amberkatt

[amberkatt]

Danger Drinks?

If you know me, you know I can often be found with an energy drink in my hand. I tend to start my days off with some form of caffeine and every now and then I will indulge mid day as well. Now, this is not necessarily a habit that I would encourage - if you always get your 8 hours and never have draining days at work or exhausting workouts and are naturally energetic, good for you! You are rare. I, on the other hand, get tired sometimes. I remedy that with caffeine via caffeinated beverages, and it is inevitable that as I am drinking said drink, someone will tell me how bad they are for me.... To which, I normally respond with a smile and “thank you” and calmly dismiss myself from the situation. 

It seems to be a common belief that energy drinks are extremely dangerous. I find it funny that people who don’t eat a micronutrient dense diet and live sedentary lifestyles are so quick to point out “dangerous” habits. But today, I want to break down some of the energy drink myths for you and discuss what’s really in these drinks so you can come to an educated conclusion on how dangerous they really are. I think perhaps the easiest way to do this is to list out the most common ingredients found in energy drinks and explain what each one is and what it does in the body. 

Carbonated water  - Just bubbly water. I wrote a whole blog about carbonated drinks and why we don’t need to be afraid of them if you’re curious. This is just water infused with carbon dioxide and is nothing to fear. 

Caffeine -  Duh. The most common side effects of caffeine are restlessness and tremors and an elevated heart rate, if you find that caffeine makes you feel jittery and you don’t like that, then maybe caffeinated beverages aren’t for you. For everyone else, consuming small amounts of caffeine (300mg or less) has very very minimal side effects. More than 300mg at a setting or 500mg throughout the day, well, you’re on your own with that one. 

Sugar - Well, I tend to recommend the no sugar added energy drinks, and before you pop off about artificial sweeteners, take a scroll on down to my blog about those. Sugar isn’t terrible in small quantities, but yes, most sugary energy drinks are comparable to a candy bar. If you are watching your sugar intake (and you should be) I wouldn’t recommend the sugary drinks. Stick to the no sugar added options. 

Taurine - This is an amino acid that is found in animal products. It is one of the most prevalent amino acids in the body and is added to energy drinks because it supports brain development and has been shown to enhance athletic performance. Various other amino acids are often added to energy drinks, these are already found in the body and play important roles in our health.

B Vitamins - B vitamins are responsible for converting carbohydrates to energy. Because they are water soluble vitamins you cannot overdose on them and they have no harmful side effects when taken in large doses. 

Ginseng - I actually haven’t seen this in many energy drinks but I have heard a lot about it as an energy enhancer. The jury is still out on this one. Although it hasn’t been shown to have harmful side effects, its energy boosting qualities haven’t been consistently proven either. 

Green Tea Extract - Pretty much just more caffeine. Green Tea Extract also has some high quality antioxidants which we all need! Healthy addition here!

Of course there are other ingredients found in different drinks, but these are just some of the most popular. I often hear people say “those are full of chemicals” which does sound pretty scary unless you understand what “chemical” really means. Everything is a chemical. Now, I am not trying to say that energy drinks are necessarily “healthy.” What I am saying, however, is they absolutely can be part of a healthy diet and should not have so much fear surrounding them. 

[amberkatt]

What the supp?!

Today I want to talk about supplements! Specifically, vitamin and mineral supplements (scroll down and check out my Protein Supplementation post too). Now, in a perfect world we would get all the nutrients that our bodies need from our diet. But, this isn’t a perfect world and most of us are nutrient deficient and don’t even know it. Here is where supplements come into play - they supplement what is missing from our diet. Novel. 

Okay, so how the heck am I to know that I am not getting enough magnesium? Or vitamin D? (well, 70% of us are deficient in vitamin D so you can pretty much assume for that one) You of course could take a multi vitamin and just get them all in, but before running to GNC lets look at what a multivitamin really is.... 

Multivitamins have no standard composition which means they can contain any variation of vitamins and minerals in whatever quantities the manufacturer wants, within regulation. So, no two multis are really the same. This would be fine if we all knew what we needed, but most of us don’t, which means we are arbitrarily picking a concoction of micronutrients to throw into our daily intake....which doesn’t sound so bad until we look at some of the dangers this presents: 

1. You can overdose on some nutrients - too much of some vitamins and minerals can cause serious side effects. 

2. Nutrients compete! For instance, iron copper and zinc all share the same route for absorption in the body - so just because you are taking all three doesn’t mean all three are going to be absorbed and utilized. Even worse, if you take a supplement with your food, you might compromise the absorption of nutrients from your meal! What a waste! 

3. Supplements have side effects just like prescription drugs. While you’re not likely to suffer from more than just an upset stomach with a multivitamin, they are still not risk free. And who wants a stomach ache anyway? 

Alright so maybe I’ve now turned you off to multivitamins, but you’re still worried you might not be getting all you need from your diet. Hint: you probably aren’t. So, your first option is to have a blood test done and let someone with a white coat and a Benz tell you what you’re deficient in and now you know what you need to take. If you’re like me, however, and needles and doctors give you the heeby jeebys you have an alternative! Download a food tracking ap (I recommend My Fitness Pal), track your food for the week and then see which nutrient needs you are not meeting. 

Now, lastly, lets say we know we need more vitamin E in our diets. How do I pick a good supp? 

1. Look up your recommended daily allowances for the particular nutrient and make sure you are choosing something that is going to allow you to meet that. But be aware that many supplements will have greater than 100% daily value - this is because your body cannot absorb all of what you take in, this just ensures you get enough. 

2. Know which nutrients have toxic side effects if too much is taken (i.e. Vitamins A, E, D and K, and all 9 trace minerals) 

3. Look at your ingredients! You should recognize most of the listed ingredients and artificial colors or sweeteners or fillers like wheat and soy are indicative of a low quality product. 

[amberkatt]

Get Off the Scale!

