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Navigating the Sea of Nutrition Opinions

Nutrition Opinions

Nutrition is a topic with as many opinions as there are people on this planet. Surprisingly, the people who are often most trusted for nutritional advice are good friends, hairdressers, and random people on the street. On the other hand, dietitians, physicians, and nutritionists are often trusted the least, as they’re seen as working for “the man” or other nefarious organizations with villainous goals.

All joking aside, social media and the internet have not made it easier to distinguish scientifically sound information from less ideal advice. Every side claims to have all the evidence supporting their claims, and unless someone knows where to look and actually takes a peek at the science, they can quickly start believing things that are potentially harmful.

Since you don’t want to read a forever-long post, I will try to keep this short and concise and add a short guide at the end.

Which Diet is the Right Diet for You?

The diet you can stick to is the right diet. Studies have repeatedly shown that for weight loss, adherence is the most important factor regardless of the diet type (Sacks et al., 2009).

Which Diet is the Healthiest Diet?

The suggestion is to eat primarily a whole foods diet; foods with fewer ingredients are best. You don’t have to cut out whole food groups to be healthy and lose weight. You might be able to stick better to a low-carb diet, but cutting whole groups out can have negative effects on performance and potentially lead to malnutrition (Johnston et al., 2014).

If you are vegan, you may face challenges such as lower protein intake and potential vitamin B12 deficiency, which is crucial for health (Key et al., 2006). This does not necessarily mean you cannot follow these diets, but you might have to be careful to avoid creating other issues that might negatively impact your health.

Goals and Nutrition: Tailoring Your Diet

1. Weight Loss:

  • Higher Protein Intake: Maintaining a higher protein intake while reducing overall food intake supports weight loss (Leidy et al., 2015).
  • Whole Foods: Focus on whole foods with plenty of protein and vegetables. Go lighter on fats and carbs, but there’s no need to avoid them entirely.
  • Avoid Snacking: Cut out snacking if possible but ensure sufficient food during meals.
  • Reduce Alcohol: Limit alcohol consumption.

Food Intake Based on 4 Meals/Day; Females/Males:

  • Carbohydrates: ½ cupped handful / 1 cupped handful per meal
  • Protein: 1 palm size / 2 palm sizes per meal
  • Fats: 1 thumb size / 2 thumb sizes per meal
  • Veggies: 1 fist size / 2 fist sizes per meal

2. Muscle Gain:

  • Increase Overall Intake: Your overall intake must be larger than your daily needs by about 250 kcal/day (Garthe et al., 2013). Expect some weight gain, but you will build muscle mass.
  • Higher Carbs for Training: Increased carbohydrate intake supports harder training sessions.
  • Protein, Protein, Protein: Aim for about 0.8-1.1g/lb of body weight per day (Morton et al., 2018).

Food Intake Based on 4 Meals/Day; Females/Males:

  • Carbohydrates: 1 ½ cupped handfuls / 3 cupped handfuls per meal
  • Protein: 1 ½ palm size / 3 palm sizes per meal
  • Fats: 1 ½ thumb size / 3 thumb sizes per meal
  • Veggies: 1 fist size / 2 fist sizes per meal

3. Maintaining Fitness:

  • Slightly Higher Carbs and Fats: For those looking to stay fit and lean, maintain a slightly higher intake of carbs and fats than those aiming for weight loss.

Food Intake Based on 4 Meals/Day; Females/Males:

  • Carbohydrates: 1 ½ cupped handful / 2 cupped handfuls per meal
  • Protein: 1 ½ palm size / 2 ½ palm sizes per meal
  • Fats: 1 thumb size / 2 thumb sizes per meal
  • Veggies: 1 fist size / 2 fist sizes per meal

Flexibility and Adjustments

These recommendations are not set in stone. They are a starting point from which you will need to make adjustments based on your progress.

This approach has worked well for clients and me in the past. It is easily implemented and works well even when eating out.

