"Life In The 'Fast' Lane..."

I have never been that person who forgets to eat or skips a meal because I’m too busy. My bag is always stocked with protein bars, dried fruit and nuts, “just in case” ! 

Even at work, my managers know to schedule an eating break for me at least three hours in to avoid a blood sugar crash. 

So I never even remotely considered trying intermittent fasting when I first read about it.

Even the word “fasting” conjured up all kinds of negative thoughts, from having to prep for a medical test, to fasting religious holiday headaches and grumpiness from lack of food. 

But the more I read about the process of intermittent fasting, the more intrigued I became. I love to eat and I hate to diet. I’m one of those people who will never go on a no carb, no fat, keto, Whole 30, or any other eating plan that eliminates an entire food group. 

Intermittent fasting is not a food plan, it is a pattern of eating. You don’t change what you eat, but the time in which you are eating it. You can make the most of your meals without counting calories or going crazy on a diet. Intermittent fasting allows you to eat bigger meals actually, but within a shorter time frame.

In intermittent fasting, what essentially takes place in the body is that one source of energy — which can facilitate the accumulation of body fat — is switched for another

You can keep muscle mass on your body and get lean because intermittent fasting allows your body to shake off the bad belly weight. Since it requires no change to your diet, intermittent fasting is considered a simple technique, but meaningful enough to make a difference.

Your body goes through stages to get to this point starting with 

1) THE FED STATE- When you are digesting and absorbing food, your body is in the FED state. This starts when you eat a meal and lasts for three to five hours throughout digestion. During the fed state, your insulin levels are high, which makes it difficult for your body to burn fat. 

2) THE POST-ABSORPATIVE STATE- This lasts for 10 to 12 hours after your last meal. During this time frame, your body is not processing any food. After the post-absorptive state, you enter the fasted state. It’s all related to intermittent fasting and how to schedule when you eat.

3) THE FASTED STATE- This is when your insulin levels are low again, about 12 hours since the last time you ate. Fasting puts your body into a fat-burning condition. 

There are a number of different ways to fast intermittently. I found that starting with the 12 hour fast and 12 hour eating works best at the beginning.

-The 12:12 method— a way of eating where the body uses fat as an energy source instead of glucose. Instead of eating whenever you want throughout the day, you're limited to consuming your daily caloric intake within a 12-hour window, and then fast for the other 12 hours. This means that if you eat dinner at 8 p.m., you won't have breakfast until 8 a.m. the next day.

-The 16:8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eatingperiod to 8-10 hours, such as 11–8 p.m. Then you fastfor 14-16 hours in between. You can drink water, coffee or other no-calorie drinks during the fast period.

-The 5:2 diet: using this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days. 

-Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week; Like not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.

Intermittent fasting can be used to either maintain your current weight or reduce your calorie intake to lose weight.  (But that doesn’t give you license to over-indulge during the eating periods)

Fasting can also help you burn additional calories during your workout. Because I work out early in the morning, I was really worried that the fast period would limit my strength and endurance after 10-12 hours without food.  But this pattern — known as a fasted workout or fasted cardio — has never hindered my workout, and may actually be beneficial.

When insulin levels are low, your body has no choice but to burn fat. Naturally this happens faster when you haven't eaten, Your body uses fat stores for energy rather than the glucose in your system, which is what happens if you eat prior to the workout session.

In order to be in a truly fasted state, you'll have to go without food for at least 10 hours, which is why morning workouts are so effective.

Research has shown many benefits to intermittent fasting:

·       Boosts weight loss

·       Increases energy

·       Promotes cellular repair and autophagy (when your body consumes defective tissue in order to produce new parts)

·       Reduces insulin resistance and protects against type 2 diabetes

·       Lowers bad cholesterol

·       Promotes longevity

·       Protects against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

·       Improves memory and boosts brain function

·       Makes cells more resilient

 I started with the 12:12 method and have worked my way up to the 16:8 fast (Ok sometimes 14:10) I find that drinking lemon water, coffee or tea during the fast period is helpful. Many people find the 12:12 method to be the simplest, most sustainable and easiest to stick to for weight maintenance, but get better results for weight loss with the 16:8 method. 

I’ve been consistent for over four months now and have seen some weight loss. But, more importantly, I have seen a visible increase in my muscle mass, and a significant decrease in the bloat and belly fat I was putting on. I find that the scale drops a few pounds when I’m more vigilant about a longer fast.

It's been an easy way to kind of rev up my metabolism without too much sacrifice and I'd definitely recommend trying it. It would be a great way to finish out the holiday season and avoid packing on weight !!  

  

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"Food" for Thought...

