I have been asked by many people about what to do regarding feeling hungry and or feeling hungry soon after eating. Also, there have been some questions regarding weekends being so difficult.
As for hunger here it goes. There are a few different thoughts on this one. One thought is that many of us are really not feeling hunger but we are feeling in the mood to eat. I am a big advocate of not letting your self truly get hungry. If you do allow your self to get hungry you may find yourself overeating as soon as you are around food. In addition, when you are hungry you may be less selective what you are eating and grab the first piece of food that come in front of you.
Try to reduce the size of your main meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. This will start to educate your body and mind that it is Okay to eat less. Over time you will get used to a smaller portion. The most effective way to accomplish this is to eat slower. Also, using smaller plates and utensils will give you the illusion of having more food. You eat as much with your eyes as you do with your mouth.
For many of you, you may just be feeling a craving to eat. Research has shown that cravings are transient and last about 20 minutes. If you can distract your self for the 20 minutes, chances are you can beat it. Try talking on the phone, taking a walk or playing with your kids, dog, cat or friend. That aside let me give you some strategies for this.
1)Make sure to eat more frequently. That means make sure you are eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, you should have a small snack mid morning, in the afternoon and one later in the evening. The goal here is to not allow you’re self to get hungry. If you do not allow your self to get hungry you will be less likely to overeat at meal time.
2)Drink lots of water or other non-caloric drinks. Drinking does a great job in reducing the feeling of hunger. It also has the added benefit of forcing you to get more activity as you will need to run to the bathroom more often
3)Eat lean protein. Of all the foods you eat protein will “stick” with you the longest. It takes our bodies longer to digest protein than other foods giving you the sense of fullness longer.
4)Eat more whole grains. This is especially true for diabetics. White flours, white rice, and regular pasta are digested much faster than their whole grain counterparts. In addition whole grains will result in a lower insulin response than white making your blood sugar much more stable. These too will stick with you longer and give you the feeling of fullness longer.
5)Eat more high water and high fiber foods. These are of course fruits and veggies. Think about eating raisins versus grapes. If you eat 10 raisins or ten grapes which do you think will keep you feeling full longer? Both 10 grapes and 10 raisins contain the same calories. The grapes have much more water than raisins and would be the better choice for helping you feel fuller with the same calories. High fiber foods take longer for your body to digest and therefore also keep you feeling full longer. Whole grain foods always have much more fiber than refined white grains. So if you are eating bread, crackers, pasta, or rice choose 100% whole grains or brown rice. Popcorn with nothing but a little salt on it makes a great high volume, whole grain snack.
Soup is one of my super-stars for allowing me to feel like I am eating more but not consuming lots of calories.
As for Weekends, this is a tough one. Our routines are off and we have been conditioned to let it all go on the weekend. Here is where a little extra will power comes into play. Also, set your self up for success instead of failure. Either get rid of the bad foods or put them away in an inconvenient place. Also, keep handy and accessible the healthy and low calorie snacks. Here is where laziness works for us. If we have easy access to good food, fruits and cut up veggies, we will tend to go for them rather than getting up on a step ladder to reach high up in the back of the pantry to get the Oreo cookies or Twinkies.
Plan to spend some time cooking and learn how to cook healthier lower calorie foods. Make the entire food experience fun and enjoyable. Cooking is particularly fun if you can do it with a loved one. Make cooking an activity rather than just something you must do in order to eat. Cooking is so much fun. Get out of your comfort zone and go buy a cook book and start playing with your food.
Stuart
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Mmmm... Chocolate Cupcakes!!!!
For all of you with sweet tooths and chocolate cravings here is a Chocolate Cupcake recipe that won't rob your calorie bank, clog your arteries, and spike your blood sugar!