Personally, I have switched to tracking calories and protein intake. It is neither right nor wrong; it happens to be more accurate for me currently.

Beyond the Basics

This article does not address all areas of nutrition, such as gut microbiome, fiber, vitamins, and supplementation. These aspects become important once you have mastered the basics. Addressing them first is like mowing the lawn while the house burns down. Let’s get the basics down before working on these things.

Conclusion

How do you handle your nutrition?

References

  • Garthe, I., Raastad, T., Refsnes, P. E., Koivisto, A., & Sundgot-Borgen, J. (2013). Effect of nutritional intervention on body composition and performance in elite athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 45(2), 349-359.
  • Johnston, B. C., Kanters, S., Bandayrel, K., Wu, P., Naji, F., Siemieniuk, R. A., Ball, G. D. C., Busse, J. W., Thorlund, K., Guyatt, G., Jansen, J. P., & Mills, E. J. (2014). Comparison of weight loss among named diet programs in overweight and obese adults: a meta-analysis. JAMA, 312(9), 923-933.
  • Key, T. J., Appleby, P. N., Rosell, M. S. (2006). Health effects of vegetarian and vegan diets. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 65(1), 35-41.
  • Leidy, H. J., Clifton, P. M., Astrup, A., Wycherley, T. P., Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S., Luscombe-Marsh, N. D., Woods, S. C., & Mattes, R. D. (2015). The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 101(6), 1320S-1329S.
  • Morton, R. W., Murphy, K. T., McKellar, S. R., Schoenfeld, B. J., Henselmans, M., Helms, E., Aragon, A. A., Devries, M. C., Banfield, L., Krieger, J. W., & Phillips, S. M. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(6), 376-384.
  • Sacks, F. M., Bray, G. A., Carey, V. J., Smith, S. R., Ryan, D. H., Anton, S. D., McManus, K., Champagne, C. M., Bishop, L. M., Laranjo, N., Leboff, M. S., Rood, J. C., de Jonge, L., Greenway, F. L., Loria, C. M., Obarzanek, E., Williamson, D. A., & Wing, R. R. (2009). Comparison of weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.New England Journal of Medicine, 360(9), 859-873.

Solid nutrition advice at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Supplementation – What do you really need?

This question arises quite frequently with our online or offline personal training clients. The concern is real and there are definitely sometimes advantages to supplementing. The problem is that the fitness & supplement industry has muddied the waters when it comes to what you really need.

What supplementation do you really need?

This brings me to the first question. What do you really need. Most of us listen to some fellow lifters, weight loss colleagues, etc. What works for them will work for you and me. Well, that can be dangerous, inefficient, or expensive and at its worst all three.

How to identify your need?

Urine & blood testing might be the best option to really identify what you need. The problem is the expense.

There are a couple of other options.

  1. Identify your goals: weight loss, recovery, performance, muscle gain, etc.
  2. Write down your basic diet for one week, don’t change anything
  3. Analyze the diet for the following factors
    1. Macro-Nutrient Intake: carbs, protein, fats.
    2. Vegetable intake
    3. Fruit intake
    4. Nutrition during exercise
  4. Sleep patterns

Goal based supplementation

  1. Weight Loss: weight loss supplementation is sketchy at best. Some of the supplements that work can have interactions with medications. You should consult your physician before randomly using supplements.
    1. 2 Cups of coffee per day spaced throughout the day then add
    2. 2x10mg of synephrine, get used to it, then add
    3. 2x 90 mg of salicin (white willow extract)
  2. Muscle Gain
    1. Carb+Protein drink during workout (30g of carbs+10-15g of protein)
    2. Creatine 5g/day, no loading phase necessary, basic creatine monohydrate the best
    3. Nitrate through 500g of your chosen veggie like beets
  3. Injury Recovery
    1. 1.5-2.0 g of protein / kg of weight; in g/lbs = a little bit under 1g/lb
    2. Supplementation of 3-9g of fish oil/day (too high of anti-inflammatory response can reduce healing)
    3. Avoid oral Vitamin E supplementation, since it may slow healing
    4. Vitamin A may be taken by up to 10,000 UI daily for week 1-2 of an acute injury but will build up toxicity.
    5. 1-2g of Vitamin C can help recovery from surgery, injury and ulcers
    6. Turmeric can be taken to up to 8g without contraindications. It has a poor oral bioavailability and should be taken with black pepper extract (piperine).

