Best Fitness Blog

...By Travis Webb, CPT

From what I can tell there is enough information on the shelves about carbohydrates to confuse any eager researcher. Much of the information lacks consistency across the board, as many are based solely on the opinion and personal experience of the writer. So how do we all figure out what to pay attention to? What are the positives and negatives of Carbohydrates?

The consistency of information involving carbohydrates are actually quite basic. When it’s all said and done carbohydrates eventually become energy. There are different kinds of carbohydrates but the end result is the same, it just depends on how fast your body can utilize this energy. Simple carbohydrates can be utilized as energy faster. Complex Carbohydrates take longer to break down for energy. Therefore if you want quick energy you need simple carbohydrates such as fruits or certain pastas. If you want to make your body to take longer to get that energy you should be consuming complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal or whole grain foods.

In relation to body fat there are many myths and facts in relation to Carbohydrates. These myths make carbs out to be quite evil to the body. Thankfully the facts shine the light on the topic and prove they are quite good. As time has gone on the reality that fat burns in a carb fire has surfaced. You need energy to burn energy, as basic as that sounds its true! The problem is in how much you’re eating. Put simply if you are eating more calories than you are burning you will gain body fat. In order to have the energy to move around you need carbohydrates in your body. Therefore to burn the calories you are taking in to stay healthy you need carbohydrates in your diet. The amount depends on you as an individual!

It is more beneficial to your body and your goals to eat a balanced and personalized diet. Do your best not to limit any types of food unless your body has a different opinion on the matter.

Visit one of our Best Fitness Clubs to learn even more about this topic. We have locations in Albany,NY, Tonawanda, NY, Schenectady, NY, Erie, PA, Nashua, NH, Chelmsford, MA, and Drum Hill, MA.

... Karli Taylor

Maybe it’s bad business for me to make the statement that I’m about to make, but here I go. Regardless of how hard you work in the gym, you will never get the results you desire if you are not mindful about what you are eating. Though we could spend days discussing nutrition, let’s start with a few easily fixed mistakes that may interfere with getting the most out of your training time.

• Drinking a Protein Shake Before a Workout. Protein is digested much more slowly than carbohydrates, so too much pre-workout can give you stomach cramps and prevent the carbs you need for fuel from getting absorbed and becoming available to your working muscles. Instead of a high protein shake, reach for a meal replacement drink with more carbohydrates than protein before you hit the gym.
• Exercising on an Empty Stomach. It's physiologically impossible to burn pure body fat during exercise. No matter what you eat (or don’t eat), you burn a combo of carbs and fat. When carbs aren't readily available, your body is forced to break down its own muscle mass and convert it into blood sugar. That means by skipping a meal, you may end up eating away at your own muscle instead of building it! If you don’t like the feeling of exercising with food in your system, try that meal replacement shake next time.
• Overusing Energy Bars. Too many of these can cause you to consume all of the calories you burned exercising, preventing you from seeing results. Though someone competing at a pro-athlete intensity may be able to grab a bar post workout and eat a meal a few hours later, that may be overload for the average exerciser when you consider that many bars are the equivalent of a turkey sandwich — and most people wouldn't eat a turkey sandwich, then sit down to chicken stir fry a few hours later.
• Not Eating Enough Good Fat. Every cell in the human body is partially made out of fat, including muscle, so "good" fat, or unsaturated fat, is needed to heal and repair post workout. Without it you may not only stay sore and fail to see an improvement in strength and muscle tone, but you will have a hard time losing body fat. Try to include small portions of foods like extra virgin olive oil, avocado and almonds at every meal and you will see a difference very quickly.

Visit one of our Best Fitness Clubs to learn even more about this topic. We have locations in Albany,NY, Tonawanda, NY, Schenectady, NY, Erie, PA, Nashua, NH, Chelmsford, MA, and Drum Hill, MA.

... By Karli Taylor

Diet is DIE with a T on the end of it… How many times have you heard that one? As the temperature rises, we start to think a little bit more about those extra few pounds that have snuck on around our middles and we start throwing around that D word. The last thing any of us want to do is go on a diet, right? Luckily there are ways to ban that bulge without taking drastic measures. The trick: Eat just a little bit less every day at every meal.