With summer starting to rear its head and “bikini body” talk at its peak I thought now would be an appropriate time to share my favorite weight loss advice. I share this analogy with every weight loss client I encounter and today, I want to share it with you. I think we too often get wrapped up in the number on the scale and we base our entire self worth and the success of our efforts on that number. This is a counterproductive habit and I hope this can put things in perspective for you: 

Alright, I want you to imagine you are responsible for hosting a dinner party for family and friends. Let’s say we are making some kind of a pasta dish (because you know I love my carbs). Okay, so we have to prepare the noodles, preheat the oven, season the meat, chop up some veggies, make a side salad, put the bread in to bake, mix up our sauce, set the table, etc. We have a lot going on in this kitchen. To start, we have to put a pot of water on the stove for the noodles. We fill the pot with water and set it on the hot stove. Now, do we stand and wait for the water to boil or do we focus on other things we can get done right now? 

There is no instance in which we put a pot of water on a hot stove and it doesn't ultimately boil. But if we stand and stare at the pot and wait we are diverting our attention from what we can be doing right now, like getting the side dishes and the sauces and the meat ready and preparing the dining room. Now think about this in relation to your weight loss journey... If all you focus on is the number on the scale, you are taking focus away from the things you can be doing right this very second: how often you workout, how hard and focused your workouts are, your diet, your sleep, your stress control. That water will boil on its own, but your dinner will never be ready on time if all you do is stand and weight for the water to boil. Like weight loss, if all you focus on is the number on the scale, your results will not come when you want them to. 

So here is my advice to you: your pot of water will ultimately boil; you will ultimately lose the weight. But focus not on the number on the scale and rather on the things in your direct control: get to the gym, work hard when you go, get enough sleep, eat enough food to nourish your body, get enough sleep, drink water, manage your stress. If you focus on these things the water will be boiling before you know it! 

[amberkatt]

Fat Free Food = Fat Free You?

You know how I love to talk about diet fads. Low fat diets will always be around and people will always turn to these for weight loss. I think the primary attraction to this diet is the idea that dietary fat turns into body fat when consumed, which is not the case. And you have to also realize that when we take fat out of a food, something else has to replace it! Let’s break it down: 

First, what are fats? Why do we need them? And where do they go once we eat them? Fats are one of the three macronutrients, and they happen to be the largest, molecularly speaking. This is why when they are broken down in the body, they provide more energy. In other words, per gram, they have more calories. This might be part of their bad reputation. But not so fast! We need fats! They are the ultimate energy-storers in our bodies, they are transporters for lots of essential vitamins, they play a vital role in nervous system function (don’t want that malfunctioning!), they are important for proper growth and development and even play a huge role in the formation of hormones. 

Now, let’s talk about body fat, that annoying stuff that makes our jeans tight. Adipose tissue (body fat) is not the same as fat taken in from food. Fat in food is consumed and is used for all of the above processes and can also be broken down for energy. In fact, most of the energy we expend on a daily basis is fueled by fat. When we are working at a low intensity (moderate exercise, sitting, doing chores around the house) we are burning fat. Now, if we take in too much fat, it is converted to triglycerides (the storage form of fat) and stored in fat cells for later use. So yes, excess fat calories will be stored as body fat, but guess what? While our bodies prefered method of carbohydrate storage is in the liver in long chains of carbs known as glycogen, if excessive amounts of carbs are taken in, the body will store these carbs as fat too. The biggest takeaway I want you to get from this is excess calories are what cause fat to be stored in the body, not excess sugar, or excess fat, or excess whatever. Ultimately, it comes down to calories in vs calories out. 

Now with that knowledge, let me get to the main issue with fat free, reduced fat and low fat foods, which, just for your records, all mean different things. The issue with a low fat diet is that these fancy foods that have been stripped of fat have also had some stuff added in to take fats place. The “stuff” is usually sugar, and usually provides no nutritional value, whereas the fat originally in the food could have been useful for the body. So essentially, we sacrifice fats that do a lot of good in the body and we swap them out for sugar that has no fiber, no micronutrients, and no value to us. 

If weight loss is your goal, there is no better approach than a diet high in fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meats and appropriate in calories. Deprivation is not the answer, and neither is seeking out foods that have been twisted and contorted in a lab to make them “better.” Nature already did that! 

[amberkatt]

Women in the Weight Room

So I have been mulling over this blog post for weeks now. I have a very specific message I want to convey and I’m afraid that if I don’t string my words together perfectly I will not paint this picture just right. I’m not setting out to offend anyone or bash men or pick at the fitness industry. I’m not even trying to gain feminist followers. I just feel so passionately about this issue and I want to speak up, I want to connect with the females out there who deal with this every day, and I want to open the eyes of people who might not realize what is going on all around them. 

The health of our nation is in danger - not of men, not of women, but of everyone. Obesity rates are not greatly different between men and women, nor are the rates of sedentary living. The zero activity, junk food and sofa lifestyle affects both men and women. The approach to fitness for men and women on the other hand, DRASTICALLY different. Look at a men’s health magazine: “Get Bigger” “Get Stronger” “Abs and Arms” “Muscle Up!” And then lets flip that coin over and look at women’s magazines: “Slimmer is Sexier” “Loose the Lovehandles Fast” “Flatten Your Tummy” “8 Foods to Avoid to Lose Fat Fast”  …..not exactly motivating….. 

Listen, I get it - neither one is necessarily motivating, and yes, men are also pressured to look a certain way in society, yada yada. Here’s the difference: men are never told to stop eating or to avoid lifting weights because they might get “too big” or to only wear certain types of clothing to the gym so they don’t attract attention in the wrong way. Men are told they need to be lean and have muscles - this is (usually) healthy advice. Men are told to do cardio enough to keep their heart healthy and to lift weights enough to build muscles - pretty closely aligns with the general recommendations. Women are told to do cardio until they’re “skinny” and to only lift light weights a little bit because muscles will look bad on them or to just keep toned but don’t get bulky (the hell does that even mean??) - this is not at all close to the recommendations. And let me save you from correcting me - yes some women have burst into the fitness industry encouraging women to build muscle, but the vast majority of these “female fitness gurus” are social media stars with no credentials that teach the proper form for glute kick-backs and meal prepping celery sticks. 

