Are you getting the full potential out of your workouts?

 Are you getting full potential out of your workouts?

Are you spending hours at the gym and no longer seeing results? You may need to change it up.     Cardio is time consuming and can only benefit you so much after a while. There is another section of the gym that you may not be familiar with. It is called the weight room. And this could be a very vital component of your workout that you might be missing out on.

Why lift weights? Lifting weights increases your muscle mass. Let’s do a simple math problem:

 More muscle = higher metabolism. Higher metabolism = weight loss.
Therefore, more muscle = weight loss!

Muscle mass needs extra energy just to be there. You burn an extra 50 calories per day for each pound of muscle you have. So a few extra pounds of muscle that you could gain with weight training can make you lose weight without even trying! How awesome is that?

And this doesn’t include the calories you burn during and after a weight training workout.

Other benefits of resistance training?

·         You will look bad ass in the weight room
·         Your clothes will fit better
·         You’ll look better
·         You’ll sleep better
·         And on, and on, and on!

 

Protein Ball recipe!

Ok so I stole this out of Men's fitness magazine, kinda. I changed some ingredients when I made it to fit what I had. These taste like brownies almost because they're so moist inside. This is perfect to eat before or after a workout, or just anytime you need a protein filled snack! I keep a baggy of them in a cooler in my car while I'm at school so I don't have to worry about having to buy crappy foods.

Ingredients:
6 scoops of chocolate WHEY protein powder. (Use the big scoop most come with)
2 cups oats (I used less than the suggested 3 cups)
15 dried chopped plums
1/2 cup raw cashews chopped & crushed (I bought salted and just rinsed them off)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp melted coconut oil
3/4 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup sunflower seed butter (I used sunbutter, original recipes said peanut, but you can use almond)
1/2 cup unsweeted coconut flakes. (Used to roll ball in)

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl except the coconut flakes. Mix in melted coconut oil. Add in milk, honey and sunflower seed butter. Keep blending with wooden spoon until it's evenly mixed. It should be sticky. Take a tablespoon and scoop out enough to roll into a ball with hands, then roll it around in coconut flakes. You should get a little more than 15 balls. Refridgerate to harden.
The coconut flakes make it easier and less messy & sticky to hold onto, and refridgerating them keeps them from getting melty.
Feel free to experiment with the ingredients too.
Enjoy!!
-Em

Fed Tip #2 Alcohol!

It's the weekend! We all know what American's favorite weekend hobby is. Alcohol!
Although alcohol isn't good for us, it's ok for enjoyment in moderation every once in a while.

DO:

•  Choose "Top Shelf" liquors over cheap ones because they are less impurities and are usually stronger, so you'll need less to get the same effects.
•  If you are looking to "loosen up", doing so on an emptier stomach will get absorbed faster. This will prevent you from drinking too many calories. Make sure you eat lots of fat & protien afterwards, though.
• Stick to clear liquors. Any colored ones tend to have artificial garbage in it. Also for some reason, if you have a hangover, it will be tolerable or even non existant!
• Tonic & Soda water are best to make mixed drinks with.
• Adding fresh lime &/or lemon will sweeten up a drink without needed fruit juices.
• Stay away from sugar alcoholic drinks because this will make you sick.. Have you ever eaten too much cake & icecream and gotten sick? Yep- too much sugar.
• If you have to have some sort of sweetener, use Crystal Light. Although it's still processed crap, it's better than the adverse affects of sugary drinks.
• Stick to the same drink all night. Mixing different alcohols also will upset your stomach.

Don't: Drink beer! Even though it seems to be the most popular alcoholic drink, the wheat in it causes many people to bloat. This is where you get your beer belly! Hard Cider is gluten free, and is a way better option. Or if you can find some other gluten free beer.

My favorite drink? Absolute Vodka & Tonic. Gin & tonic is second best. The good thing about that drink is I've never had a hangover or gotten sick from drinking it. And it tastes so good! Add some limes to it for extra taste.

-Emily
(p.s. Thanks to my sis-in-law Leia for introducing me to Vodka & Tonic! )

How to prevent type 2 diabetes!

I wrote this when I was an intern at East Hills Athletic Club & Michigan Athletic Club aka The MAC in November 2011. I also wrote a research paper for college on this, so I've done a lottt of research on diabetes. Hope you learn something new!

How to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes:

You are not doomed! Just because the type 2 diabetes rate in America is 1 in 12, does not mean you have to be a statistic. Take charge of your life. How, you say? There are a few simple factors that cause type 2 diabetes. If you follow the simple rules on how not to get diabetes, chances are you won't.

Simple things: Eat healthy, exercise, get adequate sleep, and manage stress.

More specific:

·         Protein filled breakfast with little sugar to prevent blood sugar spikes early in the day. People with more sugar in the morning tend to have a high blood sugar throughout the day.

·         Exercise intensely 3 times per week, and get at least 20 minutes of activity per day. Exercising drops blood sugar levels dramatically. It increases insulin sensitivity, so insulin can do its job more effectively. Insulin removes sugar from the blood and puts it into the cells for energy.

o   Weight training is exceptionally effective. Syracuse University recently found that one weight-training session reduces the effect of a high-sugar meal on blood glucose by 15 percent for more than 12 hours after a workout. After a workout, glycogen stores are exhausted, and muscles pull in any excess sugar to replenish the glycogen levels to prepare for the next workout. If carbohydrates are going to be eaten, after a weight training workout is the best time. Although cardio training is important for a strong heart and extra weight loss, weight training is more beneficial because it burns more calories and sugar for a long time after the workout is over.