Nutrition based supplementation

We are talking about good basic nutrition. I know you have a busy life. That is why I had you write down your nutrition for 5 days. It will give us some ideas on where we can help with nutrition.

  1. If you are low in carbs, don’t worry about it, you usually do not need to supplement it  unless you are an endurance athlete and need a higher carb intake.
  2. If you are low in omega-3 fatty acid, because of your fat sources you can supplement 3-5g/day with some high quality fish oil
  3. If you are low in protein, we recommend supplementing with a high quality whey/vegetable protein. A minimum of 0.8g / kg if you are completely sedentary, up to 2g/kg as an athlete
  4. If you are low on veggies & fruit on some days you can supplement with a freeze-dried greens & fruit product on those days, as well as some fiber, if your diet is low fiber.
  5. If you have weight gain goals, or performance goals you want to make sure to eat during workouts longer than 60 min and or workouts in the early morning. A mix of carbs+protein comes in handy (mentioned above).

Sleep & Recovery

If you are not sleeping enough  (<7 hours). You should definitely see what the cause is:

  1. Do you allow enough sleep? allow 7.5 hours of sleep at least
  2. Do you have the television on, or watch movies or read on your tablet? It will interrupt your melatonin production. You can get a blue light filter app for your device or nerdy glasses 🙂
  3. Are you a worrier? Write down the things that go on in your mind and take a 10 min warm to hot foot bath. It helps you to relax
  4. If all of these fail to improve your sleep:
    1. 200 mg of magnesium citrate or malate can help as a base
    2. 600 mg of lemon balm and 80 mg of lavender oil can work for people who have intrusive thoughts or anxiety. Take it 30 min prior to your bed time
    3. If you have trouble falling asleep take the magnesium and 500 mcg of melatonin 30 min before going to bed.

Conclusion

Supplements should always be exactly that: they should supplement your nutrition and your lifestyle. They are not a replacement and should not be abused. Make a serious effort in order to get your ducks lined up in a  row.

 

Have an awesome day,

Michael

References:

Examine.com
Berardi, J. & Andrews, R. (2013). The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition. Precision Nutrition

 

Young woman weight training

Be Honest With Yourself – Succeed in Fitness & Life

  • A lot of people are self critical and mistake that with being honest with themselves.
  • A lot of people are deluding themselves into thinking they are doing better than they really are.

How can that be – is it not contradictory?

Well, like everything life is not simply black or white, one way or another. We have grey areas everywhere. In some areas our inner critic comes out and when she/he comes out she means business. If we would hear anyone talking like that to someone we would be like: “Hold on there for a second, you cannot talk to that person like that!”

On the other hand we have often plenty of areas where we think we do pretty well but really may do only a mediocre job at best.

What does that have to do with fitness?

  • The Inner critic: people who have a strong inner critic have often a tendency to be harsh to themselves when they mess up, cheat, etc. The consequence is often that they say in their mind: F*** it, I suck, I already cheated, might as well go for it. In addition, they are more likely to not try again because they don’t want or need that negative feedback anymore. They give up more easily. Research in the field of “Positive Psychology” in the pasts 15 years has shown that people in this area are often doing better by training “mindfulness” in combination with self-compassion. It seems allow them to be human, to not go all out after cheating but resetting their efforts.
  • The person who thinks they eat or exercise better than they really do has a different problem. They don’t understand why they don’t make any progress despite their perceived effort. If you fall into this category, get an honest assessment by a third party like a trainer. Write down your training and the times you actually went, the effort you put in. Write down your food intake clearly to see for you and your personal trainer. It is eye opening and often fixes the problem.

What does that mean for you?

It is important to find a positive but honest environment that supports your efforts and holds you accountable. Your spouse or partner is often not the right person for that job because we have a tendency to take things to personal. Better would be a life coach, personal trainer, doctor, or dietitian. If for some reason you cannot afford that make sure to write it down for yourself. There are also “mindfulness classes” that help you be more self aware and teach self compassion as well.

If you are looking to get help with your program, we are always there for you.

Michael

Woman grocery shopping

Grocery Shopping For the New You

Grocery shopping is a problem for many of my personal training clients. They often go several times a week which is advantageousfor fresh items . Very few though cook on a daily basis. Going out to eat is quite common because they feel that time is precious or they are simply too tired after coming home from a busy day.

The Pitfall

Avoid diet traps at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting
Which way will you go?

There is a pitfall though when you go shopping several days a week. You are a walking by the food that you crave, that you are trying to stay away from. if you are in any way like me, then you have the problem that as long as you don’t see it, you are doing great but that when you go shopping and walk by your addictions, you sometimes cannot help but buy it and as a consequence eat it. It is even worse if I walk into the store unprepared and/or hungry.

How to avoid the traps of store display

Some stores like Harris Teeter allow online shopping. There is no easier way to avoid the displays and candy / icecream traps then shopping online. You don’t even have to enter the store to pick up your food. You have to pay a small amount per shopping but if you get all your grocery shopping done once a week you might spend $10-20 for online shopping/month but have saved way more than that in junk food.

If you are someone who despises online shopping then going in with a plan is the way to go. A detailed shopping list of everything that you truly need is the best. Honestly most of us don’t do that.

Even if you have not made a detailed shopping list you can still walk in with a plan. If you have been following this blog for a while then you know you want to make sure you have enough protein, veggies, some fruit, fats, and maybe some starchy carbs.

  1. Look for your veggies & fruit (produce section or frozen area)
  2. Next, fill up your protein for the week, best choose two for some variation from the meat/poultry/fish section. Look for things that are about to expire or on sale to save some money. Other great sources of protein are eggs, cottage cheese, greek-, European style yoghurt, cottage cheese (dairy section)
  3. Fats you can get in the produce section (avocado), oils (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, etc)
  4. Your starchy carbs you can find in the produce/frozen section. You can get some quinoa or brown rice but would stay away from pasta, etc.
  5. If you need some supplementation you can get those at the pharmacy area of your grocery store like whey protein, fish oil, quest bars.
  6. Staples: Toilet paper, etc

For most of your food items you should not have to venture into the middle of the store. Always ask yourself, does the article you are purchasing fall into the categories, protein, veggies, fruit, healthy fats, low glycemic load+index carbs. Shopping for your categories and marking them off mentally might help you stay away from the crap.

Read Labels

Pay attention when reading labels. Foods with long ingredient lists are usually not a good idea.

Learn how to read labels at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting
Do you read your labels or fall for the manufacturer’s claims

Avoid trans fats or products that add in additional sugars like sucrose, glucose, sugar, maltodextrin, corn syrup, etc.) By the way organic sugar is still just that….sugar. 

Companies make all sorts of claims like: gluten free, health, wholesome, added vitamins and minerals, contains real fruit, natural, fat free, low-carb, high-protein.

Please, just because something is gluten free does not make it healthy. Read the label carefully. Avoiding chemical additives is always an additional benefit.

