Nutrition

Hey, It’s All About the Calories, Right? Not! | Poliquin Lifestyle Article Re-Post

Food is Fuel! Dave Reddy

What are you putting in your tank?

‘Course that ignores all the other things that sugar does besides provide (empty) calories: like raise blood sugar, depress the immune system, rob the body of calcium and use up mineral stores. But that’s another story.

This quote (from the article linked to below) is referring to the idea that all you need to do is “burn” more calories than you eat to lose weight. If only it was that simple. trainers and weight loss coaches would have degrees in Mathematics instead of Anatomy & Physiology.

I stumbled upon this enlightening (and pretty short and sweet) article reiterating the problem with counting calories, both when eating and “burning” calories in your attempts to lose or manage your weight.

Frankly, as with too many things in the fitness “industry”, you are being sold bad science … or at least outdated, short sided, incomplete science at best.

Check out the link below for more. In the meantime, remember, when it comes to your food, focus on these four things: (more…)

By Dave Reddy, ago

Best Breakfast for Health, Weight Loss and Athleticism? A Few Awesome Options for You

A few organic eggsWeight loss is not simply about calories in and calories out. Otherwise we would have mathematicians telling us what to eat instead of nutritionists. Our physiology is simply not that simple.

Today let’s talk about breakfast. Beginning your day with these two keys for more energy and successful weight management:

  1. balance your blood sugar (hormones)
  2. fuel your body with a nutrient-dense breakfast that will get you through a great workout and/or a productive day at the office.

It’s All About Your Hormones

Building health, managing your weight and training like an athlete is about understanding and balancing (maybe optimizing is a better word) several hormonal systems in your body. Hormones are barely understood by most people, though we all know they are crazy important. How many times have you accused someone of being “hormonal?” Diabetes is a hormonal issue. What helped Barry Bonds hit home-runs? That’s right, hormones.  Are you feeling stressed about life right now? Stress hormones basically cause your body to store fat and waste muscle. Do you know how a healthy person knows that they are full after eating a meal? A signal to the brain from a hormone.

In an attempt to simplify, here are three categories with a few common hormones you may recognize: (more…)

By Dave Reddy, ago

More Evidence for Increased Fat Intake? (Blog Repost)

This is a repost from Mike Boyle’s blog (link at the bottom), though here is the article: http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2012/05/15/saturated-fats-may-not-be-all-bad-latest-diabetes-research-findings.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AustralianFoodNews+%28Australian+Food+News%29 And a comment below this post hits the nail on the head: The exercise more/eat less mentality combined with the low fat/high carb diet has been an epic failure. We need more Read more…

By Dave Reddy, ago

Time to Eat More Fat? (Interesting new article.)

“Just eat real food” seems to be the theme of reoccurring conversations I am having with people every day … and that includes fat – chicken thighs, egg yolks, 2% if not whole milk if you do OK with dairy, etc. Check out this article for more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2143477/Bring-butter–cheese-red-meat-milk-How-low-fat-obsession-harm-health-says-nutritionist.html?ITO=1490 Is it time to increase Read more…

By Dave Reddy, ago

(Greek) Yogurt Taste Test … And The Winners Are …

Greek yogurt taste test at Dave Reddy's house.

Greek yogurt, berries, and a little protein make for an awesome breakfast or post-workout meal.

First Things First.

Before I go and get all Greek-like on ya, for many of you, eating plain yogurt in the first place is a great place to start, so keep it up! More times than not, when someone comes to us for weight  loss, this is often one of the first dietary changes we make, usually shifting from a cold cereal or starch-dominated breakfast (toast, bagel, English muffin, etc.) So as always, listen to your body, mind your post-meal energy levels, and if you tolerate dairy well (not all of us do, and that is OK), then yogurt is a great choice for:

  • digestive health – providing “good bacteria” (or probiotics) that assist in healthy digestion in your stomach and intestines
  • muscle building (a very metabolic process, meaning more calories burned) and recovery – from the 8-20+ grams of protein you get from the milk
  • a variety of nutrients – calcium, potassium, and a couple of Vitamin B’s to boot.

So (Greek) yogurt with berries is a much better breakfast for example than most cold cereals considering 3 of our primary critieria for “grading” a meal, if you will:

  1. does it satisfy my hunger (not make me full and bloated, but simply satisfy my physical hunger)?
  2. is it nutrient-dense, as opposed to being more calorie-dense than full of nutrients (as many cold cereals are (sorry Total marketing department)?
  3. does it supply me clean energy while keeping my blood sugar in check (meaning, does it NOT spike my insulin levels)?

If you haven’t been eating it, maybe try putting your cereal in yogurt instead of a bowl of milk for the added benefits listed above, particularly the probiotics.

Go Greek

So for those of you who want to “upgrade” your yogurt options, are considering ways to eat a bit more natural or limit your corn sugars, go for the options listed as such below.

I have two winners, all things considered, that is: palatability, price, considering what the kiddo’s will eat, and convenience; along with the amount of protein versus sugar. So here are my scientifically valid results: (more…)

By Dave Reddy, ago

Chicken … Again … Really?

One Fit ChickenYesterday, someone told me that a “weight loss guru” in St. Louis basically “instructs” his clients to pretty much just eat chicken and broccoli, “for like the rest of your life I think.” Now I’m not sure where my Father’s Day biscuits and gravy fit into the plan, though I do believe he recommends a cheat meal (and that is for another day.)

For now though, I just thought I’d throw up a quick post to comment on chicken. Gotta love chicken, right? And speaking of them “guru’s”, if you have ever journeyed into a weight loss program, you have heard about how “lean, healthy, and protein-packed” chicken is, and therefore you have come across more than one chicken recipe. Well, for starters, this is not another recycled fitness magazine “37 Ways to Grill Chicken this Summer to Fit Into Your Two Piece” article. You can find those elsewhere. 

(more…)

By Dave Reddy, ago

Would you eat Frankenfood?

The following is a blog post from Dr. Chris Mohr, www.mohrresults.com

Would You Eat Genetically Modified Salmon?

Knowing where you food comes from is important.  We’ve talked about it before — shop at farmer’s markets and buy local when possible.  Of course  that’s not always possible, particularly as we start getting into the winter months or with certain foods like fish … unless you’re on a coast or living on an island somewhere. (more…)

By Dave Reddy, ago