Here is the nutrional before and after:
Chocolate Cupcakes:
Calories - 325 cal
Fat - 13g
Carbs - 50g
Protein - 3g
Made-over Clean Eating Chocolate Cupcakes:
Calories - 160 cal
Fat - 6g
Carbs - 28g
Protein - 4g
The regular chocolate cupcakes have more than twice the calories and fat of the made-over cupcakes and almost twice the carbohydrates.
Here is the recipes for the Clean Eating Chocolate Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened extra dark cocoa powder
1 ¼ cup Sucanat
¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 cup low fat sour cream
1/3 cup plus 2 tsp. skim milk
1 Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tsp instant coffee granules
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl combine cocoa powder, 1 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules, 1 cup Sucanat, flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl whisk together sour cream, 1/3 cup milk, oil, vanilla, and whole egg.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Add egg whites to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Whip egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining ¼ cup Sucanat to whites. Continue whipping until medium stiff peaks form. Fold whites in thirds into cake batter with a rubber spatula.
Fill each of the 12 cupcake liners ¾ full with batter. Tap pan on countertop and put into oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool completely.
When cupcakes have completely cooled, combine chocolate and remaining 2 tsp. milk in a bowl and microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir until melted chocolate is completely smooth. Then stir in the remaining ¾ tsp of the instant coffee granules. Spread a thin layer on top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with additional shaved chocolate if desired.
Enjoy these delicious cupcakes with family and friends!
-Alexandra Jasinowski
Here is the nutrional before and after:
Chocolate Cupcakes:
Calories - 325 cal
Fat - 13g
Carbs - 50g
Protein - 3g
Made-over Clean Eating Chocolate Cupcakes:
Calories - 160 cal
Fat - 6g
Carbs - 28g
Protein - 4g
The regular chocolate cupcakes have more than twice the calories and fat of the made-over cupcakes and almost twice the carbohydrates.
Here is the recipes for the Clean Eating Chocolate Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened extra dark cocoa powder
1 ¼ cup Sucanat
¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 cup low fat sour cream
1/3 cup plus 2 tsp. skim milk
1 Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tsp instant coffee granules
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl combine cocoa powder, 1 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules, 1 cup Sucanat, flour, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl whisk together sour cream, 1/3 cup milk, oil, vanilla, and whole egg.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Add egg whites to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Whip egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining ¼ cup Sucanat to whites. Continue whipping until medium stiff peaks form. Fold whites in thirds into cake batter with a rubber spatula.
Fill each of the 12 cupcake liners ¾ full with batter. Tap pan on countertop and put into oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool completely.
When cupcakes have completely cooled, combine chocolate and remaining 2 tsp. milk in a bowl and microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir until melted chocolate is completely smooth. Then stir in the remaining ¾ tsp of the instant coffee granules. Spread a thin layer on top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with additional shaved chocolate if desired.
Enjoy these delicious cupcakes with family and friends!
-Alexandra Jasinowski
Highways and Byways
Charles Kuralt once said;
“Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.”
In the past I thought this phrase was all about traveling. However, as time passes I like to view this phrase more as a metaphor about how our life is changing as a whole. Today I see the highway system as the way we chose to move throughout our day and lives. We race from morning to night multitasking almost every second of every day. By the time the week is up we can't remember what the week was like and we have missed out on many of the little pleasures we once had when life was, let’s say, a little slower.
I want to suggest to you that by slowing down and turning off some of the media we can experience a world of pleasure that we may be missing. Take some time today and turn off the cell phone, the TV, the computer, close the newspaper and open up your other senses to feel the wind on your skin, smell the flowers, and listen to birds sing. Best of all connect with someone you love. Take the time to communicate, I mean really communicate. This requires listening more than talking.
I often feel in life, less is more. It is never more apparent than when we slow down to smell the roses.
Stuart
“Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.”
In the past I thought this phrase was all about traveling. However, as time passes I like to view this phrase more as a metaphor about how our life is changing as a whole. Today I see the highway system as the way we chose to move throughout our day and lives. We race from morning to night multitasking almost every second of every day. By the time the week is up we can't remember what the week was like and we have missed out on many of the little pleasures we once had when life was, let’s say, a little slower.
I want to suggest to you that by slowing down and turning off some of the media we can experience a world of pleasure that we may be missing. Take some time today and turn off the cell phone, the TV, the computer, close the newspaper and open up your other senses to feel the wind on your skin, smell the flowers, and listen to birds sing. Best of all connect with someone you love. Take the time to communicate, I mean really communicate. This requires listening more than talking.
I often feel in life, less is more. It is never more apparent than when we slow down to smell the roses.
Stuart
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What is the best exercise? Part 1 - Resistance Training
Many of my personal training clients as me “What is the best exercise”? My answer is always; “the best exercise for YOU depends on what you want to achieve and what you enjoy doing”. This is true for both cardiovascular training and resistance training (weight lifting). However, this entry will only resistance training.
So, what results do you want to achieve? Increased strength? Larger muscles?, increased endurance?, or more power? The protocols below are from the National Strength and Condition Association (NSCA), which is the gold standard of strength and conditioning guidelines. For each of the protocols below, you want to use the most weight or resistance that you can complete the desired number of repetitions while maintaing good form.
For strength (moving the weights slowly):
You want to do 2-6 sets of 6 or less repetitions with a 2-5min rest between sets. This allows you to improve (what we exercise scientists call) neural drive. What I mean by improving neural drive is the ability to train the nervous system to be more efficient at recruiting more muscle fibers. Recruiting more muscle fibers allows you to move more weight. By doing this you will build maximum strength without building bulk.
For bigger muscles (Called Hypertrophy):
You want to do 3-6 sets of 6-12 repetitions with a 30s-1.5min rest between sets. You do build some strength from doing this protocol, but you mainly deposit more non-contractile protein, which causes the size of the muscle to increase.
For endurance (doing the same action repeatedly for a long period of time):
You want to do 2-3 sets of more than 12 repetitions with a 30s or less rest in between sets. This allows you to build muscular endurance by forcing your muscles to use a certain amount of weight for longer periods of time.
For power (power is a combination of strength and speed, think Olympic lifts):
You want to do either one set of 1-2 repetitions with a 2-5 min rest or you want to do 3-5 sets with 3-5 repetitions with a 2-5min rest. These exercises are done very quickly in an explosive manor.
One of the most common mistakes I see at the gym is when people move the weights to fast. The tempo or speed should be 2 seconds for the contraction phase and 4 seconds for the relaxation phase. Another way to think about it is 2 seconds when you move the weights against gravity and 4 seconds when you move the weights with gravity. This applies to all the above exercises with the exception of the power (explosive) exercises.
So, there you have it for resistance training. I will have a journal up by the end of the week about cardiovascular training. Do you realize I did not say anything about toning or fat loss? I did that because toning (aka fat loss) comes from losing fat. For this you need a shift in your energy balance. Burn more calories than you eat and you will lose fat! Let me know if you have any questions about these protocols.
-Alexandra Jasinowski
So, what results do you want to achieve? Increased strength? Larger muscles?, increased endurance?, or more power? The protocols below are from the National Strength and Condition Association (NSCA), which is the gold standard of strength and conditioning guidelines. For each of the protocols below, you want to use the most weight or resistance that you can complete the desired number of repetitions while maintaing good form.
For strength (moving the weights slowly):
You want to do 2-6 sets of 6 or less repetitions with a 2-5min rest between sets. This allows you to improve (what we exercise scientists call) neural drive. What I mean by improving neural drive is the ability to train the nervous system to be more efficient at recruiting more muscle fibers. Recruiting more muscle fibers allows you to move more weight. By doing this you will build maximum strength without building bulk.
For bigger muscles (Called Hypertrophy):
You want to do 3-6 sets of 6-12 repetitions with a 30s-1.5min rest between sets. You do build some strength from doing this protocol, but you mainly deposit more non-contractile protein, which causes the size of the muscle to increase.
