to life. And with longer days and warmer nights, there is no better time to take advantage of everything our beautiful city has to offer.
Your Microbiome and You
The amazing thing about science? It evolves.
For example, we’ve known for years that diet influences our health, but scientists have been uncertain to what extent and how.
Fat Loss: The Two Factors You Need To Know Now
As a personal trainer, I have encountered many clients of all shapes and sizes, looking for one thing: fat loss. One particular client here at Fitness Transform, came to me when she found she could no longer deny what her lifestyle was doing to her body.
Do You Have the True Ancestral Gene?
As a society, we are intrigued with knowing our origins – who our ancestors were and what they did. But what about our own genetics? What can our own genes tell us about our bodies, health, and lives? Though more to the point, what can we learn from our ancestors that can help us to lead healthier and longer existences?
Bye Bye Omega 6, Hello Omega 3
In my business, I encounter a lot people looking for relief from pain caused by inflammation – people suffering from conditions like arthritis who are at the end of their ropes, desperate and fed up, ready to take drastic measures like surgery. To these people, I say: don’t lose hope.
Gaining Energy and Losing Weight with Fitness Transform, by Keith Hamm (Published in the SB Independent)
About halfway into a 28-day fitness and nutrition program headed up by Mikki Reilly at Fitness Transform, I experienced a sustained upswing in energy as I went about my typical weekend.
The Single Most Important Factor For Fat Loss in Santa Barbara
Fitness Transform member, Alan Irwin, has lost a whooping 100 pounds and has kept it off for over 10 years! He attributes a lot of his success to writing down what he eats and he shares that with us here…
Primal Supplements for Health and Fitness
Nutrient density, meaning the actual vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients contained in food, is different than it was 40,000 years ago. Here is a list of supplements our modern body needs to best replicate the nutritionally dense diet our ancestors ate.
Eat an Abundance of Plant Foods from the Santa Barbara Farmers Market
From a Paleolithic point of view, ancient humans evolved on a diet that was based on wild plants, particularly green leafy vegetables and meat from wild animals. These vegetables provided antioxidant vitamins, minerals, and many phytochemicals with a variety of antioxidant properties…
Paleo Lamb and Sweet Potato Recipe
Looking for tasty meal with a little Paleo-friendly carbs? Check out this amazing LAMB AND SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE contributed by Fitness Transform member Penny G.
Primal Lifestyle: 3 Things You Can Do To Eliminate Pain
Many people believe that joint pain is inevitable, something they must learn to live with as they get older. But as a fitness trainer with 20 years experience, working in the trenches with clients, I’ve seen hundreds of people reduce or completely eliminate pain when they implement three simple steps…
Getting Personal – A Moment with Fitness Trainer Mikki Reilly, by Victoria Woodard Harvey
Like many trainers, Mikki derives her sense of purpose from helping people get fit, and she is very good at it…
Is Eating Meat Good for the Planet?
Some people object to the Paleo Diet with its emphasis on eating animal products because they say it’s not environmentally responsible and therefore bad for the planet…
What is the Paleo Diet?
For most of our evolutionary history, we were hunter/gatherers; we hunted animals, fished, and gathered plants for food. So our ancestors of the Paleolithic era ate a diet of whole foods found in nature, like wild game, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts.