We are a week into 2015 and every commercial on TV is for some sort of magical weight loss program or gym.

And don’t get me wrong, it is possible to reach these goals, but far too many of us sabotage our effort with an “all or nothing attitude”.

So this year, rethink your direction. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but here’s some “food” for thought:

-Start by forgiving yourself.  You can’t go back, so don’t beat yourself up for sleeping late instead of getting up to workout, or eating cake instead of fruit for dessert, or any of the things you promised yourself and didn’t do. Looking back at past “failures” only feeds the negative voices.

-Take baby steps. Prepare yourself emotionally for change, Start to develop a positive experience with healthy foods, Experiment with foods that take a little longer to prepare but are worth the effort. Focus on savoring the enjoyment of healthy food that you either cook (in reasonable portions) or, if you can’t cook on regular basis, research restaurants and prepared food places in your area that offer healthy food choices.

-Realize that you are NOT too busy or too broke to eat well. If you can afford to eat fast food or buy processed food, you can afford to eat healthfully. Write down everything you eat for a few days. Then, see what you kinds of substitutions you can make to improve your nutrition and cut down your intake of processed foods. (Email your food log to me and I’ll send you some suggestions. I promise!!).

-Try to move more. Get a Fitbit or Garmin Vivofit or just a plain old pedometer, and start tracking your steps. Maybe you won’t run a marathon, but you can increase how much you move each day and that’s a great way to start. Walk, do laundry, clean the house, run after your kids. If you track your movement and see what you’re already doing, you’ll be motivated to move even more.

-Be grateful. If you are in good health or on the road to recovering from an illness, be grateful that you have a chance to make things better. You have a working body that can walk, run and move and that’s more than enough to reach your fitness goals.

-Recognize that this is one part of your life that you have total control over. You might not be able to make that cute guy at work ask you out, you can’t control the hiring process for that job you’re trying to get; but, you have complete power over your nutrition and fitness. It’s your time for you, your food choices; you make the decisions.

So what will you decide?

Happy 2015! Make it your best year so far!!

"Are You Ready...?

Happy 2013 everyone! So happy we made it through 2012. The world didn’t come to an end on December 21st, it looks like we won’t fall off the fiscal cliff, and Jillian’s back on “The Biggest Loser”! I was going to write about all of the newest fitness gadgets, trends, and diets, and I will get to some of those as the year goes on. But, no matter how many trends there are, from Richard Simmons to Zumba; the Shake weight to TRX, the only way to see success with any program is to make the commitment and put in the work YOURSELF.

No one is in charge of your happiness but you, and what you need to realize is that there are many stages in the process of making a change. Two researchers named Prochaska and DiClemente developed the Stages of Change Model. It was originally developed as a gauge for quitting smoking, but it has been applied to those contemplating any behavior change in their life (Especially weight loss and exercise).

The first of these stages is called precontemplation- In this stage we have no real intention of changing our behavior because we are either unaware of our behavior being a problem, or it just doesn’t bother us that much. We've literally never thought about needing to change, or at least we've never thought about it seriously. We might have received hints about things we might need to change from others—family, friends, doctors—but reacted negatively because we were quite happy with our current habits.

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’ve moved beyond the first stage and have reached at least the second stage of contemplation. In this stage, we are aware of a need to change and intend to take action, but lack the commitment to actually start. We've begun to actively think about the need to change a behavior, and that can last anywhere from an “aha” moment to a lifetime. Ironically, what we think will produce this change isn't often what does. It might not be the number on the scale or buying a bigger size that gets you started, but the comment from your grandma about your full plate, or the exhaustion from a family holiday walk, or even a change of job or living situation. This is the stage where obstacles to change abound, and you can get stuck here if you don’t find a way to think about the VALUE of the change. Find your motivation by thinking about how the change will make your life better!

The next stage of this model is that of preparation. We’ve decided to start changing our behavior within the next few weeks and have a concrete plan of action, such as going to the gym a certain number of days or starting a specific diet plan. It’s the stage where we begin preparing ourselves mentally, and often physically, for action. We might join a new gym or clean out all of the “unhealthy” foods from out pantry. We schedule a start day. This is the culmination of the decision to change, and it fuels the engine that drives you to your goal. We all actually possess the ability to manifest an unlimited amount of determination when we are properly motivated!

And then once we start, we finally get to the stage of action. We actually make the specific changes like getting up earlier, taking a walk in the morning, or sticking to a specific eating or food type plan. We begin to work on effective strategies to continue the action; setting up rewards to encourage new behaviors and trying to avoid high-risk situations. As we begin to take action, we see changes, and we let the small changes continue to motivate us.