This leads me to my next point: these “fitness coaches” have created a stigma against us females out here with real credentials. If you don’t believe me, go into your local gym and interview a female trainer, who will have an accredited certification and/or a degree in a health and fitness related field, about the stereotyping she has to deal with on a day-to-day basis. I have been in the fitness industry for only four short years, and I am blessed to be in this field at a time when females are occasionally accepted as equals to men. But let me just share with you some real truths about being a female fitness professional: when someone wants advice about strength training or supplements or needs a spot, they will never come to me first, but rather, the closest male (despite his inferior credentials) will always be their go-to. When I say I am a trainer or work in fitness I get a lot of “thats cute” kinda looks, assumptions that I sell skinny teas on instagram or only do cardio and glute exercises and avoid doing upper body (back day is my favorite guys! and I can do more pull ups than a lot of you!), and most insultingly that I’m dumb, because how can a female who works in fitness be intelligent?! 

Let me just clear that up for anyone who feels this way: a lot of you couldn’t pass biology 101, we must understand and implement biomechanics and physiology every single day. Not only do we have to use the hard sciences but we must also be keen on the social sciences because we don’t work with materials, we work with humans that happen to have personalities and feelings and moods and sometimes the textbook can’t teach you how to deal with that. Yes, there are bad trainers out there that don’t know what they’re doing, but guess what? There are bad doctors, bad lawyers, bad accountants, but females in these professions are “pioneers”. 

Something has to change. The health of this country is in danger and one of the biggest things that can save us is the fitness industry. Most chronic diseases that are our leading killers could be prevented if we were able to convince people that being active and eating healthy was an enjoyable and worthwhile lifestyle. Let’s lift up the professionals who do just that and support them in their efforts whether they are a man or a woman! 

[amberkatt]

2017 Fitness Trends

With 2017 coming to a close, I thought it might be appropriate to review some of the year’s top fitness trends. Below we have the top 20 trends of 2017 determined by ACSM’s yearly worldwide survey. We will start with the number 1 most popular trend and go down the list. I’m not necessarily trying to steer you towards or away from any of these, but rather, my goal is to provide you with some brief insight on each of these as their popularity peaks. 

1. Wearable technology - This includes step trackers, heart rate monitors, smart watches, gps devices, etc. I’ve discussed the fitbit craze in depth in another post, but my view on all of these devices is essentially the same. They aren’t necessary, but they can be a useful tool. For instance, if you are a sitter and having to meet a step goal each day gets you up and moving, go for it! If you like cardio (or hate it) but don’t push yourself very hard, a heart rate monitor might be the tool for you! But none of this fancy stuff is an essential part of a fitness program. 

2. Body weight training - Workouts using limited or no equipment are becoming increasingly popular with the notion of “I’m too busy to go to the gym but I want to workout.” Now I could explain all of the flaws in this thinking but I’ll skip it and just say: I would rather someone do body weight training than no training, but your results are going to be limited without the use of equipment. 

3. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - YES YES YES!! I love HIIT and I love how popular it is becoming. There is no better way to improve endurance, get the most calorie burn out of your cardio time, and keep cardio interesting than HIIT. What more can I say? HIIT is legit. 

4.  Educated & Certified Fitness Professionals - Um duh? To me working with a fitness professional is a no brainer. Once again I’ve devoted an entire blog post to this topic recently but to sum it all up: fitness and health are built on a foundation of science. You have to know that your program is what’s best for your body and your goals, and you must implement your program with proper intensity and form. 

5. Strength training - It’s amazing how far we have come. Lifting weights used to be for buff dudes that wanted to be buffer. Now, we know that resistance training is going to provide awesome benefits to you, me, grandma, and little sister too! I love it! 

6. Group Exercise - This one's kinda like the techy gadgets to me - it’s cool, if it gets someone who would otherwise be sitting on their couch to get up and move, I’m ALL for it. That being said, it’s not for everyone and it’s by no means a necessity. 

7. Exercise is Medicine - You might not have heard of this one, but it’s a growing worldwide initiative to try and encourage physicians to prescribe exercise. This might actually be my favorite of all 20. We know the role exercise plays in preventing and treating almost all diseases, why isn’t this #1? 

8. Yoga - Yoga is a great addition to any fitness program. What yoga is not is the epitome of fitness. Many yogis tend to only include yoga in their fitness regimen, but we cannot forget to also include cardio and strength training. 

9.  Personal Training - See my response to #4 

10. Exercise for Weight Loss - Many programs that sell weight loss now incorporate exercise. I always tell people, weight loss is 100% diet AND 100% exercise - you can’t have one without the other. 

11. Fitness for Older Adults - Again, it is so awesome how inclusive fitness has become in recent years. The benefits of exercise for older adults are endless and this is a trend I’d love to see continue to grow. 

12. Functional Fitness - So functional fitness is essentially using strength training to improve the ability to do activities of daily living. I would say that every fitness program should be built to improve your activities of daily living whether that's improving strength for a physically demanding lifestyle or losing weight to improve your overall health. 

13. Outdoor Activities - A lot of people bypass their recommended regular exercise because it feels like a chore. The more ways we can encourage people to be healthy in ways that feel fun, the better! 

14. Group Training - A nice middle ground between one on one training and group fitness. I love group training because it allows for a lot of individual attention but it’s not quite as pricey as personal training tends to be. 

15. Wellness Coaching - So a wellness coach is essentially someone who approaches fitness from the perspective of lifestyle change and overall health. In my opinion, a personal trainer should already be doing all of these things...but I can’t say it isn’t worthwhile... 

