Today I wanna share with you a cooking trick that will help you burn fat faster – Spice it Up!

Spices will not only boost the taste of your foods but also enhance your metabolic rate so that you burn fat all day long.

They’re quick and easy to add into your dishes and one of the best ways to make sure that you don’t experience dietary boredom.

So which spices should you focus on?

1.  Black Pepper

Sounds simple enough but this spice can offer up to 8% increase in your metabolic rate and will help you reduce symptoms of constipation and gas from you meals.

2.  Tumeric

An often forgotten spice, this one will help to lower your blood sugar so you don’t get strong food cravings.  This spice can acutally help to block fat gain so it’s definately one you want to make good use of.

3.  Cinnamon

A sweet spice that many people enjoy, it helps you to control blood sugar and will also give your immune system a strong boost.  It also promotes a healthy digestive system ensuing that you’re able to remove all the toxins from your body.

4.  Ginger

This spice is often used to combat nausea, but it too has metabolic boosting powers.  It works great in many recipes and will add an oriental flare to the dish.

5.  Garlic

One of the most commonly used spices, it helps detoxify the body so you’re burning fat as effectively as possible.  It also helps to loosen up fat to get it ready for fat burning.

6. Cayenne Pepper

Has reportedly given some people up to a 25% boost in metabolism so if there’s one spice you want to make good use of, this is it.  Adding this to a meal helps increse the number of calories you burn for hours after you’ve eaten.

7.  Chilli Powder

This one acts very similarly to cayenne pepper due to it’s capsaicin content providing you with a nice metabolic boost so you can burn calories all day.

As far as fat loss goes, these spices can’t be beaten.

Make sure you are not overlooking the power of spices.  Far too many people focus on what they can do to cut out foods from their diets, instead of taking that route, how about looking at what you can add in to see a faster overall rate of fat loss.

Source:  Metaboic Cooking, 2011

Training is underway again for both Group Training classes as well as Personal Training sessions and we are very excited about the year ahead. If you received our Newsletter in the mail at Xmas time don’t forget to utilise the Bring a Friend Gift Certificate before it expires 31st January. What a perfect way to get your friends started on a health & fitness program.

Most of our clients know of our Trainer Alix Henniker.  Alix is a multi talented young woman who amongst juggling a career as a Personal Trainer and Solicitor, has now qualified for training to become a Police Prosecutor.  Along with this Alix has been selected to appear in the upcoming TV series “The Recruits” which sees rookies entering the Police Academy in Goulburn.

Alix Henniker - The Recruit

The Recruits Production Manager has requested to film Alix at work doing what she does best for Oxygen.  So, with that in mind we have decided to put on a BONUS workout this Friday at 5:30pm – 6pm as our New Year gift to you.  It’s a good chance to get an extra session to start your year and you may even get your mug on TV!

It would be a huge favour to Alix and some great publicity for Oxygen if we could get as many people as possible for the session.  Members, non members, wives, husbands, friends, whoever – if they have any interest in doing a good deed and kickstarting their health and fitness for 2010 then please email or call us asap (4233 2963) to confirm your spot.

There has been a slight tweak to our Group Training Timetable this year with a re-arrangement of 6pm sessions and also the addition of a CORE class for our 6am Bootcampers.  Keep an eye out for additional classes being added at 7:30am for our Heart Health crew, 9:30am for the Mums and Shiftworkers and also afternoon classes for the Kids.  We’ll have Oxygen shirts running around all day long by the end of the year.

Just on that note, be sure to add your comments at the bottom of this blog post for anything you’d like to see added to our schedule for 2010 (be that timeslots, class types etc).

As for Week 1, we have seen some good numbers in attendance.  With a few people still on holidays and a tonne of people with New Year’s Resolutions to be fit, health and lose weight, January and February should mean busy times ahead.

On the topic of resolutions and being fit, did you know there are 5 key components to a successful exercise program?  One of those important steps is to assess where you are at right now.  It’s one thing to know where you want to go but if you don’t know where you are right now how can you measure your improvements?  Oxygen has the answer…

Fitness Age testing takes girth measurements all over your body – weight, strength testing, abdominal endurance, cardiovascular and flexibility assessments and calculates your Body Age, Strength Age, Cardio Age, Flexibility Age as well as an overall Fitness Age.  Oxygen conducts Group Fitness Age testing on the first Saturday of every month at 6:30am before Boxing.

For those of you who have already done Fitness Age testing before, you need to reassess to see if you have improved.  For those who have never completed Fitness Age testing, I highly recommend you participate.  It’s that perfect time of year to record your assessment so that you have a roadmap for where you need to get to in terms of fitness and health in 2010.

Good luck, train hard and may all your wishes come true in 2010.

Regards,

Dave Lambert

P.S – Don’t forget to leave your comments below to tell us what you’d like to see from Oxygen in 2010.  You may even want to publicly declare your health and fitness goals via this blog to keep yourself accountable.  Don’t laugh about it, it works!

Beneficial for Weight Loss

Strength training is a very important factor in weight loss because the metabolism is increased as muscle is increased. The metabolism is the rate in which calories are consumed, and the rate and efficiency of the metabolism is greatly increased depending on how much muscle is present in the body. Simply put, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. It has been estimated that for every kilo of muscle, the body will burn 15 to 20 more calories a day. This not only helps reduce fat, but helps keep it off.

Helps Prevent Osteoporosis

Not only can strength training help with losing weight, it can also help prevent osteoporosis, which is especially important for women. Strength training can help prevent loss of bone density, which can lead to brittle bones and a host of other health issues. Not only can strength training help prevent the disastrous effects of osteoporosis, but those that are already suffering from osteoporosis and benefit from it as well, as strength training not only helps prevent bone loss, but it can also help increase it.

More Good News

While helping with weight loss and preventing osteoporosis are two big advantages to incorporating strength training into your Kiama fitness routine, there are many other benefits as well. It can help with cardiovascular health, prevent Type II Diabetes, and even make great strides in protecting joints.

Believe it or not, abdominal fat is often the result of not just overeating but stress. Our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol when we are under stress, and this hormone can increase the appetite and convert calories into abdominal fat. This fat is possibly the most dangerous of all the fat the can develop on the body because it is so close to several vital organs, putting undue pressure on them and perhaps causing them to malfunction. Not only does strength training use up cortisol, but it helps reduce the appetite and also helps reduce the dreaded belly fat.

Incorporating strength training into your Kiama fitness routine has so many benefits that it would be foolish to dismiss it. If you don’t know where to start in your strength training, why not consult with a personal trainer to get you started? Anyone can take advantage of a personal trainer’s expertise to make sure they are making the most of Kiama fitness and strength training, and to ensure they are working out safely and effectively.