And as we continue the action stage, we have to also work to prevent a relapse. And this stage is called maintenance. Continuing to get to the gym every day. Continuing to monitor your intake of calories. And since starting a new behavior usually seems like the hardest part of the process of change, we often fail to adequately prepare for the final phase of maintenance. According to Alex Lickerman, M.D., “maintaining a new behavior is the most challenging part of any behavior change. We mistakenly believe the strategies we used to initiate the change will be equally as effective in helping us continue the change. But they won't. Where changing a strongly entrenched habit requires changing our belief about that habit…, continually manifesting that wisdom (and therefore that habit) requires that we maintain a high life-condition. If our mood is low, the wisdom to behave differently seems to disappear and we go back to eating more and exercising less.”

He suggests that we try to recognize which of the five stages of change we find ourselves in in at any one time to help us maintain realistic expectations and minimize our frustration. He says to focus on reaching the next stage rather than on the end goal, which may seem too far away.

And finally, never let a few days, or even weeks, of falling back into bad habits discourage you from fighting to re-establish the good habits you want. YOU really are the one with the power to make it work !

"Please Please Me..."

One of my favorite shows on Food Network is one called “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. Chefs and network stars describe delectable dishes they’ve eaten around the country with mouth-watering adjectives and pictures. The tagline, “What do you like to eat…?” always gets my attention.

But this is not about the amazing, calorie–laden dishes described on the show. This is about clients and friends starting diets or trying to change their eating habits and asking me, “What do YOU eat?” And, although I do indulge from time to time, the foods I eat regularly help keep me on track.

Since I’ve been trying to watch my weight for MANY years, these “go to” foods have evolved and changed over time. When I first met my husband, he was sure I had stock in Ry-Krisp and Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese since that’s what I ate every single day for lunch. That worked until I started teaching and I switched to Rice Cakes and low fat cheese every day with celery and carrots. It was the same with treats. I would count out 15 Snackwell chocolate chip minis and savor each one. Then it was matzo crackers and peanut butter (I’m probably the only person who ate matzo when I didn’t have to). Although I finally overdosed on all of these foods, I do have a new repertoire of healthy and semi-healthy edibles! I know what kinds of flavors, tastes, and textures satisfy me, and having these foods keeps me from going off on an eating binge. I do try to eat whole foods whenever possible, but sometimes I crave a packaged treat. What follows is a list of what keeps me away from the donut shop:

My breakfast faves include:
VitaTops/VitaMuffins (100 cal, 1g Fat, 22 carbs, 4 g protein)

Egg Beater All Natural Egg White original serving size cups- equivalent to 2 eggs (60 cal, 0 fat, 10 g protein)

Special K (120 cal per cup) / Rice Chex (110 cal per cup)

Mini Babybel Cheese(50 cal 3 fat, 0 carb 6 protein)

And, of course, fresh fruit and low fat milk
I usually try to combine a protein, carb and fat first thing in the morning and split my breakfast before and after my workout; opting for more carbs before, more protein after.

Lunch Go-To Foods:
Boars Head All Natural Low Sodium turkey breast (60 cal per 2 oz serving, 1 g fat, 12 g protein).

There are so many versions of English muffins and sandwich thins or flats, but my favorites are Arnold/Oreweat 100 calorie Sandwich Thins (1 g fat, 23 carbs, 4 g protein) or Thomas’s Whole Grain English muffins (110 cal, 1 g fat, 23 carbs, 4 g protein). If you want more information about the different breads and tortillas, go to: http://fitnessbarista.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-like-bread-and-butter.html

Popchips (100 cal for 20 chips 3 g fat) These are the most amazing find for those of us who love chips, don’t want the fried fats, but still want the flavor! They are 1005 potato, but they’re pressed into pellets and then popped. You can evn see how they’re made on this segment from “Unwrapped” :http://www.popchips.com/popchips/what-are-popchips/

Bumble Bee individual water packed tuna 3 oz can (70 cal, 1 f, 0 c, 16 p)

Hellman’s low fat mayo (25 cal per T)
If I’m home for lunch, I literally eat one of two meals. Turkey (or Bumblebee water packed tuna with 1 T low-fat Hellman’s) on an English muffin with 10 counted-out PopChips!

Snacks. Lots of these:
Along with fresh fruit, especially apples and Cuties (clementines), and raw veggies with hummus, I love:
SkinnyPop (39 calories per cup) /Smart Pop (100 calories for individual popped bag. They also make a Kettle Corn 100 calorie Smart pop which my daughter loves. Sweet and salty together. What could be better?). Popcorn fills you up better than crackers or pretzels and provides fiber as well!