16. Worksite Health Promotion - I have mixed feelings about Corporate Wellness. On paper, it’s great. In practice, highly flawed. Obviously, any way we can promote health in any capacity, I’m in support of. That being said, having seen Corporate Wellness in practice, I can say it often is not as well executed.

17. Exercise Aps - Again, mixed feelings here... Let me just say, Kim Kardashian has an exercise ap and she doesn’t know a sit-up from a squat. That being said, Nike has an ap that actually has some pretty neat workouts. How great these really are just depends on the consumer and the usage. 

18. Measurements - Tracking progress through measurements is great, but it is only one piece of the puzzle. I would rather have a client make progress in areas of self-efficacy in the gym, confidence in themselves, and overall strength improvements as opposed to inches off their waistline. Like many of these trends, it can be really great, but it can’t stand alone. 

19. Circuit Training - Circuit training is a great way to simultaneously improve endurance and strength. It can be tailored to fit almost any goals and is one of the most time-efficient forms of exercise. 

20. Foam Rolling - WHY does this come in last?! If you haven’t read my blog about foam rolling, scroll on down for my take on this treasure! 

And there we have it... Our top trends of 2017 and my unsolicited opinions. 

[amberkatt]

The Resolutioners Are Coming!

I wanted to wait and post this blog closer to the first of the year, but this has been a topic that has come up so often lately that I just can’t wait! If you are a fitness junkie then you’re already dreading January, the gym gets insanely crowded, and worst of all it gets crowded with noobs. I get it guys, I hate it too. I hate not having space, I hate watching people do stupid and unnecessary things (read my last post) and I hate hearing the guy with no credentials passing out gym advice like free candy. I also know from working in the fitness industry that I’m not alone in these feelings....but, I think we might be wrong...

I realize I might get a lot of hate for this, I’m prepared. This year, I challenge all of my fitness fanatics out there to embrace our resolutioners.... I know, it’s going to be quite the task. Let’s just look at January from a resolutioner’s perspective: “I understand the importance of health, I realize I am not healthy, I’m ready to make a change, I go buy this gym membership, I’m going to start going right off the jump so I can make it a habit, I get into the gym, I realize I have no idea what I’m doing, I find some information online or from a friend, I try it out, everyone around me looks like they know what they’re doing, no one here is friendly, I’m too scared to ask for help, my body hurts, I’m not seeing results, maybe this just isn’t for me, I quit.”

It’s easy for us to take for granted that we know what we’re doing in the gym. It’s equally easy to look at someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing and feel passive or even humored by them. What we should be doing, however, is reaching out to these people. As fitness enthusiasts, we know the benefits of regular exercise, and we know how incredible it would be to live in a healthier world. Turning people away from the gym is not a step in the right direction. 

I challenge you: when you see someone who looks lost, ask them if they have questions, help them out, or maybe just introduce yourself. Now you know how I feel about people without proper credentials giving advice as professionals, but there’s a difference between trying to coach someone and just helping them to feel comfortable in the gym. Let’s do our part to improve the health of those around us, and let’s grow the fitness community! 

[amberkatt]

Reinventing the Wheel

Am I in the gym or a circus audition? 

Have you ever seen someone doing something just totally bizarre and also hazardous and unnecessary in the gym? People love to get creative. There is an entire population of people on social media who make a living off of making squats, deadlifts, and pull-ups “fancy.” Now listen guys, I’m all for mixing up your workouts and having fun with it. I too love trying new exercises and having a lot of variety in my fitness regimen. 

Now, that being said, let me cut to the chase. There is a difference between trying something new that is still biomechanically sound and safe and trying something ridiculous because you want to be fun or look cool. For instance, if you normally do squats in the rack and you want to mix it up you could do goblet squats with a dumbbell or you could try hack squats with a T-bar...or you could stand on top of dumbbells and squat while wobbling all over the place and looking like an idiot.

One of the most important concepts I can push to anyone starting a fitness program is the cost-benefit analysis of an exercise. Essentially, is the benefit of doing this exercise worth the potential risks of doing it? If the answer is yes, go for it! If the answer is no, find another option. Obviously everything you do in the gym comes with a risk. A treadmill could spontaneously malfunction and you could go flying, but the odds of this are incredibly low. The benefits of getting cardio exercise is worth the risk in this instance. If you are suffering from multiple sclerosis and know that balance is an issue for you, however, running on a treadmill would not be worth the risk of injury, so I would encourage you to use an arm ergometer or recumbent bike for your cardio exercise. Doing push-ups improves strength in the upper body and is a generally safe exercise: worth the risk! Doing push-ups on top of dumbbells with your feet on a bench improves strength in the upper body and puts you at a reasonably high risk of breaking your arm and/or nose: not worth the risk! 

I think this is a pretty simple concept in theory, but many people seem to lose sight of this when they get lost in the glamor of fun, fancy, impressive looking exercises. And yeah, it might be impressive to do your shoulder press while standing on an upside down bosu ball, but I’m not going to be impressed when you make one wrong move and now have a knot on your head (or worse). Not to mention, at the end of the day what is wobbling around while pressing going to do for your shoulders?? 

If you wanted to keep things really simple, squats, deadlifts, pushups and pull-ups are the fundamentals. The science has already been done for us and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We know what you have to do to achieve fitness in a safe way. You don’t have to get fancy and use machines upside down or do things backwards to get results. Keep it simple. Now, if you are the type of person who enjoys mixing things up and you get bored with the basics, by all means do a variety of different exercises. PLEASE, however, remember that fancy does not mean better and safety should always be your top priority, after all you are doing this for your health. 

[amberkatt]

Pre vs Post Workout Eats

What you eat before and after a workout can dramatically impact your performance and progress over time. That being said, the optimal nutrient ratio and timing of intake varies from person to person. There is no such thing as a one size fits all approach to nutrition, the only way to figure out what works best for your body is trial and error within a framework of basic nutrition. Today I will be sharing some basic sports nutrition guidelines for you to start with. 

