Health & Fitness Articles

Practical Nutrition

Many of you had an opportunity to attend our last Nutrition/Cooking workshop this past month.  Our finale was led by Clinical Registered Dietician Natalie Webb.   Natalie has been advising individuals concerning their diets for over 20 years...and it shows.  The menu we prepared alone speaks volumes...so I'll start with it.  Shrimp Scampi and Brown Rice, Baked Rotisserie Chicken, Sweet and Spicy Baby Carrots, Mixed Greens with Berries & Honey-Glazed Hazelnuts and Strawberries Dipped in Chocolate.  I am just going to take a moment of silence to recover from the "taste flashbacks."  Okay, I'm back.  My philosophy in producing the Cooking/Nutrition Workshop Series every year is to expose The Fit Solution clients and the community to good tasting healthy food.  I think that the stigma of healthy food being nasty must be broken (it really is not true).  I also know that the quest of getting in better shape is a lot easier when you truly enjoy the foods you eat.  I also structure the classes so that everyone participates by cooking the individual recipes because not only is it fun but you get a chance to see and feel how quick and easy it can be to prepare the healthy food.  

As always, for those of you who missed the workshop...I took notes for you.  Enjoy!

Everyday at least 1/2 of the grains or carbs you eat should be whole grain (at least 3 servings a day)

A proper serving of carbs during a meal would be a quarter of an 8 inch diameter plate. (1/2 bun, 1 slice of bread etc.)

If you over cook foods like oatmeal the high temperatures will not effect the fiber but the water soluable nutrients like B-Vitamins will be lost.

Good tip:  Cover your food when reheating so that the heat will be more evenly spread through the food and the cooking time will be shorter...making it easier to preserve nutrients that can be cooked out.

B-Vitamins need to be present with a carb for it to be properly used as fuel...nutrients work together as a team in foods and you want to have all of the players present.

The more a food is processed the higher the sodium content (i.e. Old fashioned Oatmeal is better than instant...it will have less sodium)

In the bloodstream we have cholesterol which comes from animal fats.  Cholesterol is a useful substance that contributes to cell membrane health and hormone production.  There becomes a problem when there is a lot of saturated fat in the blood stream because it hooks up with the cholesterol to form a hard, waxy substance called plaque.  This plaque lines the arteries and restricts blood flow which limits and deprives the body of nutrients, oxygen and waste removal...and the heart has to start working much harder (which could lead to increased risk for Hypertension and heart disease)

Current recommendation is to get fat from fish, nuts and unsaturated oils.
In the U.S. they first saw heart disease worsened in the 1940's.  They attributed it to the fact that too many saturated fats were being eaten through products like butter.  But they knew that people would not take products like corn oil and spread it on their toast.  In order to make a vegetable oil solid food manufacturers exposed it to hydrogen gas....that's when they came up with margerine.  Well, the expectation was that heart disease would go down, but that did not happen.  It went up faster than before.  The reality about food is that they only test it for one year before they put it on the market...and then they watch how it effects people.  This is another reason why we are told to eat foods in moderation.  Words of wisdom when approaching new products on the market.

The goal when making hydrogenated oils was to make a liquid oil into a solid but look what else happened.  It helped food resist rancidity (did not spoil as easily).  If you have butter in the fridge the margerine by it's side wouls last much longer.  So the food industry jumped on this (more $).  Also, hydrogenated oils were proven not to burn as fast.  So the fast food industry jumped on this.  But, in the end, a fat was created that was just as bad if not worst than saturated fat...but food industry still has other incentives.

When eating fats remember that the softer the better.  Look for Trans Fat Free products.  Also, look in the ingredient list and see if you see partially hydrogenated oil.

Use whipped butter instead of margerine (this will enhance flavor without as much risk)

We are only supposed to have about 5 teaspoons of fat per day

American eat too many fats, oils and sweets (as if we didn't already know)
Plant foods have substances called phytochemicals which are oftentimes responsible for the COLOR, TASTE and AROMA.  For example, in red tomatoes the red color and the sweet taste is provided by a phytochemical.  Phyto chemicals also have health benefits.  

Soy milk is made from soybeans.  Soy has a phytochemical called phytoestrogen.  Estrogen is a hormone that women mainly produce which helps to protect from heart disease and cancer.  When women get older and go through menopause estrogen levels decrease...and risk for cancer and heart disease increases.  Science shows that increases in consumption of soy products can help to reduce risk.  A woman should start consuming these products earlier in life (20's and 30's) because waiting until you reach menopause to consume them may be too late.

Soy can fall in the vegetable or protein (meat) food category

Soy milk is not a replacement for cow's milk.  It does not have the same nutrient package.  There are (8) other nutrients found in dairy products that are important to health.  In the class we sprinkled a serving of feta cheese to provide the salad with calcium.

Everyday you want (3) servings of dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt etc.).  This could mean that you could do things like have a glass of milk with your meals, crumple lowfat cheese in your salads, or have yogurt with your snacks.

In the fight against osteoporosis remember that the nutrient package in diary provides for bone health.  Exercise and nutrition go hand in hand.  Muscle is attached through tendons to bone.  When you resistance train your strengthen all three and fight against osteoporosis.  *Trainer's note*  It is very important to train in multiple planes of motion.  Through resistance training or doing cardio that involves impact or "foot strike" you can improve the bone density or strengthen the bone lattices at various angles within the bone.  If you do not train in various planes of motion you will strengthen one particular angle of the bone and leave other areas weak.

Dairy products also provide nutrients important for blood pressure...most attribute high blood pressure to sodium.  Only 5% of individuals with high blood pressure have the "salt sensitive" version.  It can also be deficiencies in calcium and potassium in food nutrient packages that could affect blood pressure.

75% of calcium in food supply come from milk, yogurt and cheese.

It is important to drink more milk or get calcium earlier in life because bones are porous or have tiny holes.  The space inbetween the holes is where you are going to store nutrients like calcium and phosphorous.  Lining these areas is one cell that "wears away" the old bone and another that builds new bone.  When you go through hormonal changes around age 30, the cells the "wear away" the old bone are working faster than the cells that build new bone.  You want to make sure that you build up your calcium storage so that the walls between the pores in your bones don't get too thin...causing fractures.

Always think REAL FOOD FIRST when planning your diet because their nutrients work as a team.

Every calcium supplement is not equal.  Some are more easily absorbed or recognized by the body than others.

Calcium can not be absorbed without Vitamin D.  So it is recommended that you not take calcium alone but with a supplement that has other vitamins and minerals.
Have your supplements with food.  They were not designed to replace foods but to supplement them.

A good tip is to eat 1/2 of your meal, take your supplement and then eat the other 1/2.

It is supposed to take 30-minutes to eat a meal.  There are nerves that are attached to your stomach.  When you eat food the muscle in the stomach stretches and the nerves detect that stretch causing a message to be sent to your brain to tell you that you are full and to stop eating.  If you eat faster you will be more prone to overeat because you will be overridding the signals.  We have signals that tell us to eat and signals to tell us to stop eating.

Some will say I only get 45-minutes to 1-hour for lunch and it takes me 30+ minutes to get the food leaving me no time to eat it that slow.  In this case the best thing to do is bring your food from home.  

Most of us learn to eat fast when we are young because we only have a 30-minute lunch period.  This can very easily lead to overeating and weight gain.

Look for the foods that make you work...foods that make you chew, or that you have to crack open or ones that you have to peel etc.

Put your fork down inbetween each bite

For dairy products lowfat is 1%, 1/2% or fat free

2% is not lowfat...if you choose to have this item then you must include it as one of your daily fat servings

A serving of cheese is only 1.5 ounces

Try using a stronger flavor of cheese in your foods.  When you do this usually you can use less cheese (i.e. feta cheese)

The only difference between organic and non-organic products is the type of pesticides they use.  It is not that there are any less pesticides...there are just different ones used.  The pesticides associated with organic foods don't kill off as many pests and thus spoil quicker.

We lose an average of 8 cups of water each day through urination, exhalation and through sweat.

Being in a forced air environment (air conditioning or heat) pulls more water out through the skin.  For every hour in this environment you should have 1 cup of water.

After flying in an airplane when we talk about "jet lag" it is often just dehydration from the forced air environment.  For every hour in the plane you should have 1 cup of water.

Caffeine (coffee, soft drinks etc.) also causes you to need more water because of the "diuretic effect."

If your sugar intake is high you need to have more water as well.

With more exercise you also have to drink more water.

Everytime you swallow it equals one ounce of water.  So if you want to figure out how much water you are drinking at a water fountain...this is it!

Natural cheeses like swiss, colby, feta and cheddar are going to have a similar nutrient package...the key is to monitor the fat.

According to the US Dietary Guidelines the maximum average sodium requirement is below 2,300 mg per day.  If you have hypertension you should not have more than 1,500 mg.  Each shake of a salt shaker is 100mg.

If you have hypertension take a test to see if you are "salt sensitive."

Don't be decieved by the names of foods that have healthy sounding names.  Read the labels.  Look at the calories and the mg of sodium.  They should be the same or similar.

It is okay to drink your beverages while you eat if you like.

Make sure the foods you eat are nutrient dense.  They should be more than just calories...they should have a nutrient package with them.  Ask yourself, "What is this food doing for me?"

Cooking with alcohol can add flavor without counting the excess calories from alcohol (because it burns out).

High quality dark chocolate is not heated as long therefore it retains more of it's natural phytochemicals

You need carbs to exercise...but find the right types like brown rice, oatmeal, whole grain crackers etc.

It is hard to burn fat without carbohydrate intake.

Certain parts of the body only use carbs.  The possible fuels the body can use are proteins, carbs and fats.  It is like putting gas in a car.  Some require different octanes.  If a car manual stated that it should have 93 octane which costs close to $4 a gallon but I decided to put in the 87 octane to save money...the car would still go but the performance will suffer.  As I stated previously, the body could use carbs, fat or protein as fuel...but it prefers carbohydrates.    The brain can only use carbs.  When carbs are too low you can sometimes see the weight coming off more than the pace of 2 pounds per week.  Typically this is because of water loss and through the breakdown of muscle.

Fat loss is a lot about energy in versus energy out.  You have something called BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).  This includes the energy it takes for breathing, heartbeat, circulation, nerve activity, temperature regulation, hormone secretion etc.  Another factor is the Thermic Effect of Food.  This is the calories needed to digest, absorb, and transport nutrients.  The biggest mistake one can make is to skip meals.  This will cause the metabolism to slow and you can easily miss out on 5-10% of extra calories you can burn each day.  Another factor to consider when burning excess fat is your Physical Activity Burn.  This includes the calories you burn through strength training, cardio and daily movement.

Refrigerators are supposed to be below 40 degrees.  Microorganisms grow the fastest between 40-140 degrees.  Cold food is supposed to be kept below 40 degrees and hot food above 140 degrees.  You have 2-hours to keep food at room temperature.  After that time you need to put it in the fridge or freezer or throw it out.

If it is 80 degrees or higher at a cookout you only have 1-hour to eat it after sitting out.  Food doesn't have to look bad to be bad.  If it looks or tastes bad then it means it is extremely spoiled.

Most people who have had food borne illness chalk it up to be something else.  Organisms can effect you immediately within 30-minutes of being contaminated or it could take up to 2-weeks (the organism could be circulating in the blood stream living off of the nutrients).

The only way you will know the true temperature of your refrigerator is to put a thermometer in there.

Concerning detox...the body is designed to detox naturally.  Use FLUID, FIBER and FITNES (physical activity) to move impurities and toxins out of the body.  You don't need detoxes and cleanses when you are getting enough of the 3 F's.

For diabetics you want to use the current USDA Food Pyramid and the DASH Diet to guide nutrition.  But, the reality is that there is no special diet for diabetics and non-diabetics.  We are all supposed to practice eating according to these guidelines.

Practice learning portion sizes.  3/4 of your plate (8-inch plate) should be of plant variety (grains and vegetables)

We are only supposed to have 6 ounces of fruit juice per day.  In our punch during the class we had a frozen peach, fruit juice and seltzer water.  The seltzer water enabled us to get a little more of our daily water requirement and to cut back on some of the fruit juice.

Juice is a concentrated source of sugar.  It gets into the blood stream right away and causes an increase in insulin causing a spike that could cause your energy to come crashing down.  If you have a piece of fruit rather than fruit juice it has a little fiber that will slow the influx of sugar down.

Practice moderation when eating sugar substitutes like Splenda.

I hope this helps.  Don't forget to email your questions.

”The Fat Burning Pill”… Boosting Your Metabolism
By Yusef Battle
Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Founder of The Fit Solution

If you are trying to burn off excess body fat, the closest thing to a “magic pill” is to boost your metabolism. What if there is a way for your body to burn off fat while you are sleeping or doing nothing at all.  Wouldn’t you want to know it?  Well, the secret is now revealed.  Simply drink an 8 oz glass of water and follow these tips.

• Drink Plenty of Water is the key substrate for fat metabolism.  It also "bathes the body's cells" and helps to flush out toxins (among many other things).  Water also plays a key role in effecting your energy level.  Simply put...a dehydrated body is a tired body and a tired body will be more prone to overeat. Lastly, water can be used strategically to fill the stomach.  For example, If you feel you get "out-of-control" when the desserts are served...drink a little more water to curb the craving.

• Eat 5-6 Small, Healthy Meals Spaced 2-3 Hours Apart  If your body senses that food is in short supply, it will slow your metabolism to conserve energy. Over time, the result is that when you do eat (even if you consume the same foods as always) your body will be slower to use the calories as fuel, thus creating a backlog of unwanted pounds.

• Always Eat Breakfast  
Since this is the first meal of the day, it sets the tone for the day.  Skipping this meal will not only slow the metabolism but will “tire” the body making it easy to have uncontrollable cravings later.

