ON THE BLOG
Welcome to the Education Station
CATEGORIES ↓
WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR METABOLISM WHEN WE DIET
The human body is incredibly adaptive. Our metabolisms are quite literally designed to keep us alive through times of food scarcity and famine and they're quite efficient at doing so. Unfortunately, they haven’t quite adapted as quickly as our modern lives have. Meaning, there's no way to let your body know that you're intentionally reducing calories / restricting food to reduce body fat. The body simply senses starvation, and adapts accordingly.
Once our metabolisms have “adapted”, it can cause immense amounts of frustration and lead you to feeling like your metabolism is broken beyond repair as it becomes less and less responsive to a caloric deficit.
The good news, you are not broken and your body is not in “starvation mode”.
Your body has simply adapted.
The difference between the two is that saying your metabolism is damaged or broken would indicate that it is irreversible. or that you did something wrong. However, once we further understand why these adaptations that have happened and how, we can understand that these adaptations can be changed with time, proper fueling, planning, and patience.
ARE GUMS GOOD FOR YOU?
We're not talking about Orbit, Trident and Extra!
Turn over just about any prepackaged food and you’ll likely see one of the following on the ingredient list:
Xanthan Gum
Guar Gum
Tara Gum
Gellan Gum
Locust Bean Gum (Carob Gum)
Why are they so prevalent in our food?
Generally speaking, food companies utilize them because these ingredients can offer a desired texture, thickness, or stabilization for a longer shelf life …
ADDRESSING POOR ENERGY LEVELS NATURALLY
Struggling with poor energy? There are many aspects of our lifestyles that can affect energy levels, including non-restorative sleep, stress (both psychological and physiological), nutrient deficiencies, certain medications, infections, illness, exposure to toxins and other imbalances within our bodies.
FAT BURNERS - DO THEY WORK?
Most people are looking to drop fat, shed the pounds and revamp their health altogether. As health & nutrition coaches, we love to hear it! HOWEVER - This is also the time of year that the supplement industry promotes their new and improved fat burning "formulas." Fat burners can be tempting - we know. And when we feel like we've tried everything under the sun to lose the weight, we may feel more enticed to add a fat burner to our daily regimen.But do you know and understand what the ingredients in a fat burner actually do?
REST & DIGEST
Most likely, you’ve heard the adage, “you are what you eat”. Healthy, nutrient dense food goes a long way towards improving your overall state of being. However, it may be more beneficial to also consider this: “You are how you digest what you eat”.
ALL ABOUT APPETITE REGULATION
What makes us hungry? Why do we stand in front of the fridge for 976 years figuring out what we want to eat? What does it mean to have a large or small appetite anyways? Appetite is our desire to eat while hunger is our physical need to eat. We have a biological right to eat food, no? If we don’t eat, we die. Does that justify eating Skittles for breakfast?
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE CUTTING
Maybe you're finally “ready” to enter a dieting phase - we often call this a “cut” or a “deficit”. Note: Being mentally ready for a deficit and being physiologically ready for a deficit are two different things!
But for the sake of this email, let's say you're mentally, physically, and physiologically ready to enter into a dieting phase.
Let's talk expectations…
PREBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS AND POSTBIOTICS
What is the difference and what should you take?
We know our gut health is really important and plays a huge role in our overall health. With all the information out there about gut health, it’s easy to get confused.
THE ART (& SCIENCE!) OF EATING SLOWLY
Have you ever looked up from your plate after finishing a meal to see a family member or your spouse with half their plate still untouched? Or eaten an entire bag of chips standing in front of the pantry and wondered where all the chips went when your hand hit the bottom of the bag?
(*raises hand sheepishly*)
We’ve all done it! In our culture, most of us are rushing from one thing to another, eating in the car, crushing our morning smoothies while we work, eating lunch at our desks, and wolfing our dinners down so we can be done for the day. And unfortunately, eating all of our meals quickly has some downsides.
Let’s look at some research …
WATER INTAKE AND FLUID BALANCE
One of the most common things suggested for improving health is to increase the amount of water you’re drinking. Most of us know water is good for us, but we don’t necessarily know why, or how much is really enough water to drink on a daily basis. What counts towards water intake? What fluids are still good for you to drink?
There are lots of questions surrounding water intake--so today we want to help you navigate the most common questions so you can start implementing these tips & tricks into your daily life.
“My diet isn’t working”
We get it. We know how frustrating it is to feel like you’re busting your butt in the gym but aren't seeing the results you'd like. Maybe you’ve been dieting for a while and your progress has come to a stand-still. Or, maybe you just started your fitness journey a few weeks ago and you aren’t seeing the results you were hoping to see.
Either way, there are a few fairly simple reasons for your frustrations, so our goal is to shed some light and hopefully help you pinpoint what’s happening.
THE THREE GS
Glucose, Glycogen, Glucagon
TRUE or FALSE …
For every gram of glycogen you store (stored form of carbohydrates), you store 3 grams of water along with it.
ALCOHOL - THE 4th MACRONUTRIENT
Most of us are familiar with the term macronutrients in reference to carbohydrates, fats, and protein. However, what you may not realize, is that alcohol too, is a macronutrient.
When it comes to “tracking alcohol" in your daily macros, we need to first consider the caloric content of each macronutrient.