Let’s begin with the pre-workout meal. Whatever you eat before your workout should be a meal designed to fuel you. The body’s favorite source of energy is glucose, which means a high carbohydrate meal is going to be your best bet for an energy source pre workout. As far as specific recommendations go, the general suggestion is to consume 1-5g of carbs per kg of body weight every few hours before a workout. This recommendation, however, is geared more towards an athlete preparing to compete. For someone just doing a regular workout looking to achieve general fitness, my suggestion would be to eat a meal high in carbohydrate within your calorie requirements 1 and a half to 3 hours before a workout. Some people like to eat their pre-workout meal close to their workout, other people like to give their food a few hours to digest before they workout. This is completely a matter of preference. I always suggest that my clients try both and see which they prefer. 

Now would be an optimal time to touch on fasted workouts. Exercising after fasting for an extended period of time has become a trend that many people use to achieve weight loss. I NEVER recommend fasted exercise for a variety of reasons. 1) The research just IS NOT there to support this as a weight loss method. In most studies, the fasted group and the fed group achieve the same or very similar results. In fact, several studies have actually found the fed groups to have a more favorable outcome because they have more energy to perform better. 2) If you are looking to improve your strength or physique or build muscle, fasted exercise is going to do the opposite. Your body is deprived of glucose, its prefered energy source. This could easily lead to muscle breakdown. 3) Fasted exercise can be dangerous. I cannot tell you how often someone who is undereating and overexercising gets sick, passes out, or gets hurt exercising because they are denying their bodies. 

Now let’s move on to intra workout. The hour before exercise many people prefer not to eat anything so that they do not feel bloated or heavy during exertion, which is completely okay! Other people do like to have something light right before exercise, which is okay too. Consuming anything within the hour before exercise can be a gamble though. You’re going to want to choose an easily digestible option. Fats and proteins are much harder to digest than carbs, so the closer to your workout you get, the less of these you’re going to want to be consuming. During a workout if you need additional fuel (typically this is only the case for extended cardio like a long distance run or bike ride) strictly carbohydrate sources like gels will be your best bet. Most people, however, will not need additional fuel intra-workout. 

Last topic here: post-workout. The jury is still out on protein intake post workout. We know that protein absorption is higher for 24 hours following a workout. Whether or not it is higher immediately following a workout and fizzles out through time is uncertain. Some research does suggest that within the first hour after exercise protein absorption is at its highest. Assuming this is the case, getting a good protein source immediately following exercise could be extremely beneficial. That being said, one thing many people forget as their sipping on their protein shake is that carbs are important immediately after exercise as well! Remember that carbs are our bodies favorite source of energy, so during a workout they are used up. Proper recovery requires us to replace these carbs. The general recommendation for carbs and protein post workout is a carb to protein ratio of 3:1. I don’t typically suggest that people stick to this recommendation super closely. As long as you are getting both carbs and protein post workout, you are feeling recovered and full, and you’re seeing continued progress, just eat a meal you enjoy that contains both! 

Eat well and progress forward!  

[amberkatt]

carbs = carbs = carbs?

Today we are talking about CARBS! Some people seem to believe carbs are tiny demons in food that run to your fat cells once consumed and inflate them. Other people seem to think that carbs are the staple of a healthy diet and you need nothing else. Carbohydrates might be the single most misunderstood and controversial macronutrient. I’m not going to be linking any studies in today’s blog, no big words and no complicated science. I’m going to water this down as much as possible and cut right to the chase! That being said, please understand that there is soo much more to the metabolism of carbohydrates and a wide range of different types of sugars that make up the carbohydrate “family.” If you would like a more detailed blog about carbohydrate metabolism let me know! 

First, what the heck is a carb anyways?! Carbohydrates are one of three (four if you include water) macronutrients. Carbs, fat, and protein are the building blocks of all food and all play different essential roles in the body. Carbohydrates are chains of sugars that are consumed, broken up into single molecules of sugar and then absorbed by the body to be used for energy. There are long chains of carbohydrates, known as starches. These are found in sources like bread and potatoes. These serve as sources of sustained energy due to the length of their chain (lots of energy!) Then we have our short chains of sugars found in sources like fruit and candy. These serve as quicker sources of energy because of the shorter chain. 

Does that mean that sugar and candy are equal?! Nope, sorry guys. This is where our friend fiber comes in! Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate that moves through the body without being broken down, which is why it is great for helping regulate bowel movements. Fiber also slows down digestion which means that eating a food with fiber is going to slow the release of the broken down carbohydrates into the bloodstream.  In other words, what makes fruit different from candy is that fruit contains fiber, so when a piece of fruit is consumed, the fiber will slow the absorption of the broken down molecules of sugar. When you eat a piece of candy, there is no fiber so the sugar is released very quickly into the bloodstream. This means you will feel an initial perk or “sugar high” but you will crash soon after. Fruit and starchy foods will give you more sustainable energy. 

Another distinguishing factor between carbohydrate foods is their nutrient value. We have all heard that whole grain is better than the refined stuff (i.e. white bread, white rice, white flour)...but why? When a grain is “refined” or made from the whole grain into what you purchase at the store, 2 of the 3 parts of the grain are removed. This means that a hefty chunk of nutrients are also removed, as is the fiber. So if we compare white bread to wheat bread, they may have the same caloric value and the same amount of carbohydrates, but the wheat bread will have more fiber. This means it will keep you fuller for longer and not spike your blood sugar as much. It will also provide you with more nutrients. Same with the fruit and the candy: not only is the fruit going to digest slower but obviously fruit is going to provide your body with more vitamins and minerals than a piece of candy will. 

So, now we know the basic function of carbs, it should be pretty hard to imagine your body functioning without them! The standard recommendation is to consume about 50% of your calories from carbohydrate sources. When you pick these sources though, go for the nutrient-dense and whole grain choices! A diet made up of 50% candy and white bread is going to yield far different results than a diet of 50% fruits, veggies, and whole grains. All carbs are not the same! 