The Egg Controversy
For decades the US government has been advising us to avoid eggs, along with butter, whole milk and cheese because they claim that these foods are high in cholesterol and therefore increase your risk for heart disease. Recently these guidelines have changed and they now advise us to eat one egg a day. “Evidence suggests that one egg (i.e. egg yolk) per day does not result in increased blood cholesterol levels, nor does it increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in healthy people,” according to the government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
But what they should have said is, eat as many eggs as you like because cholesterol in foods does not lead to heart disease. In this recent post to Spacedoc.net, Dr Malcolm Kendrick and Dr Duane Graveline explain the way cholesterol works in the body…
Low Carb Diets And LDL
In my previous post, I wrote about a recent study which compared the effects of a very low-carbohydrate, high-saturated-fat diet with a low-fat diet to evaluate long-term weight loss over a one-year period. The outcome of the study was that the low-carb group lost more weight and had greater decreases in triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, which is all good. But …
Long Term Study Compared Low Carb With Low Fat Diet
A new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compared the effects of a very low-carbohydrate, high-saturated-fat diet (LC) with a low-fat (LF) diet to evaluate long-term weight loss over a one-year period. One hundred eighteen dieters with abdominal obesity and at least one additional metabolic syndrome risk were randomly assigned to either the LC diet (4% carbohydrate, …
The High Protein Diet And Kidney Damage
I was reading a post by Dr Eades recently, where he was examining a study which showed that high-dose thiamin (vitamin B1) may be an effective treatment for diabetic nephropathy, when I came across an interesting response to a comment. The commenter was talking about how his friends and family give him a lot of grief about his high protein …
The Big Red Meat Study
If you keep up with the news, you’ve probably read or heard about the recent study which suggests that older Americans who eat large amounts of red meat have an increased risk of death from heart disease and cancer. According to the report, researchers gave a food questionnaire to approximately half a million people (ages 50-71) who took part in …
Paleo Diet Confers Health Benefits
Here’s a new study which shows that even short term consumption of the Paleolithic type diet confers many health benefits. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine performed a study in which nine non-obese sedentary, healthy individuals consumed their usual diet for three days, then ate foods with more potassium and fiber for seven days, and …
The Dynamic Weight Stage
I’ve had a lot of experience with weight loss over the years. I dieted down to six percent body fat to compete in the Iron Maiden bodybuilding contest back in 1992. And I’ve helped many of my clients reach their ideal weight. One thing I’ve noticed is that there’s a point you can reach where you seem to have an …
The Asian High Carb Argument
When I present the low carb nutritional approach to my clients I’m often asked how the Asians manage to stay healthy on a high carb diet. Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories answers this question as well as a number of other questions on the low carb diet on Dr. Michael Eades’ blog. Read the entire post here. …
Toxic Fat By Barry Sears
I just finished reading Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad by Barry Sears, Ph.D. author of The Zone. What I found interesting about the book is that Sears doesn’t just tell us that obesity is related to the diseases of civilization – such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, Alzheimer’s, etc. He explains the connection. According to Sears, over the …
Organic Lard: An Oxymoron?
After reading a post by Dr Mary Dan Eades, I casually mentioned to one of my clients that I was having a hard time finding organic lard here in Santa Barbara. My client turned to me and said “organic lard … that sounds like an oxymoron.” He then went on to confess that he still has a hard time with …
Low-Carb Better Than Low-Fat
A study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine compared the low-fat, low-carb and Mediterranean diets to determine which diet is the safest and most effective for weight loss. Researchers at the Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, Israel, an isolated workplace with its own medical department, followed 322 moderately obese participants, 277 men and 45 women for …
Five Fat Loss Tips For Summer
1. Build Muscle. When you add muscle to your body, you increase your metabolic rate, which means you burn more calories all day long. The most effective way to gain muscle is to train your full body with free weights three times a week for 45 minutes each session. Multiple studies have shown that performing total body workouts, rather than …
Healthy Cooking Oils
Here’s an interesting post by Scott Kustes of the Modern Forager on Ten Oils And How To Use Them. It’s a follow-up to a guest post that Scott wrote recently for Mark’s Daily Apple on The Tropical Oils, Coconut and Red Palm Oil. In the post on Tropical Oils, Scott explains…. Saturated oils are nearly impervious to oxidation and degradation. …
Fat Loss Stalled On A Low Carb Diet?
Here’s a great post by Dr. Michael Eades on how you lose weight and why fat loss stalls on a low carb diet. First, Dr Eades describes the weight loss process… Let’s look at what happens when we cut carbohydrates in the diet. First we don’t get enough carbs to replenish our blood sugar, so the body has to convert …
A Maverick’s Guide To: Booming Fitness
In the past, aging has often meant a gradual loss of health and vigor as the years progress. But with the recent advances in research on aging, we now know this slow decline is no longer inevitable. With the right exercise and nutritional program, even an unfit person can turn around most of the consequences of aging. We know, for …
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