Almonds (15 have 96 calories, 8 g fat, 4 g protein), Pistachios (25 have 90 calories, 7 g fat, 3 g protein), and Dried Fruit (low sugar) (Usually ¼ cup has about 120 calories). All of these treats are fine in moderation, but measure carefully. You can get out of control quickly if you’re not careful with portion sizes.

Skinny Cow ice cream treats (100-150 calories). I can resist a heavy dessert knowing I can have one of these treats when I get home!

PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter-Bell Plantation makes this great tasting mix from just peanuts. You add water to reconstitute it and it looks, spreads, and tastes like the real thing with only 45 calories for 2 tablespoons (1.5 g fat and 5 g protein!)

Vitacakes-these are made by the same company that makes Vita Tops and Vita muffins. The fudgy cakes are only 50 calories and they are a GREAT substitute if you’re craving a brownie!

Dark Chocolate- years ago, my friend gave me a jar labeled “Emergency Chocolate” and I took her literally. I allow myself 1-2 pieces of Hershey’s Bliss or Dove dark chocolate (35 calories) when I REALLY need a treat.

Dinner. (Yes, I do cook these days):
Anything (chicken breast, fish, shrimp, lean ground beef, ground turkey) grilled with a little bit of olive oil and Baron’s Seasoning and rubs (Available at Whole Foods)
I always have some sort of salad, even if it’s just sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Dressing on the side is a must and if you just dip your fork before you eat the veggies, you’ll hardly use more than a tablespoon!
Any vegetable (try butternut or acorn squash, beets, brussel sprouts, or cauliflower. Even if you think you don’t like the taste, roasting changes the flavor by caramelizing and can bring out the natural sweetness of the veggies!) roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs (I like thyme, dill, or rosemary with winter veggies).
I still steam green beans and broccoli, but I toss them with shallots or onions. And keep a great shredded parmesan cheese on hand at all times. I recently started using Whole Foods 365 brand (thanks for the recommendation Traci!) and I love the flavor. It’s great to put a teaspoon or so on top of veggies or salads. It adds volumes to the flavor but not a lot of calories!

I do everything I can to try and eat clean most of the time, but I’m also realistic. The best advice I can give anyone is measure your portions and don’t eat anything that doesn’t taste really good to you. Get as much taste and flavor for your calories as you can, and don’t feel guilty if you’re not eating the “perfect” foods. You’ll be much more successful in your weight loss journey if you’re happy with the itinerary!
So now it’s your turn.

What foods keep you on track while you’re losing and/or maintaining your weight?
Comment on this blog, email me at hkraus52@gmail.com, or leave your ideas on my Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fitness-Barista/109305469104168

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes..."

I’ll admit it. I wasn’t the easiest child to raise. My mother says she wanted to ship me off to a faraway land from the ages of 13 to 24. But over the years, she has worked hard to see me as the person I am today; not the selfish teenager of many years ago.

Unfortunately, I’ve recently been in situations where people from my past still want to see me for the flawed behaviors I’ve worked so hard to overcome. Sometimes people we grew up with only want to see us in the way that gives them the upper hand and, are easily disturbed when our actions challenge that.

It’s not always easy getting others to see beyond who you used to be and accept the changes in your way of life. In fact, sometimes it’s just the opposite. This is especially true when it comes to weight loss and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center and author of The Way to Eat, lists some things that people often say or do to throw you off course:

• “Fear” for your health. “What’s the matter — you are wasting away. Are you sure you aren’t losing too much too fast?” Or: “Are you sure that diet won’t raise your cholesterol?”
• Acting insulted. “You don’t like my pot roast all of a sudden? You’re too good for my cheesecake?”
• Mixing up food with love. “You don’t come to dinner — you don’t love me anymore.”
• Making you an outsider. Katz says this sometimes happens among co-workers. “You can’t eat Mexican because of your diet, so we will see you after we go out.”
• Leaving food around. The big candy dish on the receptionist’s desk in an office of dieters.
• Making up special holiday rules. “It’s your birthday — one piece of cake won’t hurt!”
• Imparting discouraging news. “I am so proud of you for trying this, even though you know that 95% of people fail to keep the weight off.” Or: “It’s not my business, but don’t runners get a lot of injuries?”
• Volunteering amateur psychoanalysis. “You know, you don’t seem to be as funny since you lost weight.”

When you make a commitment to get fit through diet and exercise, it creates big changes in your life—changes that you welcome. But if your friends and family aren't in the same mode of change, they can be oblivious, jealous, and uncomfortable with your changes. Some people, even people who care about you, will have a hard time if your new lifestyle interferes with theirs.

