Fitness & Wellness

Whether you’re worried about all the toxins you consumed over the holidays, considering all the processed food you ate or just want to rid your body of that bloated feeling, a detox might be in order. However, you also need to make sure that what you’re detoxing with is also a healthy option, unlike the lemonade or cabbage soup detox, you can cleanse your system and get healthier in the process. Always check with your health care professional first to ensure it won’t interfere with medication or exacerbate existing health issues.

A detox may start with a fast, intermittent fasting or a liquid diet for a few days.

While some detox diets start with excluding all calories for a few days and sipping on water or tea, most start with a low calorie liquid diet and intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting can be anything from skipping eating for a day to eating all meals in an eight hour time frame with the balance of the day, 16 hours, without eating. There’s been a lot of animal studies on intermittent fasting and it’s been found to keep rats younger looking and healthier. The first day or two is often devoted to the cleansing portion of a detox.

What else is part of a detox?

Often people give up caffeine and eliminate alcohol and nicotine as part of the detox restrictions. After the initial cleansing phase, often meat is restricted and bland foods, such as brown rice, is part of the detox diet. Sugar is never part of a detox diet, neither is processed food. Some people include herbal teas to stimulate the colon or a colon cleanse, while others include foods with beneficial bacteria to repopulate the friendly bacteria in the system.

Detox diets contain a lot of fiber.

Brown rice, fresh steamed vegetables, fruit and broth are introduced into the diet after the cleansing phase, which normally lasts a couple of days. Foods that aren’t included in this phase are meat, sugar, eggs, wheat and processed foods. In fact, in many cases, people opt to restrict the intake of sugar, wheat and processed food indefinitely.

• Detox diets, particularly those that involve intermittent fasting, can prove beneficial according to many studies. While the increased consumption of liquids help remove water soluble chemicals, it doesn’t help remove fat soluble ones, which is the most frequent kind. Only weight loss can do that.
• The raw vegetables in the detox diet can help remove toxins from the liver via their fiber, which also adds bulk to the stool and keep the body elimination system running smoothly.
• You should consume water frequently on a detox diet, which is a healthy option even when you’re not detoxing. The use of laxative teas and colonics are not recommended. Neither are longer detox diets.
• The healthiest detox diet is one that includes increasing hydration, a higher consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and low in alcohol, caffeine, sugar and processed foods.

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Part of any fitness program is eating healthy. Healthy eating can help you lose weight, improve your metabolism and even help build muscle tissue. What most people don’t realize is that it also can aid cognitive thinking and boost your memory. Improved memory and cognitive thinking is important no matter what your job or station in life. A healthy diet is especially important to help maintain brain functioning at both ends of the age spectrum, children and seniors.

Brain food includes spices.

Gingko biloba is one herbal supplement people have taken to boost memory, but there are common herbs and spices that you can use in cooking every day. Turmeric contains curcumin, which has been known to help reduce inflammation, making it important in preventing Alzheimer’s, as well as arthritis, diabetes and even cancer. Black pepper also boosts brain functioning, while boosting the effects of turmeric. Just smelling cinnamon has been proven to increase cognitive functioning, while adding as little as a half teaspoon a day to your diet provides enough of this superfood to protect your brain.

Fish that contain Omega3 fatty acids boost your brain power.

Fatty fish like salmon are not only good for weight loss and a healthy diet, they’re good for your brain. The fat they contain is important for the brain, since it’s about 60% fat, with half of that fat being omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish provide the building blocks and eating adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to slow mental decline and Alzheimer’s. Studies show that an imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 where there’s too little omega-3 leads to depression and aggression problems. It not only boosts memory and brain functioning, it improves your mood, too.

You’ll get plenty of brain food when you eat healthy.

The B vitamins help nerve and brain functioning, while also enhancing your mood. Foods like whole grains, eggs, dairy, meat, seeds, nuts, dark leafy vegetables and fruits are high in B vitamins. In fact, Eggs are particularly high in choline, grouped in the vitamin B complex. It’s known as a real memory booster. Nuts from trees aid in cognitive functioning and reduce the risk of brain damage. Walnuts are the best types of nuts for the brain. Fruits and vegetables with orange or red coloring are high in vitamin C, which also helps protect the brain.