[amberkatt]

What the Health...Debunked!

I wish I had a dollar for everyone who decided to turn to a plant based diet after watching the Netflix documentary What the Health. Working in the fitness world, I’d been hearing about the documentary more and more over the past several months so I finally decided to watch it.... Here’s my take: 

I guess I will first start with a disclaimer: I am not opposed to a vegetarian or vegan diet, not entirely. Removing meat and animal products from the diet CAN be done in a healthy way, the issue is that it usually is not. For a plant based diet to be healthy, one must track their intake extra closely to ensure that they are maintaining proper intake of macro and micronutrients. Most vegans and vegetarians develop deficiencies because they do not do this. Vegetarians are at risk for developing deficiencies of protein, iron, calcium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and cholesterol (we’ll get to the problem with low cholesterol intake soon). Weight loss may or may not occur on this diet but is unrelated to the actual removal of meat from the diet but just from a decreased calorie intake. What is more likely than weight loss on a plant based diet, however, is an increase in the consumption of empty calories. 

My second disclaimer is that I do understand the relationship between diet and disease. The issue is not meat in itself though, the real issue is the typical American diet. The documentary overlooks the single most important detail in our nation’s health: our diet is high in calories and low in nutrients. We are overfed and undernourished, and you can’t blame processed meat for this. If you look at the average American diet over the past 100 years, red meat intake has actually decreased. Meat intake overall has pretty much stayed the same, though, maybe increased slightly. The overall caloric intake of the American diet? SKYROCKETED. We don’t eat more meat, we just eat MORE. 

Check out this chart from the PEW Research Center showing a comparison of the average intake since 1970. The biggest increases have been in grains and fats, not meat. 

Now let’s look at the average American weight in a similar timeframe: 

So based on this information we can more or less conclude that increased calories = increased weight. We cannot conclude that an increase in meat = increase in weight, however. 

Okay so let’s look at What the Health’s other primary claims. They say that the increase in meat is also the reason why we are seeing an increase in diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Lets look... 

First and foremost, let’s address meat as a carcinogen (cancer causing agent). I want to start with a statement from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, “...it is not yet fully understood how cancer risk is increased by red meat or processed meat....” If you don’t want to take my word for it you can do your own research, but we really don’t know why some meats have shown a slight increase for the risk in lab animals, but we do know that the risk is minimal. Eating meat could possibly increase your risk by a percentage or two for some unkown reason that might not even be in the meat itself, but turn to a vegetarian diet and your risk of several nutrient deficiencies increases by significantly more. Your choice. 

Next, let’s look at diabetes. I want to open this one up with a statement from Dr. Garth Davis who is featured in What the Health, “Your body can’t turn carbs into fat unless you’re really overdoing the calories.” Um, HELLO DOCTOR? We ARE really overdoing the calories!!!!! We know the average caloric intake has continually gone up for the past 50 years and we know that weight has followed the exact same trend and because we understand metabolism we can prove causation here! We wouldn’t be in the midst of an obesity crisis if everyone ate only the calories their body needed! So what causes type 2 diabetes? Essentially insulin is the vehicle for sugar to get to its destination of the muscles. So in a healthy body, sugar is consumed, insulin is released, insulin picks up the sugar molecules and transports them into the muscles where they hang out until they are needed. In type 2 diabetes, the insulin is there...it just doesn’t work! Why? Because of fat in the bloodstream that impedes the process. Okay, so they got this part right - a higher fat diet does cause type 2 diabetes! What they didn’t get so right is that a vegetarian diet is going to fix this. One more chart here: 

These are the top 5 sources of saturated fat in the American diet. 

Yeah, processed meat makes the list but it’s nowhere near the top culprit (the meats they refer to in the documentary come in directly after chicken). But hey, I’m also not telling you to stop eating cheese and pizza. There is no one culprit to the health crisis we are in. If it were easy and a one solution issue, we probably would have fixed it by now. Simply put. 

Now, last topic here, heart disease aka the number one killer in the US. Let me put one myth to rest to start with: dietary cholesterol does not cause clogged arteries. Yes, too much cholesterol in the body causes clogged arteries, BUT the body is able to eliminate excess dietary cholesterol. What the newest research says (which the documentary did not look at) is that the body creates way more cholesterol than is taken in through the diet, and furthermore the less cholesterol you take in via the diet the more your body will make. So am I saying a low cholesterol diet is going to cause clogged arteries? Not at all. But is it going to lower your odds? The latest data we have would say no! 

To conclude, am I saying you should avoid plant based foods or a plant based diet? NO! A vegetarian diet can be healthy if executed properly, but if you are turning to a plant based diet out of fear of cancer, obesity, diabetes, or heart disease you have been mislead. The research just isn’t there. We are 100% in the midst of an obesity crisis in the US, and that is simply the result of overeating. The average American diet is made up of giant portions of calorie dense, low nutrient foods and that is why we are fat. 

[amberkatt]

No Pain, No Gain?

Let’s talk about muscle soreness! Is it good? Is it bad? Does it mean I worked really hard? Where does it come from? 

First things first, let me do my part in ridding the fitness world of the idea that lactic acid causes muscle soreness. This is a totally outdated idea!! We now know that while lactic acid is produced during intense exercise, it is all removed before muscle soreness has a chance to hit us. It does not stay around in the muscle and cause soreness. 

So, why do they get sore? When we incorporate the principle of overload we are pushing our muscles past the point of comfort; we are working them to fatigue and breakdown so that they can adapt to these more intense loads (read: grow bigger and stronger). So, in this case, the muscle “knows” it needs to grow bigger and stronger because it was pushed to its breaking point and incurred damage. This is when muscles get sore! A muscle is broken down and damaged during a workout and then must rebuild itself. A muscle might also get sore if it is used in a way it’s not often used, for essentially the same reason: it has to adapt to a different type or amount of usage. 