Conclusion:

  • Shop online if you can
  • Have a detailed shopping list or shop by marking off important categories
  • Never shop hungry
  • Shop on the outside of the grocery store as much as you can
  • Shop once a week to avoid being exposed to your cravings

 

Personal Training at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

5 Fitness Myths That Keep You From Being Successful

The 5 Myths In Fitness 

  • Really short workouts several times a week will get you a fit, athletic body
  • High Intensity Interval Training is all you need to shred. Steady state cardiovascular training is dead.
  • Crossfit-, yoga-, running-like training will make you a good performer in everything.
  • You are gaining fat because you are getting older it is a race against time
  • A really low carb diet is all you need

Short Workouts will get you a fit athletic body

We all have seen the advertisement on TV or the internet. Work out for 10 min and you will have the body that you always wanted. Well that is a bunch of crock. Fitness and athleticism is dependent on what you put in. If you work out every day for 10 min without having done anything prior, your fitness level will improve. You won’t become a shredded athlete with a six-pack or have those long, lean, toned arms you always wanted. Improvement is relative to effort put in. You will be healthier with your 10 min a day but please don’t expect miracles.  Now, working out 3-6 hours a week can accomplish a lot which would put you at an average of 30-60 min on most days.

Ditch the steady state cardiovascular training and do HIIT only

High intensity interval training has shown to be a very effective tool in weight loss. But if you look at the studies you will quickly find out that those doing it also had some steady state training as well as a steady state 10 min warm up prior to each HIIT. Steady state training is still great for improving your cardiovascular fitness, supplementing your strength training and HIIT on off days. Don’t go for hours because you would reduce the anabolic effect of your strength training but 20-30 min of low-moderate intensity can speed up your results.

Crossfit, yoga, running… is all I need – I will become SUPERHUMAN

Please, let’s understand one fundamental principle in training: training adaptation is highly specific. That means that if you do a lot of crossfit, you will get better at crossfit, if you run a lot you will become better at being a runner, etc. Yes, there is a cross-transfer of strength and endurance to other sports but only up to a certain degree. A powerlifter is really strong but his strength help him little in running and he might be too heavy to be an efficient rock climber. To be really good at something, that something needs to be your primary sport or training tool. The result will be: You are really good at ONE THING! Fitness is relative to your field. 

Cross training, supplemental training to enhance your performance in your chosen sport is important to prevent injury and improve your longevity in your discipline. Well rounded athletes will never be as good in each discipline as specialists but they might have less overuse injuries –> General Fitness

I am gaining fat because I am getting older

One of the most famous excuses in history. Are you sure it has nothing to do with

  • you not sleeping anymore,
  • because you have a busy schedule,
  • because you are not exercising anymore,
  • because of work, that your kids take all the energy that you have left,
  • that you are sitting on your butt at work all day long?

The first thing to change is accepting responsibility. Accept that you have made life choices that have led you to this point. Now you can make changes. Turn off the TV an hour earlier and read 30 min before going to bed. Talk to your wife/husband to figure out a schedule with the kids, or see what gym offers daycare. Check if you can work out during your lunch break at a gym close to your work.

Most of the reduction in metabolism as we age is due to loss in muscle mass. That loss of muscle mass for most of us is caused not by aging (unless you are a top athlete) but due to being sedentary.

I am going low carb and I will make it.

What does low carb diet mean? A true low carb diet contains 20-50g of carbs per day. That is less than one banana on the low end. Guess what? Your performance in and outside of the gym is going to suck! Some ultra-endurance athletes swear by it but for most of us it does not work or is not sustainable. Having your carb intake around 30% of your total intake is perfectly sufficient. It is much more important to eat whole foods, minimally processed foods. Sometimes people ask me why. The reason: You are eating a higher volume of food which has a tendency to satisfy you sooner. Nice side benefits: more fiber, less additives.

Now go out and rock it.

 

Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting as the leader in weight loss & personal training in Charlotte

Fat or Carbs – What is the superior food source?

We have come more and more to believe that we need to cut out a certain food from our diet in order to improve our performance. Some ultra-marathoners go so far to have a ketogenic diet (30-50gs of carb/day).

We face a couple of problems here. I think and Mike T. Nelson PhD made a good argument for it as well that both carbohydrates as well as fats play an important role in our life depending on our activity level.