• Caffeine, whether from coffee or tea, can improve your concentration and boost your mood. Green tea helps protect the brain and also aids memory. Don’t forget to drink water also. Even slight dehydration can affect your mental powers.
• Inflammation not only causes serious diseases like cancer and heart disease, it’s also linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Any food that’s anti-inflammatory, such as broccoli, can provide that protection.
• If you want a sweet treat, a small square of dark chocolate can improve your memory and mood. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids that help the brain.
• You’ll get maximum benefits when you snack on food like blueberries or pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds contain minerals like magnesium, copper, iron and zinc that help the brain and blueberries are a powerful antioxidant.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness

Most people make resolutions for the new year, but often find them way too ambitious to achieve. Rather than waiting and starting with a list that’s long and intimidating, don’t wait for the new year to make a change, start it right away. Living a healthy lifestyle begins with a small step. Why wait to start when you can create some healthy habits that will also help you through the holiday season.

Just keep moving.

Exercise is important and you can get more by making a few changes. When you’re out shopping or doing the chores at home, make that time an exercise time. You won’t be using precious time. In fact, you’ll probably get tasks done faster. Circling the parking lot when you’re shopping will help you find the best parking spot, but it burns extra fuel and doesn’t give you an opportunity for extra exercise. Park in the first spot you find and walk a little further, making it a brisker pace in the process. Don’t wait for elevators, take the stairs and when you walk somewhere, make it at a fast pace.

Start switching to a healthier diet.

The holidays are definitely not a time to start a diet. Luckily, eating healthy isn’t dieting. Start by planning healthy snacks to prevent overdosing on all those sweet treats you associate with holiday time. Rather than gorging on special holiday treats, freeze them and munch on one a week throughout the year. Knowing you’ll have some for later will diminish your desire to eat them all now. Plan healthy meals and make them ahead for a whole week, so you won’t have to stop for a quick drive through meal during the week.

Make holiday dinners healthier.

Sure, everyone eats way too much on the holidays, but what if the food you brought was high in nutrition and taste, yet still low in calories. Overindulging in that case isn’t as much of a problem. Slim down some of the favorites by making substitutions, such as wild or brown rice for white rice. Even appetizers can be healthier by making recipes like eggplant ricotta appetizers or an avocado-feta dip.

• Get plenty of sleep. Studies show that lack of sleep boosts the hunger hormone, ghrelin and diminishes the one that leaves you full, leptin.
• Carry a bottle of water with you. It may be winter and the holidays, but staying hydrated is important. If you find yourself dragging, try a bottle or glass of water and you may find that’s all you needed. Mild dehydration makes you tired.
• If you can’t start a program of regular exercise at the gym, try walking. You can break up the walks to ten minutes each and do them throughout the day.
• Give yourself a gift of good health. Whether you include it on your wish list or give yourself a gift, you’ll find a few sessions with a personal trainer can get your fitness program off to a great start. Next Level Fitness even offers the first session free.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness!

Never use the excuse that you can’t eat healthy because it’s too hard, especially when you have this guide that makes healthy eating made simple. The first, and simplest, rule to remember, but not the easiest to follow, is to cut out added sugar. Cutting out sugar is tough for two reasons. First, it’s in almost everything. The next time you grab the catsup for your fries, check the ingredients. You’ll notice the high fructose corn syrup—a type of sugar—is high on the list. The easiest way to avoid it is to eat more whole foods, where you control the ingredients.

The second reason cutting sugar is tough is that it’s addictive.

You’ll see loads of recipes comparing sugary confections to crack cocaine and while it’s meant to indicate the dish is delicious and maybe even addictive, it’s also somewhat true if it’s loaded with sugar. Sugar triggers the brain’s reward system, similar to cocaine, amphetamines and even nicotine. It causes dopamine to be released, which acts like a reward for the body and makes you crave sugar even more! Start by cutting out sugar first, checking labels to ensure there’s no added sugar and stick with it for a few months before you move to the next step.

Include more fruits and vegetables in your meals.

Make you table a rainbow of colors with fruits and vegetables providing that beauty. Green beans, red cabbage, orange carrots and a red apple will add to your good health and provide a wide range of nutrients. Each color represents different nutrients or phytonutrients like anthocyanins in purple, blue or red fruits or vegetables. Eating a rainbow of color provides a wide variety of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals based on their own color.

Remember what you drink makes a big difference, too.

No matter how healthy you eat, what you drink makes a difference. If you’re abstaining from sugar and sticking with whole foods, but have a soft drink, such as a cola, with every meal, you’ll not only be adding empty calories, you’ll be adding loads of sugar. Soft drinks are nothing more than flavored sugar water. Stick with low or no calorie options like water, herbal tea or green tea.

• Don’t grab a diet cola or soft drink, thinking you’ll be saving calories and it’s better for your health. It saves calories, but may be more unhealthy. In fact, one study showed that people who drank diet colas put on visceral fat. Visceral fat is belly fat, the most dangerous type and adds to your waistline.
• Have healthy snacks available. If you’re a midday muncher, having a healthy snack ready and waiting can make a huge difference. It helps you stick with healthy eating and fills you up, not out.
• Don’t fall for the low fat versions. It’s healthy to eat some fat. It fills you up and helps reduce calorie intake. Low fat options don’t do that and often contain added sugar to make them taste better.
• Make smarter decisions and substitutions. Substituting brown rice for white rice or Greek yogurt for sour cream on your potatoes is just a start. Our personal trainers at Next Level Fitness can help you with more aids to make healthy eating easier. Try our first time free trial workout for more help.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness!

If you haven’t heard of intermittent fasting before and think it’s new, be prepared to be surprised. There have been studies that date back a few centuries. One scientific study conducted on rats in the 1940s showed that intermittent fasting could prolong life. It kept the fasting rat looking younger and free of some of the diseases rats face as they aged. Great religious leaders have fasted for both body and spirit, so it does come with a history. However, intermittent fasting is different from the traditional fasting of the ancients. It’s all about when you eat.

Fasting and intermittent fasting are different, but there are also different types of intermittent fasting.

Fasting is often over longer time periods. It might be a weekend or week-long fast, where only water is consumed. Intermittent fasting occurs over hours. It’s based on eating cycles and fasting cycles of hours, not days. Some people find that if they contain their food consumption to an eight hour period each day and fast for 16 hours, it’s easier to do. Some people find that limiting their food intake to the hours of 8am-4pm or 9am-5pm. Some people approach fasting to restricting caloric intake every other day. Other patterns have the person eating normally for five days, separated by two days of eating an extremely calorie-restricted diet of 200 to 300 calories a day or nothing at all for another version.

Find the type of intermittent fasting that works best for you.

Some people find that scheduling their meals and limiting eating to eight to ten hours of each day is the easiest for them to use. Remember, you still have to eat healthy. Intermittent fasting doesn’t mean that when you eat you fill up on candy, cookies and ice cream. Work schedules can interfere with that, so using the alternatives of either calorie restriction every other day, whether simply lowering them, severely restricting them or cutting out food entirely. It all takes planning and can be tough over the weekend, so make sure you consider social functions you have planned.

Fasting occasionally does offer a great many benefits.

How could fasting make you look younger? When you fast, your body starts a process of cellular repair called autophagy. It uses cells that aren’t functioning right or old as energy. That helps rid your body of these cells and slow the aging process, plus protect against diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer. Fasting can also boost metabolic health.

• A healthy diet is always a must, whether using intermittent fasting or not. My favorite is narrowing the time you eat to an eight hour window. I find it easier to remember and easier to do.
• You can try your own experiment and see how intermittent fasting works for you. Plan your meals so you’re eating the same number of calories each week, start by eating normally for a month, then use one of the intermittent fasting techniques for a month. See if you lose more weight with the fasting.
• Intermittent fasting can change the longevity and immunity gene expression to extend lifespan, plus improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation and raise the BDNF a brain hormone that protects from mental conditions, including depression.
• One study showed that IF—intermittent fating—for as little as three weeks to as many as 24 weeks increased loss of abdominal fat by as much as seven percent and increased weight loss to as much as eight percent.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness