Fitness & Wellness

It’s getting warmer and that means beach weather is just around the corner. If you’re out of shape, you’ll miss out on a lot of the fun. It takes energy to keep up with all the summer activities and of course, you want a beach ready body, too. You can start today to get ready for summer by making a few changes and sticking with a fitness program and program of healthy eating. If you’re completely out of shape, you need to start slowly and work toward peak intensity. This is the perfect time of year to start eating healthy, since fresh fruits and vegetables are readily available.

A few months can make an incredible difference.

After just one week of exercise, you’ll start noticing mental changes. You’ll feel more confident about yourself. When you stick with working out for two weeks, you’ll notice improved stamina and more energy. After a month, if you’re eating healthy and working out, you’ll start noticing some changes in your body, like more muscle mass and less fat, and potentially a weight loss of 2-4 pounds, using 1-2 pounds a week as a healthy weight loss goal.

In just two months, you’ll lose up to 20-pounds or more.

It’s hard to say exactly how much you’ll lose or project exactly how your body will look, since everyone is different, but it definitely will look better and you’ll feel more energetic. You’ll burn more calories 24/7, since you’ll have more muscle tissue, which requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat does, so one pound of muscle takes less space. That means you’ll look thinner, even if you didn’t lose a pound and if you lost 20 pounds, it will look like you lost a lot more.

As you get fitter, start getting more active.

You’ll have the energy to do more active things, plus workout at the gym. That means you’ll make even more progress. Keep the extra activities fun and don’t focus on strength building two days in a row. Your personal trainer can help you with your workout program in the gym and maybe offer suggestions of activities that are both fun and geared toward fitness, like swimming. The more active you are, the more energy you’ll build.

• Even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, healthy eating should be a key priority. You need a well-balanced diet to build muscle tissue and to boost your energy level.
• Working out can help improve your body’s appearance even if you don’t have to lose weight. It can tone your derriere, tone arms, flatten your tummy, build more attractive legs and help hide cellulite.
• Have fun with the kids. You’ll have more energy, so playing in the park, taking them on hikes and riding bikes or hula hooping with the family can be part of your exercise program, plus get the kids more active.
• Don’t forget to include flexibility training. Not only does it help prevent injury, it also makes you more graceful and agile. It can shave years off your silhouette as you gracefully walk on the beach.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness

Getting the right fuel before a workout is important. It can keep you going at peak performance until the end. However, you have to choose the right foods to eat after a workout, too. You need fuel to repair muscles and replenish the muscle glycogen you depleted during your workout. Consuming the right type of food after you workout can replenish the muscle glycogen that you depleted when you were exercising. It also helps boost protein synthesis, which helps repair and build new muscle tissue, while restoring fluid and electrolyte balance.

You need both carbohydrates and protein.

After you workout, you need the quick energy of a carbohydrate, plus protein to rebuild muscles. Try to eat as soon as possible after your workout if you had a tough session. The snack should consist of 20-30 grams of protein and 30-40 grams of carbohydrates. You can wait longer and just eat a well-balanced meal if your workout was lighter, like jogging.

Some good options after a workout can be simple.

Eggs are an excellent source of protein and that makes a hard-boiled egg and easy choice. It comes in its own container, so just peel it, slice it and put it between two slices of whole wheat bread or on crackers. Slices of cheese on crackers or chicken breast on whole wheat are two other options. Plain Greek yogurt with fresh fruit chopped in it is another good option. The fruit is the carbs and the yogurt is the protein.

Other simply to carry options for a post workout snack can include peanut butter and apples.

Peanut butter is a great source of protein, but make sure you opt for the natural peanut butter. It only has one ingredient and that’s peanuts, although some may have salt in it as well. As noted before, other protein sources include Greek yogurt and cheese. Tuna and chicken breasts are also good choices. The carbohydrate part of the mix can be whole grain bread or crackers, fresh fruit or vegetables. Roasted sweet potato slices with a yogurt dip also make a good after workout snack.

If you’re working out at home or have access to a freezer, a frozen banana dipped in dark chocolate, then rolled in crushed walnuts not only provides both protein and carbs, it also acts like a natural anti-inflammatory.

Make a healthy, easy to transport tuna salad. Just use tuna, onions, celery and dressing made from mayo, Greek yogurt and mustard. Mix and put on one slice of whole grain toast after a tough workout.

No matter how tempting it may seem, deep-fried wings and other similar types of protein won’t do. You need a healthy source, like baked chicken breast or other lean meat.

What could be easier than a bottle or container of chocolate milk after a workout. It offers two times as much carbs and protein as sports drinks. It also helps replace the sweat you lost during your workout and offers even more nutrients.

What are trans fats? They’re partially hydrogenated oil and at one time were touted as healthy. Crisco is probably one of the best known hydrogenated vegetable oils. It came to market in 1911 and was touted as healthy, since it was made of vegetable oil. Even up to the 1980s, people promoting healthy living promoted the oils containing trans fats. Burger King’s switch to partially hydrogenated oils—trans fats—was described by the Center for Science in Public Interest as a “great boon to Americans’ arteries,” but by 2018 the FDA banned the fats in the USA. Crisco has changed its formula to remove most trans fats.

Trans fats are still in foods.

Even though it may be banned, small amounts of manmade trans fats still are in foods, primarily because of processing methods. It may be in food before the ban that’s still on the shelves. Remember some snack foods seem last forever on the shelf. One reason is that manmade trans fats is created to extend shelf life. Natural trans fats found in animal products may actually be good for you, but manmade may cause insulin resistance and other physical problems.

Think microwave popcorn and fast foods.

If it’s fried, it may contain trans fats. Fried chicken, French fries, donuts and other stop and chomp foods may contain trans fats. When oil is heated to high temperatures, the amount of trans fats it contains increases. Each time it’s reused and heated the amount continues to increase. Butter substitutes produced before 2018 may have trans fats. The high melting point of trans fats makes it a good option for microwave popcorn, too.

Bakery good, like cakes, pies, muffins and pastries are made with margarine or vegetable shortening.

If you want a flakier pie crust or softer pastry, margarine or vegetable shortening is good to use. It also is cheaper and has a longer shelf life, making it ideal for manufacturers. Partially hydrogenated oils are no longer part of vegetable shortening or margarine, so the amount of trans fats they contain is diminished. Fried donuts and other fried sweets may still contain it.

• Nondairy creamers contain mostly sugar and oil. Traditionally it was partially hydrogenated oil for a longer shelf life. While the liquid form has changed to fully hydrogenated oil, there are still some powdered non-dairy creamers you may have in your cupboard, since they last longer.
• Trans fats can also be found in smaller amounts in a range of other foods manufactured before the FDA ban went into full effect.
• Trans fats cause inflammation and inflammation can lead to heart disease, arthritis, some types of cancer and diabetes. Both butter and margarine contain trans fats, but butter’s is natural and margarine’s is manmade. Studies show inflammatory markers increase with margarine, not butter.
• Read the labels for ingredients and serving size, particularly potato and corn chips, canned frosting, crackers and pizza and avoid those with partially hydrogenated oil. Companies are allowed to say they have 0 trans fats if the content is as high as 0.5 grams per serving.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness

If you aren’t sure what macros are, how are you going to count macros? The term macros is an abbreviated way of saying macronutrients. It’s a way of categorizing protein, fat and carbohydrates. Micronutrients, on the other hand, are minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients. While there’s still debate whether counting macros and focusing on how much you eat of each is the best way to lose weight, it does work and helps you lose fat and build muscles in the process.

First, learn why counting macros can help.

It’s important to get the right balance of macronutrients, since all three are important for your health. How much of each that you eat also determines your body composition, energy level, appetite and mood. Carbs give energy to move about and a source of fuel for the brain. Fat is a longer lasting fuel source, but also helps build hormones and plays a role in storing nutrients. Protein is part of every part of your body and almost every cell. It’s a building block that’s necessary for muscle tissue. If you count calories, you may lose weight, but the right balance of macronutrients can help you lose fat and build muscle tissue.