• Move More…be NEAT  
New research shows that people who move a lot actually burn an extensive amount of calories as compared to their less mobile counterparts. In a recent study with lean subjects (who did not exercise) versus obese subjects (who did not exercise) it was found that lean individuals moved about 2.5 hours more per day. The extra movement by the lean subjects averaged 352 ± 65 calories per day, which is equivalent to 36.5 lbs in one year!

• Learn about Glycemic Index  
There are certain foods that block your ability to burn your stored body fat (because it raises your insulin levels).  Strive to replace white and/or processed sugars, breads, grains, potatoes etc. with whole food products like brown rice, sweet potatoes (with skin) and whole wheat bread.  

• Control Your Stress
It is a fact that stress can cause some individuals to become “emotional eaters” and thus gain weight from excessive consumption of calories.  Stress can also cause weight gain when cortisol levels in the body are elevated and stimulate the liver and muscles to release glycogen (or the body’s stored energy) to provide energy for “fight or flight.”  However, if you are stressed and do not use that energy, that recently released energy will be stored away as fat.

• Do Cardio  
A conditioned cardiovascular system will create more “fat burning enzymes” and help the body build better quality muscle…which also burns more fat.  Strive to walk for at least 30-minutes on most days of the week.

• Sleep
As funny as it sounds, sleep deprivation may make you fat and not just because you're susceptible to cases of the late-night munchies. According to researchers at the University of Chicago, women who got less than four hours of sleep per night had a slower metabolism than those who slept for a full eight hours.   Lack of sleep has also been show to effect the release of the human growth hormone which is valuable in the building, repairing or metabolic processes of the body.

• Give Yourself a Dinner Cut-off Time
“Creeping Obesity” in America can largely be attributed to late night eating. Most Registered Dieticians agree that 6:30-7:30 pm is best.  Although this act does not directly affect your metabolism it does insure that you are not refilling your fat stores when you are sleeping.  It usually takes between 3-5 hours for ingested food to be readily available as energy.  If this energy is made available when your body doesn’t have a strong need for fuel (inactive or sleeping) then these calories will be more readily stored as fat.

• Take a Multivitamin
The best thing you can do to lose body fat faster is to lay aside or correct every hindrance to the metabolic process.  Taking a quality multivitamin better insures that your body will have the right amount of vitamins and minerals to make the metabolism more efficient.  Vitamins such as Biotin, Pantothenic Acid and other B-Vitamins can have a significant effect on the body’s metabolism.  Most of us do not eat an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables etc. in a day…and even if we did, there still is no guarantee that the foods that we grow in this country do not have depleted nutrients.  Taking a quality multivitamin is a great back-up or “insurance policy.”  

• Evening Walk or Other Fitness Activity  
Exercising any time is good for you...evening activity may be particularly beneficial. Many people's metabolism slows down toward the end of the day. Thirty minutes of aerobic activity before dinner increases your metabolic rate and may keep it elevated for another two or three hours. What that means for you: those dinner calories have less of a chance to take up permanent residence on your hips!
• Strength Train  
If you just diet or do cardio alone your body will gradually lose muscle.  The more lean muscle you have the more fat you can burn.  Strive to strength train 2-3 times a week.  Choose 8-10 exercises for the large muscles of the body and perform 1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions of each.


4 Tips for a Fit Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving boasts of wonderful tastes and aromas. Sometimes it seems the possibilities and varieties are endless. We at The Fit Solution do not believe in "deprivation" (it simply does not work)...but in doing things in "moderation". Because Thanksgiving also is a day that makes it quite easy to overeat...practicing these tips will come in handy.

Eat Regulary Throughout the Day  
One of the worst things you can do to stall the metabolism is to skip meals.  Along with giving your body the feeling that it is starving, skipping meals also decreases your energy level throughout the day which can set you up to overcompensate for the "lack of oomph" by overeating.


Drink Plenty of Water
Water is the key substrate for fat metabolism.  It also "bathes the body's cells" and helps to flush out toxins (among many other things).  Water also plays a key role in effecting your energy level.  Simply put...a dehydrated body is a tired body and a tired body will be more prone to overeat. Lastly, water can be used strategically to fill the stomach.  For example, If you feel you get "out-of-control" when the desserts are served...drink a little more water than usual during this time.

Exercise in the Morning and After the Meal
Now, this doesn't mean that you have to train like you are preparing for the Olympics.  This simply could be taking a 45-minute walk(and/or light weight training) in the morning or midday...and/or gathering some friends or family members to take a stroll after the Thankgiving meal as well.

Focus on the Family, Friends and the Experience...Not the Food
Your right, it is always nice to taste the wonderful foods that have been prepared...but when you really think about it, what is the most important thing?  Sharing time, appreciating and showing love to our friends and loved ones...and giving thanks for everything...food is just the "icing on the cake."