·         Stress can raise blood sugars dramatically. Sleep helps lower stress levels. Stress can cause cortisol and adrenaline to rise. Laughing is a great way to reduce both of them by 39 and 70 respectively. A secondary reason stress can cause diabetes is because stressed people tend to get junk food filled with sugar. Laughing raises good endorphins, strengthening your immune system.

·         SELF RESPECT! If you love your life, love your family, love life, be good to yourself and take care of your body. You only have one!

You do not want to have diabetes because:

·         You can’t afford it: A person with diabetes spends an average of $329 per month out of pocket. This does not include insurance premiums.

·         Diabetes is a group of other diseases: heart disease, kidney damage, blindness, and lower extremity amputation can result from diabetes. You won’t just have diabetes. So many complications can happen.

·         It is the 7th leading cause of death in the US: Do you really want to die from something you could have prevented?

Excuses for living unhealthy:

·         “I don’t have time to exercise.” You don’t have time not to! You’ll have all the time in the world when you are in the hospital with hyperglycemia or permanent disability.

·         “I can’t afford healthy food.” You sure can! Imagine the few extra bucks you pay for groceries, aka real food, preventing thousands of dollars worth of doctor’s bills in the future.

·         “I don’t know where to start.” It’s easy! Start by going for a walk. Join a gym and get a free orientation. Do workouts in your living room. Everything adds up.

Fed tip #1

This happens to me every time I go to Walmart..
I get really restless, pissy, hungry, and just ticked off at everyone I see, mainly from people standing in the main aisles with there 10 kids running around all crazy.. Also the smell of Mcdonalds....
This syndrome is called Low Blood Sugar.
I only get low blood sugars when I go to walmart (anxiety causes it I'm pretty sure in this case). & When I workout Sometimes. (another later post).
Low blood sugar is something I would get all the time. I would eat every 2 hours because of it. I thought it was cool because I had a "fast metabolism". HA! I know better now.
The average American eats about 1000 calories in grains a day.. that's 1/3 to a half of all calories. The problem with grains AKA carbohydrates? They turn to sugar as soon as they hit your tongue. I wont go into science, but when you eat sugars (grains are a sugar by the way) it raises your blood sugar. Since our bodies always want homeostasis, insulin is secreted by the pancreas and takes that extra sugar and stores it in our FAT cells as nasty, blubbery fat. Most of the time, our body over estimates how much insulin to secrete, usually secreting too much, causing our blood sugar to dip too low. When it's too low, we get hungry, cranky, dizzy, sick feeling. What do most American's then do? Eats a fricken granola/candy bar... What do granola/candy bars have in common with a bag of sugar? Everything! Soooo our blood sugar rises AGAIN.. And it's a vicious cycle of highs and lows... Our body can never get to a stable level.... (Over time this can cause diabetes, but that's a different post..)

Long story short.... STOP EATING PROCESSED CARBS & SUGARS. You will never feel full for long! Hence the "Chinese Food Syndrome" of being hungry an hour later after being stuffed.. (thanks go out to my sister Melissa for asking me this question yesterday!)
How to stay full without having to eat all the time :
Eat a lot of fat! The good fat! Fat from animal sources and only oils such as coconut, & olive.
Eat more fat by adding to your protein & vegetable dishes. Cook with grass-fed butter & bacon fat. Eat avacados! (top chicken with homemade guac.. YUM).
As long as you're not a vegetarian, you should get a good source of fat if you eat meat at every meal. I mean real meat: steak, chicken, pork chops, hamburger, etc.

Start your mornings off will a lot of protein & fat. Add whole whipping cream and/or melted coconut oil to your coffee (no sugar). Eat leftover pot roast for breakfast too!
Remember. Quality vs. Quantity... Suuure fat has 9 calories/gram when carbs are 4/gram.. But if you're eating 3 times as much carbs to equal the fulfillment of fat...Well you do the math. Doesn't make much sense does it?
Don't be afraid of fat. Eating fat does not equal fat storage... ONLY if you combine them with a lot of carbs. (Pies, cakes, candies, cookies, brownies, etc etc) (but usually it's the carbs that do it anyways)
p.s. Nature's carbs in moderation are important to eat depending on your activity level!. (Sweet potatoes, fruits, vegis, squashs, honey.)

Hope you can apply this to your life! Once you're independent of blood sugar lows, your life feels so liberated!
-Em

Fit Tip #1

Here is my first fitness tip!
Remember that urban legend that says "The more you work out, the less sore you'll become?" Yeah, that's a load of crap! That's only if you're continuing to do the same exact workout with the same exact weight over and over again.
Truth is- if you're overloading your muscles regularly (+5lb upper body & +10lbs lower body) EACH workout, then you SHOULD get sore each time!
The reason you get sore in the first place is not to piss you off or discourage you. It's for Recovery! Our body has a little cool thing it does when it is trying to repair itself.. It swells/gets inflamed. You can't see it, but if you correctly tore the sh*t outta your muscles, then you have microtrama aka *tears* in your muscle striations. In order to recover fully, your muscles become inflamed, and that's why (OUCH) it hurts to move because your body doesn't want you to move. It's saying -" hey, leave me the heck alone!" It's trying to build back bigger and better, so let it! Don't exercise the same muscle group day after day either.. But that's another post ;)
Lemme tell ya, some people just don't get that sore.. That is a lucky ass gene they have because I am miserable after every workout I do... No matter how much glutamine or stretching or water or light cardio I can do. So if you get sore, don't let it discourage you.. Cherish it! You know you ripped up your muscles! haha. Hope you learned something today, students!
-Em

What's to come!

This is my first post blogging! I am excited to be starting this journey to teach anyone curious on how to live a life that includes intense exercise and proper paleo nutrition! I will be posting videos on different exercises, teach form, and recipes and meal prep ideas! I hope everyone enjoys this! Please comment on anything asking questions or whatever!