'Six Week To OMG' Finally Published In UK

'Six Week To OMG' Finally Published In UK

Forget Atkins. When it comes to the latest diet advice, there’s only one book title on everyones lips.

Six Weeks To OMG: Get Skinnier Than All Your Friends.

The eating plan, which is published paperback today (but has been No 1 on Apple's itunes UK chart for weeks) has come under attack for encouraging competitive weight-loss and extreme diet behaviour such as skipping breakfast, drinking coffee and taking cold baths.

But author Venice A Fulton (real name Paul Khanna), who slightly surprisingly hails from North London, is well prepared to challenge his critics and says that many health professionals are already on his side.

"I've already had doctors say they find it refreshing and useful for them," Fulton told Huffpost Lifestyle.

Six Weeks To OMG Author Venice A Fulton.

“I’ve also read reports about my desire to turn women against women, which is literally not even on my radar.”

"And I'm definitely not advocating ice baths, as has been reported - but a cold bath. It should be room temperature, around 20 degrees celsius.

"If you sit in that water, your heart will beat 25 times faster than if you were standing normally in the room. That’s good because it forces your body to increase its metabolic rate and burn fat," he says.

The personal trainer believes that much of conventional wisdom about losing weight is wrong.

“It’s a shame. We’re all running around relying on these scientific cliches that no one ever checks out. I can’t stand that. Life is too short to waste,” he says.

• Skipping breakfast can be healthy

  Fulton says: "In the morning, your body has almost no blood sugar floating around, and you literally have once in a day opportunity to burn stored fat immediately. "That's almost impossible at any other time in the day. "There is evidence to suggest that breakfast skipping in some people is associated with eating more later - but the causal link has never been proven. "We are designed to live off our own structure. Body fat is not meant to be the back-up system. It's meant to be the system that trickles energy into us all day long. Many people eat breakfast out of pure habit.

• Certain fruits instantly block fat loss

  "Fruits and their spin offs like smoothies, certainly contain vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, but they also tend to be rich in fructose." says Fulton. "Fructose stops leptin, our body's fuel gauge, from doing its job. With nothing telling us to pull the gas nozzle out, we keep eating."

• Snacking

  "There's no such thing as a healthy snack," says Fulton. "Anything that is consumed between major meal times is certainly unhealthy. And that covers every single thing that is regarded as a health snack." "Your body must have long gaps between meals to live off its own structure. We're not designed to top up."

• Juices and smoothies cause overeating

  "Smoothies, certainly contain vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, but they also tend to be rich in fructose." says Fulton. "Fructose stops leptin, our body's fuel gauge, from doing its job. With nothing telling us to pull the gas nozzle out, we keep eating."

• Exercise is more than just how much and how hard

  "We widely debate what kind of exercise works best for fat loss, getting hung up on fine details like intensity and duration," says Fulton. "The important consideration is correct timing. It's critical to move early on, as this once-in-a-day opportunity presents a rare combination of high metabolic rate, lower blood sugar, and plenty of time for continued fat burning before shutdown (sleep)."

• Broccoli carbs can be worse than those from Coke

  Fulton says: "In some, the quantity of carbohydrate can itself determine their chance of skinny success, with the specific source of the carbs not making a noticeable difference. "These lucky few can get skinny on the lowest 'quality' carbs, such as soft drinks, as long as they don't have too many. "Being skinny, as opposed to being heavy, is best for general health, but it's worth seeking out nutrients even if your weighing scales delight in saying otherwise."

• Black Coffee

  Fulton says: "Black coffee is very potent for fat burning." "It encourages your body's fat cells to open up and release their contents and you can use up more stored body fat as a fuel. "Just remember to not to add milk or sugar."

• Cold Baths

  "Cold baths are a completely natural metabolism booster. The bath should be 68F/20 degrees celsius, which is room temperature water. "If you sit in that water, your heart will beat 25 times faster than if you were standing normally in the room. That's good because it forces your body to increase its metabolic rate. "The effect can last up to 15 hours in some people. It's incredible and a great way to eradicate a sluggish metabolism," says Fulton.

According to Fulton, the way we live doesn't allow our bodies to lose weight.

"Snacking is holding back the whole globe. It’s wholly inappropriate for humans, unless you’re a baby.

"We will not faint or collapse by not having food every three hours. It's a personal trainer driven myth that we must eat more frequently.

“Your body cannot burn fat if there is fuel in your blood stream. That’s not an opinion, that’s the way hormones work. It’s surprising that registered dietitians and doctors, even exercise physiologists, try and refute this fact.”

Scroll down for criticism of Fulton’s weight-loss techniques

The 39-year-old advises clients to exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, and eat later on.

“The body has a back-up system called body fat - it’s the ultimate breakfast,” he says.

Fulton started his professional life as a personal trainer in public gyms, after completing a sports science degree at the University of Bedfordshire, but became tired of parroting the “party line” - and so moved into private training.

His methods quickly became less orthodox, as he implemented weight-loss techniques based on research he found personally compelling.

“There are are 21 million journals on the American National Institutes of Health website and I’ve probably looked through 25,000. And yes, of course you can always find research to back up any point of view, but I would not write about this stuff if I didn’t have confidence in it

"This is peoples’ lives, their self-esteem - things that can’t be messed with.”

Fulton believes that if individuals knew more about how their bodies burned fat, weight-loss would be easier to sustain.

"Many personal trainers work like an over glorified abacus, just counting for their clients, which is not enough. It doesn’t last when someone’s not barking at you. Or when you come off the diet.

"It’s all about understanding. That's the long-term key to getting somewhere."

"If you read this book, you’ll become an expert - and it will encourage you to look further. We’re all bright enough to not be talked down to."

So far Fulton has got off lightly from the critics, but he's ready for the avalanche of opinions as the book is published in paperback.

"I expect there will be people who will completely challenge it because it does upset the apple cart in terms of what we’re relying on. And I welcome that debate."

Why Six Weeks To OMG is wrong, according to dietician Sasha Watkins.

• Hold Off On Breakfast

  Skipping breakfast is not a great idea, as after a night without food, your energy reserves are low and your body and brain need fuel. In fact, studies show that people who skip breakfast are more likely to be overweight than people that don't. Missing breakfast plays havoc with your metabolism and may lead to you to snack on less healthy foods later in the morning as you are hungry.

• Cut Down Fruit Intake

  The diet also encourages you to just eat one piece of fruit a day for six weeks. All the evidence shows that fruit is a good source of fibre, essential vitamins and minerals and key to good health. Dietitians recommend that you eat five pieces of fruit and veg a day, but if you want to lose weight try have more vegetables than fruit, as fruit is more calorific.

• Up Your Caffeine Levels

  There is nothing wrong with drinking moderate levels of coffee but it is not a miracle fat burner. If it was, considering how much we drink in the UK daily, we wouldn't have the current obesity crisis.

• Don't Snack Between Meals

  It is absolutely fine to snack - so long as you choose healthy snacks and keep yourself active. There may be times when you have a long time between meals or you need a snack after exercise. Good snacking options include a rice cake with cottage cheese, some carrot sticks with hummus or a low fat yoghurt

Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Rev. Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder: No Priority Like Health, No Place Like Home: Mark 6:1-13

Rev. Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder: No Priority Like Health, No Place Like Home: Mark 6:1-13

The reports are stunning! Due to the financial fiasco of 2008 the average wealth of persons in the middle class has dropped by more than $40,000. It took four years for a generation of wealth to evaporate. It will surely take more time than this to regain these funds. What is just as appalling is the reminder that this decline was due to bad mortgage lending. Greedy lenders and dare I say some greedy borrowers (with too little money) signed for too much ... house.

What once was a source of pride and security, within less than five years has become a credit albatross and place of desolation. A house used to mean safety and monetary gain. It meant that we were on the path to some degree of prosperity. Just recently we were admonished that this path has taken a turn for the worse. The road is now replete with fiscal thorns and subprime lending rocks. So many have lost their houses. So many in our nation do not have a place to call "home."

This idea of "homelessness" not only affects persons caught in the circuitous mortgage-lending web, but it is relevant to our military personnel. Women and men from all branches are now routinely returning from Iraq only to find that there is really no home in which to lie down. It is not uncommon to hear stories of veterans who are having difficulty finding jobs and making ends meet. They risked their lives to secure the home front of these United States. Yet, these soldiers are rewarded with hard knocks and hard times pertaining to their own home stability. Do they have somewhere they can call "home"?

This is a season of transition and "meanwhile" living. College students who had become so accustomed to the confines of dorms are now transitioning. Career moves will take some graduates to places where they will acquire their first homes. Whether it is a one room on the Eastside or an apartment in the local square, it will be their residence. It will be their home.

On the other side, more and more university students will go back to their hometown. No job offers and no desire for or acceptance into graduate schools leave many with one option: going back to momma and daddy. While such accommodations provide a degree of physical security, life back at the ranch can create emotional turmoil. What was once familiar is now foreign. Acquaintances who were once a guy's "boys," a female's "girlfriends," one's "road-dogs," now seem like strangers at best. The places the pre-college student used to frequent are not as appealing. Did the town change? Did the people change? Perchance college has indeed changed that student. It is as if there is widespread xenophobia in a place that an individual knows. Is this what it means to be "home"?

A Biblical Perspective

In the Gospel's penultimate Sabbath story, Mark records Jesus attending the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth (6:1-6). Jesus is teaching, and people are astounded. What he says not only amazes them, but the "deeds of power by his hand" are just as stunning (v. 2). Yet, Jesus endures verbal abuse. This is not a result of his healing someone, but it is because of who he is. At issue is not the identity of Jesus as "Son of Man" or "Lord of the Sabbath." What is problematic is his family. Jesus' biological family and their lack of status cause trouble. Jesus is too plain, too ordinary. While elsewhere he is the healer, the restorer, at home he is just a carpenter. The same hands that touched Simon's mother-in-law and cooled her fever in Capernaum are the same hands used for merely maneuvering wood and tools at home, with a few exceptions. Jesus is no big shot in Nazareth. Jesus is just a guy at "home."

WATCH: A Prophet Without Honor:

Mark avers that Jesus is amazed at the unbelief of his neighbors (v. 6). However, Jesus does not disregard this reaction. He does not engage in a game of "hater-ation." He acknowledges the dis-ease he causes the hometown crowd. Jesus acquiesces and admits that honor comes from everyone and from everywhere except from where one would expect it, from one's own people (v. 5).

On the contrary Jesus does not allow the absence of a welcome home parade to stop him. Instead of discontinuing his deeds of power, he pays it forward. Jesus calls the 12 and gives them the authority to do what he has done (v. 7, 12). They are now to cure the possessed and heal the sick. Dare I say Jesus enacts his own Affordable Care Act? I said, "Dare, I say..." Jesus uses this moment of cognitive and social dissonance to empower others to seek the health and welfare of people in his community. Whereas, the people who knew Jesus the best appreciated him the least, his pain became the impetus for enabling the disciples to seek the greater good, the greater health good. No, I am by no means comparing Obama to Jesus. Trust me! I know better!

Home Is Where Healthcare Is?

After six months of anticipation, there is now a ruling. The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare," is constitutionally legal. The president's efforts to ensure healthcare for more than 30 million uninsured have a legitimate stamp of approval. Because the government has the right to tax, Obamacare's measures are indeed permissible. The president promised to make healthcare a priority during his first campaign, and he did. There is no political promise like prioritizing citizen health and well being. In this home we call the United States of America, we now live under a federal mandate to purchase health insurance. Love it or leave it.

"The Wizard of Oz" and "The Wiz" say it best: "There's no place like home." Mortgage deals gone amok, lack of respect for military sacrifice, post-college hometown challenges, and now coercion and perhaps penalties for refusing health insurance. Yet, there is no place like these United States. Whether we loathe or cheer the Supreme Court's decision, our national home is a place rooted in hierarchal checks and balances. As even depicted in the biblical texts, home is not a place absent of drama or disagreement. No matter how a person defines "home." No matter our race, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender, political ideology or health status. We all need a home; we all long for home. There is no place like home!

Editor's Note: ON Scripture - The Bible is a series of Christian scripture commentaries produced in collaboration with Odyssey Networks. Each week pastors from around the country will approach the lectionary text of the week through the lens of current events, providing a religious voice that is both pastoral and prophetic.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

What Must I Do To Lose Weight

My problems with weight gain didn’t start until I was older.  I was a skinny kid all my life and even into adulthood.  Even after I had my kids, in my 20s, I managed to get off the weight by using just a diet and a little bit of exercise.  I seemed to be one of the lucky ones who didn’t have to struggle with weight, although I saw plenty of my friends and family members trying to get excess weight off.  It did help that I had my children at a younger age and had them nearly three years apart - it gave my body a chance to get back into shape each time.  

The key to any successful weight-loss endeavor is to set some sensible weight loss goals. Setting goals will let you track your progress and gives you a definite target to aim for. You don’t want to aim too high and set yourself up for failure or even worse, risk your health by losing too much too fast.

For a number of people, overeating stems from anxiety.  For instance, if you find yourself consuming an entire bag of potato chips, it’s possible that anxiety is the cause.  While many people realize that alcohol and illegal drugs are not an antidote to anxiety, they may not understand that indulging in comfort food in order to combat anxiety can be dangerous as well.

One misconception is that you can still lose weight, even if you eat whatever you choose.  Actually, you need to be careful about how many calories you consume and increase your exercise in order to ensure that you burn more fat than you take in.  Also, it is important that you limit portions in order to ensure that you do not add extra weight.  If you select low-calorie foods and you eat smaller portions, while enhancing your physical activity, you should be able to lose weight.    However, you may still be able to eat some of the food you like best—provided you eat it in moderation or, if high in calories, only sparingly.

When you're trying to find the best weight-loss exercise video, you might have to go through a few before you find one you really like. There are so many to choose from today, but at least you have a good chance of finding several you enjoy.