Caution with Carbs

Carbohydrates... friend or foe?  I imagine many of us have a love-hate relationship with them.  But what exactly comes to mind when you think of eating carbs?  Are you thinking pancakes, heaping plates of pasta, and pastries... or are you thinking fruits, vegetables and whole grains?  This could be the determining factor of your relationship with carbs and your success (or struggles) with weight management.

How much should I eat?
We've previously discussed that it can be kind of difficult to know how many calories you should be eating a day - without having specific metabolic testing done.  In addition, you may have heard me suggest that the recommended daily amount of carbohydrates should be 50-55% of your total caloric intake.  But if you don't know how many calories you should consume, then this percentage isn't very helpful.  Likewise, the truth is that the amount of carbohydrates you should consume is going to vary depending on your body size, health status, and also your level and type of physical activity (duration, intensity, frequency, etc).
Taking this information into consideration, let's calculate the following:
1. Take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms.
2.  Select your level of physical activity:
*recreationally active (exercise 30-60 minutes most days of the week / not training for an event): 3-5 g/kg.
*moderately active, but low endurance (such as football players, and other sports that do not require continuous activity for long periods of time without breaks): 5-7 g/kg.
*highly active, high endurance (training for a long distance event, frequently training for 2+ hours a day): 7-10 g/kg.
3.  Multiply your weight in kg times the number of g/kg of carbs for your activity level.  I suggest starting with the low to mid number in the range.
I imagine most of my readers will be in the 3-5 g/kg range.  I personally aim for 4 g/kg.

Here is my personal example:

125 lb / 2.2 = 57 kg

57 kg * 4 g/kg = 225 grams of carbohydrates/day

I have actually met with a nutritionist and was given this recommendation.  But it doesn't stop there.  We still need to look at the type and timing of the carbohydrates.

What kind should I eat?

We have all heard of simple and complex carbohydrates.  I have always used their name as an explanation for how your body breaks them down (simple are more easily digested, give you a quick sugar spike, and then leave you hungry/tired... complex take longer to digest, keep you full longer, and give you a steady level of energy).  But I have recently learned that this is not correct!  The name is merely describing the structure of each carb.  Complex carbs have a more "complex" chemical structure and tend to be less processed and higher in nutrients and fiber than simple carbohydrates.  So in the end, it is still a better idea to pick complex carbs such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains (bread, cereal, pasta) and legumes (beans, peas, lentils) over simple carbs such as sweetened cereals, breakfast bars, candy, soda and dessert.

There is another way we can categorize our carbs: by the glycemic index.  This categorizes foods as having a high glycemic response (quick rise in blood sugar and insulin), moderate, or low glycemic response (slow rise in blood sugar and insulin).  It is better to consume more foods that are low-moderate glycemic index in order to keep from having insulin spikes that could potentially lead to issues with insulin resistance.  Here is a GI index list of some common foods:

Additionally, CLICK HERE for a website where you can search any food item you would like, to see the glycemic index and also the grams of carbs per serving (click the tab on the left for GI database).   

Of course it can't really be this clear cut and easy.  As you start to mix carbohydrates together, or add protein and fat to the meal, that can alter the glycemic index of a food.  But this at least gives you a good idea of which foods to make "all the time foods" and which foods should only be "sometimes foods" (as explained to me by my darling niece and nephew).  And as we'll discuss below, there are certain times you might want to focus on lower GI foods and other times that high GI foods are beneficial.

When should I eat them?

It is a good idea to spread your nutrients out throughout the day.  Keep in mind that the main purpose of eating is to fuel your body.  If you consume too much at once, it may go to fat for storage.  If you don't consume enough - you may run out of energy.

As a general rule, try to consume about 20% of your carbohydrate grams at every meal, and 10-15% during three snacks spread throughout the day.  

For example, the suggestion I received for myself from the nutritionist was as follows:

Consume 225 g/kg of carbs per day

Aim for 45 g for each meal

Aim for 30 g for each snack

(3 meals + 3 snacks = 225 g)

This is a good way to ensure that your blood glucose and insulin will stay more stable throughout the day.

However we should also consider your carbohydrate intake in regards to your activity level.  Here are a few pointers:

* It is good to eat a pre-exercise meal or snack 1-3 hours before your exercise session to make sure you have energy.  Since we want to sustain energy, aim for low-moderate glycemic index foods here.

* If your exercise session lasts an hour or less, you don't need to be concerned with consuming carbohydrates during your workout.

* If your exercise session lasts well over an hour, you may want to consider some carbohydrate supplementation along the way - through sports drinks, sports beans, gel packs, etc.  This will help maintain your endurance for a longer duration.

* Since glucose is the primary source of fuel used during exercise, it is good to replenish after an exercise bout.  In fact, if you had a strenuous endurance session, it is very important that you aim to replenish your carbohydrates within 30 min - 2 hours after your exercise session, otherwise you may not actually be able to refill your glycogen stores as fully.  Since we are aiming for quick absorption here - high glycemic index foods are actually best.  Interestingly, fructose is digested slowest of all of the sugars, so it may not be best to use fruit or fruit juices for replenishment purposes.

This certainly is not an exact science.  It will be different for each individual, and your guidelines may need to be a little different each day - depending on your level of activity.  Use this information (and the information to follow on protein and fat in the weeks to come) as a guideline, and feel free to adjust your numbers up or down a little to meet your needs.

I'll end with a few more tidbits that I picked up from my meeting with the nutritionist:

1. Everyone should consume at least 1/2 cup of either nuts or beans every single day.

2. Better cereal choices include whole grain varieties like Total or Wheaties, and you can mix in your own fresh fruit.

3. From a sugar standpoint, she perfers "no sugar added" ice cream over frozen yogurt.  

We didn't discuss simple sugar too much in this post... and that is because those are not the types of carbohydrates we are aiming for.  When you are reading a nutrition label, look at how many grams of carbs are in a serving, and then look below to see the sugar content.  Try to aim for food choices that don't have all of their carbs coming from simple sugars.  If you stick with the whole grain variety, you'll be doing much better.  Save your simple sugars for the natural sugars in fruits and veggies.  And remember: items like pasta and rice should be a SIDE DISH, not your main entree.  A serving should be no larger than the size of your computer mouse (so cute and tiny, right?!).

I hope this will make you a little less fearful of carbohydrates, and help you gain confidence and responsibility in your food selection.  As mentioned, stay tuned for similar information on protein and fats!

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt

Healthy Alternatives

I feel like I am kind of cheating with my post today - because I am just posting something that I found in a textbook. This is actually from my professor's textbook which I have spent the month of June editing and creating multiple choice questions for, to be used for a certification exam. In fact it is due tomorrow, which is why I haven't had much time to post anything else this week!

For the month of July, Fit Britt will be focusing on the three main macronutrients: Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat (one each week). We will review details of the good and the bad varieties, why you need them, what quantities you should consume, what happens if you consume too much of that specific nutrient, etc. The last week in July we will be prepared for a "Food for Fuel Challenge." Using all of the information we collect throughout the month, we'll see if we can go a full week eating only the foods that our body thrives on for energy and metabolic processes.

So... let this be a little "appetizer." This is a pretty interesting chart to see how many calories are in certain foods, and in the right column you can get an idea of how much healthy / nutrient-dense food you could eat to fulfill the same number of calories. Pretty impressive!

High Energy-Dense Food Item	Calorie Amount	Low Energy-dense foods for similar calories
1 bottle (20 ounces) regular soft drink	250	1 bottle (20 oz) Diet Soft-drink + 1 medium apple + 1 oz string cheese + 2 square graham crackers
Starbucks Grande (16 ounces) café latte	260	10 oz brewed coffee + 6 oz steamed skim milk + 1 cup whole grain breakfast cereal (flakes) + ½ cup skim milk + 1 cup cantaloupe
1 slice Pizza Hut Pan pizza, pepperoni	400	2 slices thin-crust cheese pizza + large garden salad w/ 2 Tbsp light Ranch dressing
1 Blueberry Muffin from Coffee Shop	430	1 blueberry English muffin, toasted w/ 2 tsp butter & 1 Tbsp sugar-free jam + 2 oz grilled ham + 1 cup melon + 6 oz sugar-free vanilla yogurt
1 Chicken breast , fried (KFC)	440	1 grilled chicken breast (KFC) + 1 medium baked potato topped with fat-free sour cream & salsa + 1 cup steamed veggies + 1 small dinner roll with1 tsp butter
1 large glazed doughnut	302	1 English muffin w/ 1 Tbsp sugar-free jam + ½ cup egg substitute, scrambled w/ ¼ cup each: spinach, mushrooms, onions, salsa, & ½ oz cheese + ½ grapefruit
4-inch cinnamon-raisin bagel with 2 tablespoons cream cheese	450	2 slices cinnamon-raisin toast + 1 Tbsp reduced-fat cream cheese + 2 tsp jam + 1 cup sliced strawberries + 6 oz container light vanilla yogurt
1 snack bag (3 ounces) nacho-flavored tortilla chips	424	Nachos made with: 2 oz baked tortilla chips topped w/ ¼ cup salsa, ¼ cup fat-free black beans, ½ oz reduced-fat cheddar cheese, & 2 tbsp fat-free sour cream
2 cups chocolate ice cream	572	2 cup fat-free, sugar-free chocolate frozen yogurt + ½ cup blueberries + 2 tbsp non-fat whipped + 1 cup reduced-fat hot cocoa made with water
1 8 oz serving of vanilla yogurt	230	1 8 oz serving sugar-free vanilla yogurt + 2 cups strawberries + 2 reduced-fat fig bars
Garden salad + 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing	150	Garden salad w/ 2 Tbsp fat-free ranch dressing + 1½ cups fruit dipped 2 Tbsp sugar-free chocolate syrup
1 package of peanut butter crackers	247	1½ oz pretzels + 2 cups celery sticks & sliced pepper strips + ¼ cup hummus
1 small milkshake (10 ounces)	382	Root beer float with ½ cup frozen vanilla yogurt & Diet Root beer + 2 cups sliced mixed fruit topped with 2 Tbsp fat-free whipped topping + 3 vanilla wafer cookies
1 piece (1/8th of a 9” diameter) cherry pie	390	1 large apple sprinkled with sugar-alternative, cinnamon, “baked” in microwave and topped with ½ cup light vanilla yogurt + 1 oz animal crackers
1 Wendy’s Old Fashioned hamburger	270	1½ cups chicken, rice & vegetable soup + garden salad topped with 2 Tbsp fat-free Italian dressing + 2 oz grilled chicken + ½ oz crackers
1 small McDonald’s French fry	271	1 medium baked potato topped with salsa, broccoli + fat-free sour-cream + 2 Tbsp shredded cheese + 1 cup skim milk

Table taken from "Exercise and Sport Nutrition; Principles, Promises, Science, Recommendations" by Kreider, Leutholtz, Katch and Katch.

What healthy alternatives can you try today?

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt

Shaking Things Up

The lab I work in, the Exercise and Sport Nutrition lab, does a lot of research dealing with exercise and supplementation for weight loss, health improvements, and also athletic performance. For the majority of our studies, we encourage our participants to consume a high protein diet rather than a high carbohydrate diet. Not Atkins-style, just 45% calories from Protein, 30% from Carbohydrates and 25% from Fat. I try to follow this diet myself, and it doesn't take long before I become bored chicken breasts and beans. You soon realize, on a higher protein diet, that it is convenient to get some of your protein source from supplements and shakes.

While there are higher protein (and not as tasty) shakes out there that you might be more interested in if you are doing heavy weight lifting and muscle building, I have found a shake mix that I ABSOLUTELY look forward to having every day. It is called Vi-Shape by Visalus Sciences. (You can click the link to see the nutritional information). Not only does it have a decent amount of protein (especially if you mix it with milk) but it also contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. You may have heard of the Body by Vi challenge, where you use a shake as a meal replacement each day as part of a weight loss protocol. I personally like to use the same shakes as an afternoon snack, or after a workout. They are great whatever your goals are!

There is only one flavor of the mix, Sweet Cream, and it tastes like cake batter! Plus, there are tons of great recipes out there so you never have to drink the same shake twice! I like mixing in frozen fruit and/or sugar free chocolate pudding mix, yum! I always use skim milk to add more protein, but you could use water or soy milk. Check out a large list of possible recipes!
AND I treated myself to my new favorite item: The Magic Bullet. I bought it at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $40 (they were selling it for $10 off) PLUS a $10 mail-in rebate. Not a bad deal in the end. So far I have only used it for my Vi Shakes, but there are lots of great recipes for making salsas, guacamole, anything you want to blend or puree, and even frozen beverages!

I am not a consultant for Visalus, nor do I intend to become one. I purchase my shake mix through a friend (and got a discount for signing up for an auto-monthly ship that I can cancel at any time, even after one shipment). On the autoship it is $49 for a month supply. If you are local and want a taste I'd be happy to whip one up for you or give you a little bag of powder! If you think you might want to try it out, you can order your own bag here (and click "Join the Challenge)! If I refer 3 people, I get a month supply free... and you can too if you do the same!

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt

A Fit Bit of Inspiration

At the end of every yoga class, as we are finishing our meditation, I read a quote. I found a great little quote book called "The Daily Book of Positive Quotations" by Linda Picone. I get a lot of positive feedback about many of the quotes in this book, but the one I read last night really spoke to me and a couple of my fellow yogis. It is very applicable to what we discussed last week regarding accountability (in training, work projects, whatever), so I wanted to share it with you:

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club" ~Jack London

Author's comments: Some artists wait to be struck, like lightening, by inspiration and then follow the inspiration wherever it leads. Others simply get up everyday and go to work. They write until they've produced a certain number of words. They draw until they've completed a certain number of sketches. These artists don't wait for inspiration, they work. And work. And work. And eventually, inspiration makes an appearance.

Self Reflection: I sometimes use lack of inspiration as an excuse for not doing things I say I love. Today I'm going to go ahead and do what I love and not wait to be inspired. If I have to, I'll make my own inspiration.

This really spoke to me regarding my personal fitness, my blogging, and especially my school projects. I hope it speaks to you as well... perhaps even inspires you!

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt

Who or What is Holding You Accountable?

Some of the concepts I find myself discussing the most, whether it be related to fitness goals, weight loss, school projects, office projects, time management, whatever... are setting priorities and accountability. I completely understand how motivation comes in waves, and some days we are all a little more passionate about achieving our goals than others. I think I am a perfect example of this by the fact that I took a good 6 months off of blogging. It isn't that I didn't want to blog anymore, but I let other priorities get in my way. I have stated to all of you (however many of you that are out there reading my babble) that my goal is to post once a week throughout the summer, and I certainly hope you will help to hold me accountable!

I hope that I can help you to achieve your fitness/health goals. Whether by being an encourager, sharing tidbits of information, answering your questions specifically, putting you in touch with other professionals, etc. But it certainly takes a team of supporters to obtain the best results.
Who or what is holding you accountable? Here are a few ideas you might find helpful. Please feel free to comment if you have additional suggestions!

1. Write down your goals on paper, and make sure they are SMART (see previous post)

2. Tell at least 3 people you trust (friends, family, spouse) your goals. If you are willing, give them a written copy of your goals. Be specific in asking them for help. Let me tell you, my husband [love you GymJim!] tells me all the time he wants to start doing certain exercise programs - but I have learned that he does NOT mean he wants me to remind him about them! :)
If you are actually looking for help/support, be clear about that!

3. Keep a food diary. All fitness/health results will be affected by your nutrition. As much as I advocate exercise - I'll be honest, that is a very small component of your results compared to what you are stuffing in your body 16-24 hours a day. And of course, each goal will have different nutrition needs. I do not recommend to anyone to keep a food diary every day - that is too tedious. I log my food at least one day a week to check in and see if I am eating the right amount of calories, and also if it is broken down into the proper percentages of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. There are a lot of websites that offer free and/or inexpensive food logging. I am a member of a site called DotFit (through HFPN) that I think is really great, because it uses the database from CalorieKing and you can also add in your own food items, etc. (You also start by doing a questionnaire related to your goals, and it gives nutritional recommendations based on your goal). I can give you a 14 day trial for free, and this does not include taking any credit card information from you or anything. Just comment below or email fitbritt@gmail.com if you are interested.

4. Wear a pedometer. This is a very affordable way to get an idea of whether or not you are getting an appropriate amount of activity each day. You can get pedometers for around $5 or less (of course the more you spend, the better the quality will be, plus a few additional bells and whistles). All you do is clip it to your waist band like a pager, and let it count your steps throughout the day. I would encourage you to wear it for a few days without trying to change your activity, recording your number of steps at the end of each day. Then, gradually try to work up to 10,000 steps/day. Someone set that as the magic number for health... it equates to ~5 miles of movement a day, and can be pretty challenging to reach if you have a desk job! But definitely a good number to aim for.

5. Use a heart rate monitor. Now I will go back to proclaiming how important your exercise is. It might only be 30 minutes to an hour of your day, but you better get the most bang for your buck (or calorie burn for your time)! A good heart rate monitor will have a chest strap that you wear against your bare skin, and also a watch (or waist clip) that gives you a readout of your heart rate. I personally like Polar monitors, they are a very well known brand that can be purchased in sports stores as well as online. I think I'll save the details for where your heart rate should be during your workout for another blog post... I've got to keep you coming back for more (and this post is going to get long)!

6. Wear an ExerSpy! or a BodyBugg, or a GoWearFit, or any of the other brands by BodyMedia - they seem to be the same! (But I happen to own an ExerSpy that you can use if you are local... and I also happen to sell them). If you do not know what this is, you are missing one of my favorite posts and favorite items of all times. In addition to logging your food intake, this arm band tracks your calories burned, steps taken, intensity level, and sleep efficiency around the clock. A friend of mine just got one, and she mentioned that one of the things she likes about it the most is she knows how many calories to eat each day based on her activity level (which of course, may change from day to day).

7. Share your goals on FitBritt.com. I created a new page, linked at the top of this blog titled "Hold Me Accountable!" for you to post your goals on this site! Other readers will be able to see your post, provide encouragement, and follow your progress. They will also feed off of your motivation and learn from your trials. Who knows how many individuals you will be able to help! Is anyone brave enough to be the first to share??

I hope that you will find some of these suggestions helpful. Please comment below with additional tips to share!

Have a HEALTHY day!

~Fit Britt