There is no research that is able to tell you that a ketogenic diet is better able to produce power & strength. I think along the line of Nelson who says that the emphasis should be the ability to switch from one metabolism to another based on the energetic needs at the moment. So let’s look at what that means for most of us:

How to approach carbs and fats in daily life:

If you are a typical woman or man who works out a couple of times a week but is primarily sedentary (anyone with an office job for example) then you should consider this approach:

Have some complex carbohydrates (pasta, rice, potatoto, sweet potatoes) or some fruit (banana, apples, etc.) before and/or after the workout with some protein (greek yogurt, meat, poultry, fish, whey protein) in order to speed up recovery.

Once you go back to your usual daily activity it is time to switch back over to the fat burning mode. Reduce the carbohydrate intake and focus on protein and fats. Most like you will end up with a diet that consists of 30-40% carbs, 20-35% protein and 30-50% fat intake.

If you want to gain some serious muscle mass

If you are looking to gain some serious muscle mass then you won’t be able to stick with an hypo-caloric diet unless you are a total beginner. You would start to compromise muscle synthesis. In order to build something you will have to have the nutrients to put it together, and the energy to work hard to have the stimulus. Cutting your carbohydrate intake at that point too low will be detrimental to your workout performance, since carbohydrates are major players in anaerobic, alactic and lactic metabolic processes necessary for power & strength.

06Your nutrient intake will have to be about 18-20 kcal/current lbs body weight. What does that mean in a practical sense:

A woman weighing 120 lbs looking to gain lean muscle mass, working out 3-4 times a week will have to take in between 2160-2400 kcal/day. Going by the lower number with the above mentioned percentages this means:

  • 162g of carbohydrates (30%)
  • 135g of protein (25%)
  • 108g of fats (45%)

A man weighing in at 170 lbs with the same workout frequency will have to take in about 3060-3400 kcal/day. So what does that mean for this man in regards to macro nutrients? Again we use the lower number for calculation

  • 230g of carbohydrates (30%)
  • 191g of protein (25%)
  • 153g of fat (45%)

You can clearly see that this is not a diet that is low on fat or on carbohydrates. This diet is designed to optimize the performance. This is not optimal for everyone but just an example. Nutrition like that should be modified for each individual depending on goals and body types.

Nutrient timing can be an important game changer in your pursuit for excellence.

Have an awesome day,

Michael

 

Paleo diet products

Paleo Diet May Have Positive Effects On Metabolic Syndrome

The paleo diet is an often discussed diet with clients and outside of the studio. Trial research has been looking quite favorable on the “paleo diet”. A recent study is looking at the effects of the diet on people with metabolic syndrome.

For those who don’t know what the metabolic syndrome is here is a quote from the mayo clinic:

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels — that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/metabolic-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20027243

Considering that more than 25% of the adult american population suffers in some form from the metabolic syndrome, this is a major issue.

The study done was a pilot study done on 32 individuals. 18 were assigned to the paleo group, 14 to the control group. The small number of people participating and the setting of the study should already warn us that this study does not provide conclusive, final results but a peek into what should be explored further.

Both groups ate 2080 kcal/day. The paleo group increased the amount of eggs eaten but did not have dairy, grains or legumes.

The results of this study were impressive: The paleo group consumed about 24% protein (vs 18%), 34% carbohydrates (vs. 53%) and 41% fat (vs 29%). The researchers goal was to avoid weight loss. Seven people in the paleo group needed to eat additional snacks versus 2 in the control group to avoid weight loss.

The paleo group outperformed the non-paleo group in just two weeks tremendously in all measured parameters: BW loss, reduction of systolic & diastolic BP, total cholesterol, triglycerides, increase in HDL, and improvement of metabolic syndrome.

Conclusion:

A diet is only as good as its sustainability. If you are not able to maintain it you are not going to be successful in the long run. The results in this pilot study are highly promising and show a lot of potential. The paleo diet has been extremely successful with clients that we have successfully employed it with in regards to weight loss and improvement of their metabolic syndrome. Do we recommend it to everyone? No, even not the people who have metabolic syndrome. Eating is more than choosing what we put in our mouth. A lot of emotional attachments play a role and what works for one person does not work for another.

Our recommendations are individualized but in general will lead to a minimally processed foods diet / paleo-esk diet in the long run if it is doable and sustainable for our client.

Have an awesome day,

Michael

Ressource:

Examine.com: Can the paleo diet make metabolic syndrome ancient history? Favourable effects  of consuming a Palaeolithic-type diet on characteristics of the metabolic syndrome: a randomized controlled pilot-study.

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What does fit mean?

Occasionally we face a client who is pretty skinny and still wants to lose weight. Often they just talk about a couple of pounds, not more. So why is it, that I feel the need to write about it?

That is simple: These people, might have a skewed view of what it means to be healthy. Being 27extraordinarily skinny is definitely not healthy, or fit. But years and years of conditioning have created a paranoia and fear of the scale. They fear, that if they weigh a couple of pounds more that they are being overweight.

Instead of losing weight I propose to change body composition, since many are so called “skinny-fat”, meaning they have a relatively high body fat percentage and little lean muscle mass.

Nobody needs to become a heavy duty weight lifter, runners but they should be able to lift more than a 5 lbs dumbbell without breaking a sweat. Everyone should have good basic physical strength and decent cardiovascular abilities since both promote health.

My call to action

Screw skinny. Make healthy and fit your new goal. If you want a six pack that is fine, but it is not a requirement to be healthy. We should not strive to look like a starved, hungry person but like someone who is fit and healthy. If you are close to your ideal body weight and you start a fitness routine don’t freak out if you gain a couple of pounds. Most likely it will be muscle mass.

Use your clothes and body fat

Instead of being obsessed with the scale look how your clothes fit. Check your bodyfat percentage. If the numbers improve, you are doing well. But even here make sure that you don’t drop too low, because it can mess with your hormone household, see below

What is fit and healthy?

A healthy body fat percentage for men is between 6-20% and for women between 16-30% body fat. The closer you get to the lower number the more strict you will have to be with your eating, lifestyle, & training habits. The range below those numbers is usually reserved for elite bodybuilders and fitness models on contest day and during photo shoots. Those numbers are rarely maintained and staying there for a prolonged period of time can have a negative impact on a couple of things:

  • Loss of sexdrive
  • Low testosterone levels (men)
  • Disordered eating
  • Social isolation
  • An unbalanced life
  • Amenorrhea (women)

If you are interested in more detailed please read this article by Precision Nutrition.

I hope I made a case for being fit versus skinny.

Have an awesome day

 

 

Changing Nutrition Is Not Easy For Everyone! – A RANT

This blog is kind of a rant. It is a rant against being self-righteous. We need to pull back because here are some of the things we say to others and most

Habit Changes take time and will include setbacks
Habit Changes take time and will include setbacks

importantly to ourselves:

“You just need to cut down on the portions!”

“You are so lazy, just get up and work out!”

“Just quit drinking soda!”

“Why is that person so overweight?”

To a person with anxiety: “Just relax!”

These are just some of the things we say to ourselves, about others, or to others. Here is a newsflash. Do you really think that they/we don’t know that already? If it was that easy for us to do just that, I am pretty sure we/you/they would have done it already.

Life is more complicated

What comes easy to one of us, might be much more difficult to someone else. Our own personal experiences, fears, addictions, passions, believes enable us in different ways to cope with life. Sometimes food is one of those coping mechanisms. Whenever that is the case [which quite honestly, is quite common] we need to understand that millions of people in the USA have the same problems.

Compensating with food

Sometimes we need time to be alone with ourselves. We are so used to headsets, music, videos, books, anything that drowns out our little inner voice. Sometimes it is important to feel the pain, feelings, etc, that we associate with with wanting to compensate with food.  We need to experience it with compassion knowing that we are not alone with it.