For endurance (doing the same action repeatedly for a long period of time):
You want to do 2-3 sets of more than 12 repetitions with a 30s or less rest in between sets. This allows you to build muscular endurance by forcing your muscles to use a certain amount of weight for longer periods of time.
For power (power is a combination of strength and speed, think Olympic lifts):
You want to do either one set of 1-2 repetitions with a 2-5 min rest or you want to do 3-5 sets with 3-5 repetitions with a 2-5min rest. These exercises are done very quickly in an explosive manor.
One of the most common mistakes I see at the gym is when people move the weights to fast. The tempo or speed should be 2 seconds for the contraction phase and 4 seconds for the relaxation phase. Another way to think about it is 2 seconds when you move the weights against gravity and 4 seconds when you move the weights with gravity. This applies to all the above exercises with the exception of the power (explosive) exercises.
So, there you have it for resistance training. I will have a journal up by the end of the week about cardiovascular training. Do you realize I did not say anything about toning or fat loss? I did that because toning (aka fat loss) comes from losing fat. For this you need a shift in your energy balance. Burn more calories than you eat and you will lose fat! Let me know if you have any questions about these protocols.
-Alexandra Jasinowski
Monday, August 17, 2009
Words that are so true
"If you want to be successful, it's just this simple: Know what you're doing. Love what you're doing. And believe in what you're doing."
Will Rogers
Okay, to get started go find what you truly love to do.
Stuart
Will Rogers
Okay, to get started go find what you truly love to do.
Stuart
Friday, August 14, 2009
You are What you Think
"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results."
Willie Nelson
The phrase above reminds me how important it is to think positive thoughts. It has been shown that you become what you think. This is true if your thoughts are positive or negative. You might have heard of the “law of positive attraction”. It is amazing how this works. There is no magic or mystery to this concept it is purely about if you think positively you will start to act in a more optimistic way attracting other positive things in your life. On the other hand if you think negatively you will no doubt attract an equal amount of negativity in your life, especially negative people.
I hear from many folks that they just can not stop thinking in a negative way. The fact is, just as you chose the clothes that you wear in the morning you can choose the thoughts that you have. When you sense negative thoughts floating into your head just push them out with positive ones. Like most things that require a change it does take some time and practice. With repetition and time you will find this will become easier and easier.
Now just put a smile on your face and give it a try. It will feel very good.
Stuart
Willie Nelson
The phrase above reminds me how important it is to think positive thoughts. It has been shown that you become what you think. This is true if your thoughts are positive or negative. You might have heard of the “law of positive attraction”. It is amazing how this works. There is no magic or mystery to this concept it is purely about if you think positively you will start to act in a more optimistic way attracting other positive things in your life. On the other hand if you think negatively you will no doubt attract an equal amount of negativity in your life, especially negative people.
I hear from many folks that they just can not stop thinking in a negative way. The fact is, just as you chose the clothes that you wear in the morning you can choose the thoughts that you have. When you sense negative thoughts floating into your head just push them out with positive ones. Like most things that require a change it does take some time and practice. With repetition and time you will find this will become easier and easier.
Now just put a smile on your face and give it a try. It will feel very good.
Stuart
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Stop thinking and just get started
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”
-Mark Twain
This is the best way I have found to conquer Procrastination and get things accomplished.
Have you ever seen one of those gigantic murals painted on the side of a building and wondered how anyone does such a thing? Well, they first start with a grid of small boxes and then transfer one small box at a time. Before long the entire gigantic project is done. The trick is to focus on one small piece of the painting at a time.
This same concept can be done with any of your large overwhelming projects. Just break the project down into small pieces and just get started on any one piece.
You can apply this to doing a financial report, losing weight or trying to exercise. For example, if you want to start an exercise program plan on a brisk walk for 5 minutes, 3 times per week. There you go, the hardest step is done, getting started. Now, each week for the next few weeks, add a few minutes to your walk. Before long you will be comfortably exercising for 30 minutes at a time.