Progressive overload is the most important concept when trying to gain strength. Progressively increasing strain on the muscles over time and continuing to subject them to greater stress will force them to adapt. In other words: you get stronger! This gradual and continual process of breaking down muscles will lead to soreness in the muscles and must also be accompanied by proper nutrition and plenty of rest so that the muscles can repair themselves. 

Now, we know that muscle soreness could be indicative of a really good workout, but it could also be indicative of poor form, dehydration, or elevated levels of stress hormones. It is not always a good sign. What about the opposite scenario: what does a lack of muscle soreness mean? Well it is likely if you are not sore you did not incur muscle damage, BUT that does not mean you did not get a good workout. There are several other factors that can cause muscles to grow without you becoming sore. Likewise, just because you did become sore does not mean your muscles will grow bigger; without proper intake of nutrients and getting enough rest muscles cannot grow. 

Okay so let’s summarize: 

1. Muscles get sore because of muscle tissue breakdown. 

2. Progressive overload is the best way to strengthen muscles and will lead to breakdown and soreness. 

3. Breakdown of the muscles is not the only way to stimulate muscle growth.

4. Soreness could also be indicative of poor form, dehydration, and elevated stress hormones - it doesn’t always mean a good workout. 

[amberkatt]

Detox Debunk

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you know one of my favorite topics to discuss is various diets and why they don’t work. There is no such thing as a short term commitment to health that results in sustainable long term health. There is no such thing as “jumpstarting” your diet or your metabolism. Most of all, there is no such thing as a diet that “detoxes” you. 

First, let us really get to the bottom of what detoxing means. To detox means to cleanse yourself, or remove harmful or potentially damaging things from your body. Good news for you: your body already does this on its own! We have several organs that have “detoxing” in their job description. The liver, for instance, filters our blood and removes drugs or harmful chemicals. The kidneys also filter out blood wastes and create urine to remove waste from the body. Our respiratory system exists to supply our bodies with with oxygen and we breathe out the chemicals we don’t need. Even the skin could be considered a detox organ as when you perspire you sweat out toxins. 

Okay, so we know what detoxing is now, but why might we need it? What exactly needs to come out of our bodies so badly? Well, for starters, we must detox our bodies of carbon dioxide from the air because it would be lethal to us, that’s why we exhale regularly. Things like heavy metals, drugs (recreational and prescription), alcohol, even excess mineral salts might be considered toxic to the body, especially in unfavorable quantities. The liver and the kidneys are responsible for this. Ever noticed how sweat is salty? Sodium and other minerals leave the body through sweat. That’s really about it. Aside from lethal poisons that humans have no ability to detox (i.e. arsenic, cyanide) there isn’t anything we’re regularly exposed to that our bodies don’t have a way to remove. 

So where did this idea of detoxing come from?? It comes from the same place all of the crazy fad diets come from - everyone wants a quick fix. I hate to break it to everyone but not only do detoxes not do anything our bodies don’t already do, but no detox has ever been proven to trigger weight loss. I know: “but my best friend did the xyz detox and lost 10 pounds!!” If you are eating lots of calorie dense junk food and suddenly start blending up kale and coconut water for dinner, yes, you will lose weight. You will not however lose weight because your colon is sparkling clean all of a sudden. 

My advice (and biology’s advice) for weight loss: eat in a caloric deficit. If you take in nutrient dense, low calorie foods, and exercise regularly, I promise you that you will see steady and sustainable weight loss! 

[amberkatt]

Roll, Roll, Roll!

Roll those muscles!! I’m talking about foam rolling today, which, in my opinion is one of the most overlooked techniques in fitness. Foam rolling is a method used to relax sore muscles, improve blood flow, and increase flexibility. Not a bad combo, right? 

A foam roller is a long cylinder of hard foam (or sometimes rubber) that you can quite literally roll yourself on top of to perform self myofascial release. Your myofascia is like a body suit you wear under your skin. It’s a tough web-like tissue that covers all of your bones and muscles and allows your whole body to stay connected and move freely! Unfortunately this tissue can get really tight and rigid from daily activities, too much sitting, and muscle overload. When you have a tight myofascia you can experience headaches, backaches, stiff muscles, improper movement patterns, and poor circulation, among other side effects. Here’s where the foam roller comes into play! When you perform self myofascial release you are massaging out this tightness. The deep compression will help break up knots, release trigger points, and restore the myofascia to its proper alignment. This, in turn, will allow your body to have good blood flow, relaxed and flexible muscles, and move properly! 

Foam rolling is not the only form of self myofascial release but it happens to be my favorite and probably the most common. Foam rollers can be found in most gyms and can actually be purchased pretty inexpensively! Any part of the body can be foam rolled, but the most important parts are going to be large muscle groups. Most people lack flexibility in the muscles of the posterior chain, which is a leading cause of injury. Rolling out the hamstrings, glutes, and muscles of the back can be especially beneficial. The IT band, which is a long elastic piece of fascia that runs from the outside of the hip to the knee is also a great place to foam roll as it is often tight (especially in women) and another common source of injury. When you foam roll, roll from joint to joint over the muscle and expect a bit of discomfort! Remember, you are working out tightness so it won't always feel good. You should aim to roll over and back each muscle 10-12 times. Roll before and after your workouts for optimal muscle elasticity and recovery. You can also roll when you’re sore to speed up the recovery process and sometimes reduce the soreness. You can also just roll when you’re watching TV at night or anytime you feel like it. 

Happy rolling everyone!

[amberkatt]

Fizzy Fears

We have known for a long time that soda is not the best beverage to sip on. Truthfully, any sugary beverage is probably not a great choice due primarily to the excess empty calories. But what about the newer beverages that have no sugar content, or calories at all? There has recently been a spike in the production of carbonated drinks with artificial sweeteners that contain zero sugar, zero calories, and many also zero sodium. With the increased production there has also been an increase in the controversy surrounding these drinks. We’re about to dive into the most common claims about these drinks and see how accurate they really are. 