In fact, by cutting out just 100 calories each day, you'll lose more than 10 pounds a year. Up that to 250 calories and you're down 26 pounds! Need it gone sooner? Cut 500 calories daily and you'll drop those 26 pounds in half the time. Keep reading for some easy ways to give up a little to lose a lot.

At Breakfast:

• Use skim milk in place of cream in your coffee.
• Eat a bowl of high-fiber cereal and you'll consume fewer calories all day.
• Order bacon, not sausage, with your eggs.
• Order your toast dry and put on your own butter- just one serving

At Lunch:

• Use 1 tablespoon of mayo and 1 tablespoon of low-fat cottage cheese to make tuna salad.
• Put barbecue sauce, not honey mustard, on your chicken sandwich at your favorite fast food joint.
• Top your burger with onions, lettuce, and tomato and skip the cheese.
• Ask for the 12-ounce small soda instead of the 21-ounce medium at the drive-through.
• Slim down your sandwich by using Arnold Select 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins instead of whole wheat bread.
• Toss your salad with 1 tablespoon of dressing until every lettuce leaf is coated. You'll get away with using half the usual serving size. Try this trick at dinner too.
• Choose thin crust pizza with veggies on top instead of regular with meat toppings

At Dinner:

• Choose EITHER butter OR sour cream for your potato
• Skip the bread before the meal OR if the bread is your favorite part, skip the potato that comes with your entrée
• Ask for sauces on the side and when you prepare food at home, go easy on the oil, cream and butter in your sauce- use stock instead
• Have a big salad before you start your entrée
• Drink water with dinner instead of something caloric
• Stop eating after your first helping and wait at least 15 minutes before helping yourself to seconds. If you are eating out, eat half of what’s on your plate and do the same thing.

Any of your own tricks to share?

... By Karli Taylor

Need a quick pick me up? Put down the coffee and try one of these proven instant energy boosters.

Stand up. Easy enough, right? Sitting down for long periods of time is actually a huge energy drainer. The less overall activity you do, the less energy is required to keep you functioning, so your body starts to slow down. In order to keep energy levels up, stand up for 2 or 3 minutes for every 30 that you sit.

Still dragging? Walk it off. If standing at your desk is not enough to get you out of your mid-afternoon slump, adding a little bit of movement creates energy. Research shows that just 10 minutes of brisk walking will increase levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in your system and can increase your energy for up to two hours.

While out on your walk, grab a snack for even more added energy. Don’t stroll to the vending machine though - sugary snacks may give you a quick energy burst, but the crash that follows isn’t worth it! The key is to grab a snack with the right mix of nutrients. The fastest way to have sustainable energy without a crash is with a snack that includes carbs, protein, and a little fat. Try an apple with peanut butter or a yogurt with a few almonds for a boost that lasts about 2 hours.

By Karli Taylor

Even though the low-carb craze has finally started to die down, I still hear people ordering burgers without buns and salads instead of sandwiches in an attempt to lose weight. There is not one particular type of food that makes us fat- Bread is not the enemy! Let’s take a look at some ways to keep the bakeries in business while still managing our waistlines.

Despite what disciples of the low-carb craze profess, bread can actually be an ally in the battle of the bulge. Though simple white breads can leave us feeling less than satisfied, hearty whole grain breads that are heavy and dense can help fight cravings for hours after we have eaten them. The complex carbohydrates found in whole wheat and whole grain breads provide fiber that makes us feel fuller for longer and keeps us from reaching for a snack 20 minutes after we finish our lunch.

So what should you look for when choosing something on which to spread your pb&j? I’m sure that you have heard to look for whole wheat or whole grain on the label, but make sure that the first ingredient is whole wheat or whole oats- without the “whole” you may be getting the nutrients of a white bread with some brown food coloring!

The key word is FIBER. Look for a bread that has at least 4 grams of fiber per slice, and you will feel fuller for longer while helping to maintain your gastrointestinal health at the same time.

Once you find something with 4 or more grams of fiber, make sure that the sugar does not outweigh the fiber. Some breads may have a decent amount of fiber, but the calories are through the roof . Your best bet is a light whole wheat bread or one of the newer sandwich thins or flat breads on the market. With about 100 calories and five or more grams of fiber and protein each, they really are the best things since sliced bread!