Stuart
-Mark Twain
This is the best way I have found to conquer Procrastination and get things accomplished.
Have you ever seen one of those gigantic murals painted on the side of a building and wondered how anyone does such a thing? Well, they first start with a grid of small boxes and then transfer one small box at a time. Before long the entire gigantic project is done. The trick is to focus on one small piece of the painting at a time.
This same concept can be done with any of your large overwhelming projects. Just break the project down into small pieces and just get started on any one piece.
You can apply this to doing a financial report, losing weight or trying to exercise. For example, if you want to start an exercise program plan on a brisk walk for 5 minutes, 3 times per week. There you go, the hardest step is done, getting started. Now, each week for the next few weeks, add a few minutes to your walk. Before long you will be comfortably exercising for 30 minutes at a time.
Stuart
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Eating healthy on budget and living a busy lifestyle
As a college student on a tight budget, I have had to learn how to eat quick and healthy without going broke. It has not been easy, but once I got the hang of it, it was super easy. Everyone knows it is more time efficient and budget friendly to grab a meal off the 99 cent menu at McDonalds, however, that causes that belt around your waist to get tighter and tighter. If it is not affecting the tightness of your belt, it is affecting what is going on inside your body, like increased LDLs and triglycerides and high blood pressure.
So what can you do about it when you only have a certain amount of money to spend on food a week and a limited amount of time to prepare the food?
PLAN!!!!!!! And here is how:
1. Check the newspaper for grocery store sales and write down healthy items that are on sale, so you can see what you can plan your meals with.
2. Plan your meals with the sale items from the grocery store.
3. Always go grocery shopping on full stomach and with a grocery list.
4. If you can use frozen vegetables and fruits instead of fresh vegetables when cooking a meal. It saves you time by not having to prepare the vegetables or fruit and the frozen version cooks a lot faster. Even though it is less expensive to purchase frozen fruits and vegetable, you are not sacrificing quality because they are flash frozen at the peak of ripeness.
5. Choose quick, healthy, and EASY recipes. You can also modify quick recipes (like Rachel Ray’s 30-minute meals) by cutting the oil and fat in half (try to only use canola or olive oil), using low-fat products instead of high fat products (low-fat cheese instead of full fat and chicken breast instead of chicken thigh), and replacing enriched flour products with its 100% whole wheat version.
6. If you do go with fresh fruits and vegetables, make sure you prepare them so you can just grab and go without thinking about it. I like to slice my peppers and cucumbers as soon as I get home from the grocery store. It makes it a lot easy to just grab and go in the morning.
- Alexandra Jasinowski
So what can you do about it when you only have a certain amount of money to spend on food a week and a limited amount of time to prepare the food?
PLAN!!!!!!! And here is how:
1. Check the newspaper for grocery store sales and write down healthy items that are on sale, so you can see what you can plan your meals with.
2. Plan your meals with the sale items from the grocery store.
3. Always go grocery shopping on full stomach and with a grocery list.
4. If you can use frozen vegetables and fruits instead of fresh vegetables when cooking a meal. It saves you time by not having to prepare the vegetables or fruit and the frozen version cooks a lot faster. Even though it is less expensive to purchase frozen fruits and vegetable, you are not sacrificing quality because they are flash frozen at the peak of ripeness.
5. Choose quick, healthy, and EASY recipes. You can also modify quick recipes (like Rachel Ray’s 30-minute meals) by cutting the oil and fat in half (try to only use canola or olive oil), using low-fat products instead of high fat products (low-fat cheese instead of full fat and chicken breast instead of chicken thigh), and replacing enriched flour products with its 100% whole wheat version.
6. If you do go with fresh fruits and vegetables, make sure you prepare them so you can just grab and go without thinking about it. I like to slice my peppers and cucumbers as soon as I get home from the grocery store. It makes it a lot easy to just grab and go in the morning.