Life does not go in a linear way. It never has and never will.

We need to understand that our coping mechanisms have evolved over decades. If we want to change them it will take love, compassion, hard work and the willingness to fail, just to try it again. We will have road blocks, there will be tough times when we lose a job, a partner or simply when we have a fight, or a bad day at work. We don’t succeed every day all day long, nobody does! It has nothing to do with willpower but with forming a habit. Nobody has enough willpower. We simply form habits which takes time. Time during which we may fail, again and again. Just don’t quit.

My Call To Action

This is my call to action: Whenever you see someone who obviously, or not so openly struggles bring them the benefit of the doubt. You don’t know what that person has going on in their life. If it is you, then call to mind the things that you have had to deal with in your life. Meet yourself with compassion and give yourself a “reset button” after you fail.

Just hit the reset button and restart the computer called “LIFE”. Start again and move on.

We cannot change anything in our past. But we can reshape the future, slowly. It takes time for new habits to form, new ways of life.

Judging is normal

You might think now: “What the heck?” He jus told me to be less judgemental. Well, good luck with it. Just like anything else it is a habit. We have learnt it over decades. You cannot just “not be judgemental” anymore. Just acknowledge when you are doing it, smile and move on, knowing what you are doing and work towards acceptance.

“Japanese: DO”

“Do” in japanese means way, ergo Karate-Do, means the way of Karate. It basically tells you that this is a journey. You won’t just get to the finish line and be able to yell: “Heck, I made it!” It is always work in progress.

Yours in health & fitness,

Michael Anders

Head Trainer Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Sleep quality is important at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

How your I-pad Messes with Your Weight Loss

A recent study surveyed the effects of i-pads on sleep. The last time I mentioned the problem of light pollution was in my blog about sleep not too long ago. The study I am mentioning today had participants read for 4 hours prior to going to bed. Half of the participants were using an i-pad, the other half were reading regular books.

The participants reading on the i-pad found that they were less sleepy than our book-readers in the evening and it took them about 60% longer to fall asleep (25 min versus 15 min).

In addition their body’s melatonin production was suppressed and their body reacted as if the day was actually 1 1/2 hours longer than it really was. This melatonin suppression is considered carcinogenic.

What happened in the morning?

In the morning the book-readers were more alert and active than the i-pad readers. They felt like they had rested more and were more alert during the day.

The Takeaway

Suppressed melatonin production is associated with higher risks of cancer. Back-lit tablets decrease sleep quality and hinder you from waking up more refreshed in the morning. This is also true with people who think they sleep well. Please bear in mind that phones, TVs, and computers are strong emitters of blue light as well, the culprit of the problem.

What you can do:

If you cannot stay away from using the computer in the evening or late at night, you might want to start using glasses that filter out the blue light spectrum (around 10$). They are certainly not fashionable but they make a difference and allow the production of melatonin to continue. If on the other hand you don’t want to look goofy, you either have to quit looking at the screen or dim the screen as much as possible while still being able to read, and, hope for the best. A third option is to install a program called f. lux. It adjusts your computer or phone screen automatically to the time of day and gives it a slight reddish hue.

What about my weight?

If we do not get enough sleep and/or our sleep quality is low our body has a tendency to hold on to our weight. Considering that most of us don’t get enough sleep to begin with, the quality of the sleep that we are getting is even more important.

It has been shown that devices like TVs, tablets, phones, backlit e-readers have a negative impact on our sleep. I understand that we seem to be unable to function without them. We catch our favorite show after a stressful day, or wind down reading articles, surfing the internet. That does not release us of our responsibility to take care of ourselves. Simply grabbing a paperback book, adjusting our computer lights, eliminating our light pollution in our bedrooms and using blue light filtering glasses can do a lot to improve our sleep patterns.

If you need more help with your training and fitness regimen,

please check out our specials at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting to get started.

Michael

 

 

 

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