As with other behavior changes, your weight loss can trigger all kinds of fears and emotions in those around you They might feel guilty. While you're losing weight and getting in shape, they're not. If they can tempt you to "fall off the fitness wagon", it means you’re "normal" again, and that makes them feel good about the status quo.

Sometimes they just don’t understand. If they’ve never had a weight problem, they might not realize how hard you’ve worked to get where you are. They think it’s "silly" for you to worry about what you eat.

And sometimes it’s just selfishness on their part. They miss the old you. The FOOD you. The one who brought donuts and cookies to work, or the one who spent many after-work "happy hours" drinking and gorging on nachos and chips. The one who was always up for a rich, calorie laden dessert. Maybe you’re spending more time in the gym and have less free time for them, so maybe they’re afraid to lose you.

Even worse is when you feel like you've changed and no one else acknowledges it. You've done a lot of new things, you've put a lot of work into yourself, and you feel like a different person. But everyone still treats you the same way.

The efforts of other people to get in the way of your success are a sad truth when it comes to dieting. There will always be people who, consciously or not, will try to keep you from having it all. Changing behavior and breaking habits can be hard, and when we get negative reactions to our new ways, it’s easy to give up

The Center for Weight Loss Success in Newport News, Virginia suggests the following strategies to help curb the sabotage:

*Don't get in your own way-You're in control of your behavior.
* Be assertive with family and friends-Explain your goals in a heart-to-heart talk and ask for their help.
*Don't go crazy on vacation or at parties- Focus on socializing, not eating.
* Change your co-workers-Offices tend to celebrate often with cookies, cake or donuts. Tell co-workers you're trying to change and ask if they want to join you. If that doesn't work, avoid the break room and bring your own meals and snacks.
* Protect yourself-Identify situations that might ruin your progress and think about avoiding them until you've formed new eating habits.

Most importantly, you will actually have more personal power if you quit worrying about how others react to you and change how YOU see yourself!

"Faaaaannnncy Colors...."

While watching one of the hundreds of fast-food commercials on TV, it dawned on me that the most colorful element of most of these foods seems to be the box!

Honestly, the combination of tan chicken fingers, pale brown burgers, beige French fries and white potatoes is about as dull and unappealing as the carbohydrate/preservative coma that eating these foods puts you in!

For me, eating is about not only about taste and smell, but sight as well. A more colorful plate is more appetizing, and as studies show, significantly more nutritious!! And the best foods to get your “colors’ from naturally are fruits and vegetables.

The pigments responsible for plant color belong to a class of chemicals known as antioxidants, and plants make antioxidants to protect themselves from the sun's ultraviolet light. (ultraviolet light causes free radicals to form within plant cells which can begin to destroy parts of the plant). Antioxidants stop free radicals in their tracks, shielding cells from harm. And typically, an intensely colored plant has more of these protective chemicals than a paler one does.

According to ADA spokesperson Karen Ansel, “Adding a splash of colorful seasonal foods to your plate makes for more than just a festive meal. A rainbow of foods creates a palette of nutrients…”.




Green produce gives you all-day energy and may help promote healthy vision and reduce cancer risks. Fruits like avocado, apples, grapes, honeydew, kiwi and lime,and vegetables like artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, green peppers and leafy greens such as spinach are great choices.




Orange and deep yellow fruits, such as apricot, cantaloupe, grapefruit, mango, papaya, peach and pineapple, and vegetables like carrots, yellow pepper, yellow corn and sweet potatoes, can detoxify your body and help generate power. They contain nutrients that promote healthy vision and immunity, and reduce the risk of some cancers.




Purple and blue options, including blackberries, blueberries, plums, and raisins, along with eggplant, purple cabbage, and purple-fleshed potatoes, can improve your circulation and may have antioxidant and anti-aging benefits and help with memory, urinary tract health and reduced cancer risks.




Red produce, like cherries, cranberries, pomegranate, red/pink grape fruit, red grapes and watermelon, and beets, red onions, red peppers, red potatoes, rhubarb and tomatoes, are a great source of protein and can help vision and immunity and may reduce cancer risks and maintain a healthy heart.

Even black foods, because of their intense “color”, have nutritional benefits. Black sesame seeds are rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, proteins and fatty acids; The acetic acid in black vinegar reduces hypertension, LDL cholesterol and improves blood circulation; black soy is rich in proteins, fiber and anthocyanins; and Vitamin B, Niacin, Vitamin E, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron and Zinc are found in much higher levels in black rice compared with white rice.

Eating is a multi-sensory experience, and what you see in front of you prepares you for what you are about to smell and taste! Soo do yourself a favor and add some color to your plate. Doing so will add more years to your life!
For more info, check out www.eatright.org/nnm