- Alexandra Jasinowski
Friday, August 7, 2009
Chili Chicken Kabobs
Now that we are finally having warm summery days, go outside and try this recipe on the grill. It would be a great to spice up the summer!
Ingredients
3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Juice of one fresh lime1 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Paprika1 large Onion, chopped into thick pieces
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced1 tsp cayenne pepperSea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste1 lb Boneless skinless chicken breast*, cut into 1 1/2 inch
Preparation
1. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Season with chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pressed garlic.
2. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with the sauce and stir to coat.
3. Preheat the grill to medium high. Thread the chicken onto the skewers, alternating with chopped onion pieces. Discard the marinade.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the skewers for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.
Ingredients
3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Juice of one fresh lime1 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Paprika1 large Onion, chopped into thick pieces
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced1 tsp cayenne pepperSea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste1 lb Boneless skinless chicken breast*, cut into 1 1/2 inch
Preparation
1. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Season with chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pressed garlic.
2. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with the sauce and stir to coat.
3. Preheat the grill to medium high. Thread the chicken onto the skewers, alternating with chopped onion pieces. Discard the marinade.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the skewers for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Is a calorie a calorie
All Calories are not Created Equal!
You’ve heard it over and over. . . “Calories in Calories out; burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight. Exercise more, eat less it’s that simple.” This would seem to make sense on the face of it; after all it follows the first law of thermodynamics as applied to human energy balance. But this is not the whole story, not all calories are created equal.
Picture this example: two people weigh the same and need to lose the same amount of weight. They exercise the same amount of time and both consume a diet of 1400 calories; both are in a calorie deficit. One eats salmon, broccoli and brown rice, the other feels he wants to enjoy his life, so he eats 1400 calories of donuts each day– yum! To avoid boredom, he rotates the flavors; maybe jelly-filled for breakfast and buttermilk glazed for lunch. Donuts are from 200-400 calories each, so that’s about 4 – 7 donuts per day. Do you think they will lose weight at the same rate?
The answer is no! Refined, high glycemic carbohydrates like our friend the donut will cause spikes in insulin levels and eventual insulin resistance. In the long run this will lead to diabetes. In the short run it will make you fat. Your pancreas will pump out insulin to handle the increased sugar load. The insulin will convert this sugar into glycogen to be stored in your liver and muscles. But you can only store a very small and limited amount of glycogen. With all that sugar coming in all day long the excess gets stored as fat.
People are Not Created Equal
It is important to realize that people are not all the same as well. An equal amount of calories for one person does not metabolize at the same rate as for another person. This could be due to differences in body type, stress levels, or exercise duration or intensity for example. So if you are dealing with a chronic level of stress, not sleeping well or enough or not exercising you will be more susceptible to gaining weight with the same calorie intake as some else having a more balanced lifestyle.
Food is not Created Equal
During the act of digesting food we actually burn calories. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). What if donut man ate 3 donuts for breakfast and one for dinner? His digestive system is doing very little work with all those hours between donut feedings, so he will burn less calories per day than our happy salmon eater. The thermic effect of food is not the same for all food. Mr. Donut will not like this news but carbohydrates only burn about 6-8% of calories through digestion. Protein (ie. Salmon) has the highest burn rate of all the macronutrients, a whopping 25-30% of calories burned off during digestion. At this point it should be plain to see that a calorie of salmon is not the same as a calorie of a Dunkin Donut!
The Stress Hormone: Cortisol
In addition to the adaptation of storing fat when you do lots of aerobic exercise, it also creates excess stress on your body. When your body is stressed it releases a hormone called Cortisol, which stimulates your body to store fat. Stress from work or lack of sleep has the same effect. Cortisol is especially responsible for belly fat because belly fat contains lots of cortisol receptors. Also an enzyme is released in the belly that binds to inactive cortisone to make more active cortisol and the cycle continues on.