The NUMBER ONE fear behind any artificially sweetened drink is the dreaded...aspartame. If you aren’t familiar with this product then you probably haven’t heard of all the horror stories “research” has to tell about it. It causes seizures, neurological damage, heart disorders, anxiety attacks, cancer, the plague, the second world war, and terrorism... The truth is that no study has been able to consistently find any danger in consumption of aspartame. When it is broken down in the body, methanol is produced, which in massive quantities would be toxic. That being said, unless you are drinking 50 bottles of your favorite artificially sweetened drink every day, you’ll probably never see a single side effect. 

The second most common claim that is made about carbonated beverages is the loss of bone density. This one holds some clout, but only in certain instances. The rationale behind the claim is the phosphate content of these drinks - which would cause some calcium to be stripped from the bones in some instances. Would it be enough to cause bone damage? Probably not unless your intake is through the roof. That being said, it is also important to know that only some carbonated drinks contain phosphates and often it's not the artificially sweetened ones.  

The claim that these drinks do not hydrate as well as water is just false. Granted, you are consuming a mixture of dissolved carbon and water as opposed to pure water, but the overall hydrating effect of the water content is equal. It is also true that most people will drink more fluids if it is fizzy and tastes sweet as opposed to just water. So in this case you will actually be more hydrated! 

Carbonated beverages are not just safe and hydrating but they are also a great tool for tricking your body into feeling full! Whether you are trying to take in less calories or just need something to hold you over until mealtime, sipping on a carbonated beverage can cause your body to feel fuller and get the satisfaction from the sweet taste. 

So my take is, drink up! 

[amberkatt]

The Egg...

Oh eggs. The incredible, edible, oh-so-demonized egg. One decade they’re the world’s healthiest food and the next decade they’re going to give you heart disease. I’ve talked about diet trends a lot lately and I thought the egg would be an appropriate topic of discussion. 

I recently watched a documentary that completely demonized the egg because of the fat content, claiming that it was too much fat because “it was enough for a baby chicken to live off of.” Well, sorta yes...it is the source of nutrients for a baby chicken, but lets keep in mind that a baby chicken is only a few ounces at birth. We’re not talking about enough fat to keep even a baby human alive. In fact, an egg contains only about 5g of fat, which isn’t really even enough to deem it a high fat food. 

But okay, lets say you make an omelette or some scrambled eggs as a meal and you crack 2 or 3 into your skillet, now were talking 15g of fat. Yeah, we can say this is moderately high, BUT what else can we say about eggs... They are higher in protein than they are in fat. A whopping 6g of protein per egg makes them an excellent source of protein. The egg contains zero grams of sugar and are low in carbohydrate which means they will have almost no impact on blood sugar, and due to their fat content they are a great option for keeping you full. 

I know cholesterol tends to be the keyword that people throw out when arguing about the quality of eggs. The dirty little secret about cholesterol is that our body’s make it on their own. Dietary cholesterol can actually be excreted if we don’t need it, the cholesterol that the body manufactures is what can build up and cause issues. The storage of body-manufactured cholesterol is actually more likely to be regulated by insulin. See below: (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2903787/) 

Eggs are one of the only food sources that naturally contain vitamin D, they are great sources of several antioxidants, several of the B vitamins can be found in healthy quantities in eggs, and they are a good source for quite a few of the essential minerals. The most shocking thing about eggs is that no correlation between heart disease and egg consumption exists! Everyone should be taking advantage of the nutrient dense egg and making it a staple part of your diet! 

[amberkatt]

The Keto Kraze

The ketogenic diet has gained significant popularity in the past few years as a weight loss diet. Fad diets tend to run in cycles throughout time - low carb, low fat, vegetarian, dairy-free and several others - they’ve all had phases and phased out and then returned again as the “latest and greatest.” The keto diet is no different - it’s just a fancier version of every other low carb diet that has risen to fame and fallen throughout time. 

Let me first say - there has been very little research concluding that the ketogenic diet is unsafe. At this time it is believed to be safe. That being said, there is also not significant research supporting it as an effective method of weight loss. If you are currently following this diet and have seen success then I encourage you to stick with it. There is no “one diet for all” for optimal health - everyone will see success with different things. If you are not currently following a keto diet and you are considering it for weight loss I encourage you to read on before making your decision. While completing my B.S. in Human Nutrition I wrote a thesis on the effectiveness of fad diets and concluded that no fad diet to date has proven to be an effective method of weight loss. Have some people found success with some diets? Of course. But generally speaking, no diet has ever proven to lead to sustained weight loss for the majority of the people who followed it. 

Lets break this down by first answering: what is the keto diet? The ketogenic diet is an extremely low carb diet which forces the body into a state of ketosis. Ketosis essentially is the body having so little carbohydrate to use as a fuel source that fats are broken down into ketones which are then used as fuel. So simply put: Ketosis = body running on fat. 

Lastly, lets just touch on some basic metabolism. When we eat we take in 3 different macronutrients that are all metabolized differently - protein fat and carbs. Whatever the combination of macronutrients is - when we eat in a caloric surplus (more calories than needed) our bodies store energy for later in their various forms. When we create a caloric deficit (taking in less calories than needed) our bodies use the stored energy and weight loss occurs. In other words: too many calories = weight gain, too few calories = weight loss. The same applies to the keto diet - if you are eating more calories than you are burning, no matter their source, you are most likely going to be gaining weight. Likewise, if you go on the keto diet and eat fewer calories than your body needs you will most likely lose weight. I does not matter if your daily calories come from carbs or fat - if you eat a surplus you are not going to lose weight. When we eat fat - our bodies break down the fat we eat for energy. Our bodies will not use stored body fat as long as dietary fat is present. 

So to conclude - yes, you absolutely can lose weight on a ketogenic diet. You can create a state of ketosis in your body where you are running off of ketones for fuel, and many people find this to be optimal for them. But no, the keto diet is not a magic solution for weight loss and success on the keto diet or any other diet is only attainable when a deficit of calories is created.