Nutrition Myths Busted!

12/27/2011

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“Don't be afraid to work hard. If it's easy, it's not working," Tony Horton


Nutrition Myths:

Carbs are evil…

You need carbohydrates in your diet BUT not the refined and enriched ones! You need the fiber and nutrients found in the whole wheat and whole grains!  Whole wheat pastas and breads, oats, and brown rice are great sources for this! Skip the white bread, white rice, and enriched white flour! And just because it says “wheat” doesn’t mean it is! It must say 100% whole wheat!

Fat is evil too…

This is a conspiracy back in the day to convince people that eating foods with fat in them was bad, however, eating foods without fat often leads to foods filled with sugars and sodium (added for flavor). You need to consume mono- and poly- unsaturated fats, found in fish or you can supplement with omega-3’s!

 

I should starve myself to lose weight…

WRONG! You want to be lean and thin? You must EAT 5-6 small meals a day with healthy lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables! In starving yourself you are causing your body to eat your metabolism revving muscle tissue and your body goes into starvation mode!

Skip the coffee for better health…

It’s okay you CAN have your cup of Joe every day but skip the sugar and cream! These are what make coffee unhealthy, sweeten with stevia or splenda! Coffee has health benefits such as antioxidants, reduced type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, and even cardiovascular diseases!

Red meat will give you a heart attack…

Nope! This refers to over processed meats such as hotdogs and bacon but having a lean steak or other lean cuts of meat are a good source of iron, B vitamins, and of course healthy fats and protein! So go ahead and enjoy!

Eggs are cholesterol bombs…

This is an old trend that had people swearing off eggs all together! What a loss for their bodies! Eggs are a good source of protein, vitamins, and healthy fats, and good cholesterol (which helps lower the bad kind!). So enjoy your eggs!

Diet soda is safer…

Just because it has 0 calories does NOT make it good for you! It is laden with harmful sweeteners that just cause you to want sweets later on! Also, people interpret this calorie deficit in soda as an opportunity to add more calories in later! Drop the soda all together and pick up some good old fashioned water!!  

Organic and natural are the best…

The FDA does not really have a definition or regulation for this yet but it does not always mean better! Go for organic when you eat the skins (apples, potatoes, peppers, etc!) and go for natural when looking for no added sugar (Peanut butter for example) but just because your chips say “all natural” does not make them good for you! This is a gimmick by the companies that you should not fall for! So be smart with your labels!

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Holidays are coming! FIT NOT FAT

12/12/2011

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So with the holidays quickly approaching I challenge you...to get fit NOT fat!

*Commit to working out at least 4 days a week!

*Eat clean, yes by all means have the cookie you are dying for then by all means have 1and then be done!

*Wear a tight fitting dress or outfit to the party so you are conscious of what you eat!

*Do not socialize near the food or you will be subject to mindless eating!!

*Eat a small healthy meal before you go so you don't over eat!

*Limit alcohol to 2-3 drinks!

*Avoid the fried and greasy...so anything wrapped in bacon!

*And focus on your friends/family!
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Fitness Myths

12/6/2011

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_ Fitness Myths:    

Exercise makes you tired-

This is simply NOT true! Your workouts and exercise routines will give you more energy and better performance all day and you will sleep better!

 

If you workout you can eat whatever you want and still get the body you want-

 WRONG! You will be able to eat more calories of higher quality foods but you cannot expect to see abs after eating a big plate of hot wings! It’s okay to have a cheat meal or snack (deprivation is BAD!) but not all the time or you will never progress.

 

Muscle weighs more than fat-

In fact this is not true they weigh the same however muscle takes up less space and has a lower volume in comparison. This is why two people who weigh the same but have different body fat % will look very different!

 

Lifting will bulk women up-

Ladies listen, YOU CANNOT BULK UP LIKE A MAN WITHOUT HARMFUL SUPPLEMENTS! It is physically not possible! You do not have the testosterone, but muscle will burn more calories when at rest and take up less space in your body giving you a more compact and smaller body.

 

All you need is cardio-

Nope! Cardio is great for fat burning but you must add muscle to your body in order to achieve long term weight loss—go pick up some heavy weights!

 

Doing crunches all day will give you flat abs-

Doing ab exercises is great for building muscle but if you have a thick layer of fat on top you will not be able to see them! You must lose the fat before you will see your abs! This also means a good diet! 30% workout, 70% diet

 

Spot training-

DOES NOT WORK! To lose weight total body exercises are really essential. Just working one area will leave your body unbalance and unable to lose sustainable amounts. If your booty is your trouble spot by all means work those muscles hard but do not skip your arms or back (just as an example).

 

Your weight machines and heart rate monitors are always accurate-

Wrong again. These are based on an average (unless you program them in) and even then they do not take into account your body fat percentage, you height, intensity (which is measured in more ways than just heart rate). A heart rate monitor is more accurate but still has flaws according to recent studies.

 

Weight is the most accurate measure of health-

The number on the scale is just that A NUMBER! This is not an indicator of how fit or healthy you are (in most cases!). Health is dictated by blood pressure, body fat percentage, and your blood sugar health and other counts as well. More useful can be taking measurements, before, during and after photos, and a fit test. BECAUSE, maybe your weight isn’t changing but those other factors are!

 

Skipping meals and eating less will speed up metabolism and weight loss-

Absolutely NOT! Starvation mode causes your body to initially lose weight but you will never keep it off! Your body, because of the lack in calories, goes into survival mode and will protect itself by holding onto everything you put into your body causing weight gain when you try to begin eating again. To lose weight effectively, eat 5-6 small meals a day, every two to three hours will speed metabolism and exercise!

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Workout Rewards

12/3/2011

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Rewarding yourself for doing a month or weeks worth of workouts is a great incentive and also accountability tactic for consistency!


"You aren't a dog--don't reward yourself with food"

A great quote that I recently read and this may be one of the main reasons many people fall off the weight loss wagon! Why you may ask? Because you are rewarding your healthy behavior with unhealthy!! You do NOT want to enforce positive behavior with negative treats! By all means if you want to have a "cheat" have it but only have one serving! This way you will never feel deprived or encouraged to eat those unhealthy foods.


For weight loss success positive rewards for me are:
-I allow myself to get some new clothes -I take a bubble bath -Read a book I've been wanting to read -relax without any interruptions! Things like that are very helpful for me!


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