Conclusion
By now it should be obvious that a calorie is not a calorie. What you eat can be just as important as how much you eat. Of course if you eat way too much of a good thing you will gain weight too. But the lesson here is that by increasing the quality of your food you can change the impact of those calories on your system. And by reducing stress and doing the right kind of exercise you can create an environment in your body that will burn those same calories at a greater rate.
So don’t just count calories, instead try to eat till your about 80% full. Shift your ratios so that you eat more protein and less carbs (simple carbs, that is). Do more exercise, manage your stress and get more sleep. And finally, don’t skip meals, sespecially breakfast, eat every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism humming.
You’ve heard it over and over. . . “Calories in Calories out; burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight. Exercise more, eat less it’s that simple.” This would seem to make sense on the face of it; after all it follows the first law of thermodynamics as applied to human energy balance. But this is not the whole story, not all calories are created equal.
Picture this example: two people weigh the same and need to lose the same amount of weight. They exercise the same amount of time and both consume a diet of 1400 calories; both are in a calorie deficit. One eats salmon, broccoli and brown rice, the other feels he wants to enjoy his life, so he eats 1400 calories of donuts each day– yum! To avoid boredom, he rotates the flavors; maybe jelly-filled for breakfast and buttermilk glazed for lunch. Donuts are from 200-400 calories each, so that’s about 4 – 7 donuts per day. Do you think they will lose weight at the same rate?
The answer is no! Refined, high glycemic carbohydrates like our friend the donut will cause spikes in insulin levels and eventual insulin resistance. In the long run this will lead to diabetes. In the short run it will make you fat. Your pancreas will pump out insulin to handle the increased sugar load. The insulin will convert this sugar into glycogen to be stored in your liver and muscles. But you can only store a very small and limited amount of glycogen. With all that sugar coming in all day long the excess gets stored as fat.
People are Not Created Equal
It is important to realize that people are not all the same as well. An equal amount of calories for one person does not metabolize at the same rate as for another person. This could be due to differences in body type, stress levels, or exercise duration or intensity for example. So if you are dealing with a chronic level of stress, not sleeping well or enough or not exercising you will be more susceptible to gaining weight with the same calorie intake as some else having a more balanced lifestyle.
Food is not Created Equal
During the act of digesting food we actually burn calories. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). What if donut man ate 3 donuts for breakfast and one for dinner? His digestive system is doing very little work with all those hours between donut feedings, so he will burn less calories per day than our happy salmon eater. The thermic effect of food is not the same for all food. Mr. Donut will not like this news but carbohydrates only burn about 6-8% of calories through digestion. Protein (ie. Salmon) has the highest burn rate of all the macronutrients, a whopping 25-30% of calories burned off during digestion. At this point it should be plain to see that a calorie of salmon is not the same as a calorie of a Dunkin Donut!
The Stress Hormone: Cortisol
In addition to the adaptation of storing fat when you do lots of aerobic exercise, it also creates excess stress on your body. When your body is stressed it releases a hormone called Cortisol, which stimulates your body to store fat. Stress from work or lack of sleep has the same effect. Cortisol is especially responsible for belly fat because belly fat contains lots of cortisol receptors. Also an enzyme is released in the belly that binds to inactive cortisone to make more active cortisol and the cycle continues on.
Conclusion
By now it should be obvious that a calorie is not a calorie. What you eat can be just as important as how much you eat. Of course if you eat way too much of a good thing you will gain weight too. But the lesson here is that by increasing the quality of your food you can change the impact of those calories on your system. And by reducing stress and doing the right kind of exercise you can create an environment in your body that will burn those same calories at a greater rate.
So don’t just count calories, instead try to eat till your about 80% full. Shift your ratios so that you eat more protein and less carbs (simple carbs, that is). Do more exercise, manage your stress and get more sleep. And finally, don’t skip meals, sespecially breakfast, eat every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism humming.
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