Counting macros actually counts calories automatically.

If you’ve spent most of your life counting calories, you might think counting macros is completely foreign. However, when you count macros, you’re actually counting calories at the same time. All macronutrients contain calories. Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram of carbs, protein contains 4 calories per gram of protein. Fat contains 9 calories of fat. No matter how nutrient rich they are, the calorie value is the same, since micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals, don’t have any calories.

Determine the amount of each macro you need based on your personal goal.

While each person is different with different needs and goals, a very generalized rule notes you should get 45-60% of your calories from carbs, 20-35% from fats and 30-45% from protein. Multiply calories necessary of each by the percentage. If you’re on a 2000 calorie diet with 40% of calories from protein, that means 800 calories from protein. Divide that by 4 (4 calories per gram) and you need 200 grams of protein in your diet. If you’re using food that comes with a label, you’ll find how many grams of each macro per serving on the label. Just multiply that times the calories per gram. Have a scale to measure food that’s not labeled.

• Some people consider alcohol as the fourth macronutrient. With 7 calories in each gram, it has higher calories per gram than both protein and carbohydrates, but less than fat. Most people class it with fat or carbs.
• If you want to lose weight, opt for a lower carb ratio. A macro diet that focuses on fat loss and/or weight loss would contain 40-50% of calories from protein, 10-30% from carbs and 30-40% from fat.
• There are macros calculators available online that can determine the number of macronutrients quickly if you want to do it on your own. All you have to do is enter the food and the amount you’re consuming. It makes it easier to track.
• At Next Level Fitness we make it easier with nutrition experts that can plan your menus for you. They do consulting and meal planning to ensure you have a personalize program.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness

Do you burn the candle at both ends and wind up feeling fatigued or have a headache in the morning? Most people would blame that on lack of sleep, but the answer might be a bit more complicated. Maybe lacking sleep isn’t the exact problem, but dehydration is. What causes the dehydration? According to research published in the November 5, 2018, journal, Sleep, these symptoms occur because of dehydration, but the dehydration may occur because of the lack of sleep.

The study followed the hydration of almost 20,000 Chinese and American Adults.

It didn’t matter whether you were from the US or China, sleeping fewer than six hours on a regular basis increased your risk of dehydration up to 59% when compared to people who slept from seven to eight hours normally. While studies have shown that lack of sleep not only impairs your judgement and focus, but when done consistently, can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Newer studies show it can even lead to kidney disease and even early death.

New studies show it may be because of a hormone created at night as part of the circadian rhythm.

When scientists discovered the link between lack of sleep and dehydration, they had to look further. The study was observational, but it linked the dehydration to the creation of a hormone called vasopressin. The body creates vasopressin, which is a hormone that has antidiuretic qualities. It helps maintain the body’s water balance both during the day and night. Vasopressin is released more quickly deeper into the sleep cycle. Going to bed and therefore getting up before the most hormone is released can disrupt the body’s hydration.

What to do if you’re getting less than eight hours of sleep a night.

Getting adequate sleep should be your first line of defense. Lack of sleep affects so many areas of your health that it’s extremely important. However, sometimes getting enough sleep isn’t possible. For those times when you’re tired, feeling groggy or out of sorts, don’t reach for coffee. Instead, reach for a bottle of water and drink water liberally throughout the day.

• The kidneys play a vital role in hydration due to the hormone vasopressin secreted by the pituitary gland. Drinking more water actually improves kidneys health.
• The studies showed that people who regularly slept 6 hours or less had urine that was more concentrated than those who slept at least 8 hours a night. However, sleeping 9 hours made no significant difference.
• The quality of your sleep makes a difference. Quality sleep is more than just getting to bed on time. It’s going to sleep and sleeping through the night to let the sleep cycle complete.
• You can get better quality sleep by creating a sleep schedule and sticking with it, refrain from eating too much at bedtime, but don’t go to bed hungry and make your area conducive to sleep, dark, slightly cool and quiet.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness