Just a Spoonful of Sugar? Maybe Not!

Great question. When we choose foods with our health and wellness in mind, we often think in terms of the advantages that particular foods may contribute to our health. Another consideration, though, involves asking at what cost? Sometimes, foods that offer certain advantages can also undermine our health goals, depending on our individual needs.

Take your traditional box of Raisin Bran – one from nearly any manufacturing company. One serving generally contains 190 calories, one gram of fat, three grams of protein, and 44 grams of carbohydrate.

Also included in that label may be some pretty clever marketing! For example, one grocery store brand that I recently considered advertises, “13 Grams of Whole Grain per Serving.” And the back of the box boasts, “Whole grain cereals may help protect against serious illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, even some forms of cancer.”

True, HOWEVER…in an effort to prevent diseases like diabetes, one strategy involves limiting refined sugar intake. So let’s rewind to that nutrition label mentioned above: remember those 44 grams of carbohydrates? A closer look told me that 20 grams of those carbohydrates come from sugar!

So what’s a growling stomach supposed to do? If you still want your sweet cereal fix, though without the not-so-sweet negative health impact, try the following:

• “Salad Cereal” – mix half of the sweet stuff with a low-sugar brand; you may eventually taper the sweet variety and develop a taste for to the lower-sugar version;
• Choose plain bran flakes, and add your own (fresh or) dried fruit, which won’t be coated in sugar like the raisins included in packaged Raisin Bran; or
• If you must have your sugary favorite, pair it with some healthy protein and fat, for example, scrambled eggs or low-fat veggie sausage. The protein and fat will (1) slow digestion, (2) provide you with steadier energy over the next few hours, and (3) reduce the overall impact on blood sugar, as the glycemic load of the meal is reduced.

In the end, you need to decide exactly what you hope to achieve with your cereal choice. If you struggle to consume enough fiber in the rest of your day and rely on your morning meal to get a jump-start on your fiber intake, then tossing the Raisin Bran into your cart is a judgment call that may provide you with needed benefits in the long run. Just limit your intake of refined sugars during the rest of your day. On the other hand, if fiber intake isn’t a challenge, avoid the sugar by following one of the suggestions above. Your ultimate goal: aim for a brand with less than five grams of refined sugar per serving.
Flip a few boxes over the next time you cruise through the cereal aisle – you’ll be able to tell whether you’re getting a spoonful or a shovel-ful!

Bye Bye Baby Belly!

By Jodi Sheakley Peckich, MS, CFT

Nearly as common as childbirth, many new mothers beg the question, “How can I get rid of my belly following childbirth?” Chances are, your post-pregnancy paunch is NOT the result of giving in to too many prenatal chocolate-chip-cookie cravings. Rather, it’s likely due to the fact that your abdominal muscles (specifically the transverse abdominal muscles) have been stretched and weakened, and perhaps have even separated due to your expanding belly.

Therefore, new moms’ goals are two-fold: (1) strengthening especially the transverse abdominal muscles and (2) getting rid of the layer of fat that lies over them. A wealth of information exists on resistance training exercises to strengthen the abdominal area, and I encourage you to consult with a fitness trainer, depending on your particular childbirth experience (natural or –section), to meet your individual needs. Besides core exercises, try the following to reacquaint yourself with your skinny jeans!

Cardiovascular Training

Once you’ve been given the go-ahead by your physician and are cleared for exercise, it’s time to incorporate The best kind of activity? The activity you’ll actually DO! Choose whatever you enjoy, and you’ll increase your chances of sticking with your exercise program. Swimming and the elliptical trainer provide low-impact ways to target your heart while being kind to your joints. Work up to 20-40 minutes of cardiovascular activity 4-5 times per week. On the days when you don’t feel up to it; listen to your body, since you may need a nap instead! Remember, your body has essentially been through a type of “trauma,” and it can take up to a year to fully recover…abdominal muscles included. So in the meantime, forgive yourself, and pay attention to your body’s cues.

Smart Nutrition

True, if you’re breastfeeding, you’re burning a few extra hundred calories per day. One can view this scenario two different ways: (1) license to (though not optimal if you want to bid your belly ’bye) or (2) use the opportunity to provide your baby with quality breast milk AND room in your diet to increase the quantity of nutrient-dense foods. In other words, all calories are not created nor processed equally. Your calorie needs are increased, as well as your need for increased nutrition. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins are your best bets. Here’s why:

Produce - Will Lane, MD, suggests, “Eat the rainbow.” The darker, the better; choose a variety of deeply colored fruits and vegetables like blackberries, red peppers, spinach, and papayas, which usually offer your biggest antioxidant and nutrient benefits.

Complex Carbohydrates – Generally speaking, the least processed a grain, the better. Complex carbs such as brown rice, whole oats, whole grain cereals, and beans Try a new grain, like quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”) that packs a triple-punch of protein, fiber, and low-glycemic carbohydrates.

The fiber found in fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates will help you avoid blood sugar spikes, keep you keep you feeling full, take longer to digest, and aid in elimination of toxins in the body.

*Go ahead and laugh, and then try this: Stir a container of baby food (organic if you like) into a serving of cooked oatmeal, and season with ground cinnamon. Add a glass of skim milk, and you have a satisfying meal. Baby food…it’s not just for babies anymore!

Pairing with Protein – Add the above foods with a lean protein source, and you’re on way to rebuilding healthy cells. Women’s bodies aren’t designed to build bulky muscles. You can, however, strengthen the lean muscle fibers you already have and build new ones. Translation: the ability to raise your metabolic rate and burn more calories at rest. Yes!

Fat Phobic? Let me reassure you: It takes fat to lose fat, though you need to consume the right kind. Omega-3 fatty acids are key in unlocking your body’s ability to shed unwanted pounds. Dr. Lane also recommends finding “sources without legs,” such as cold water fish (tuna, mackerel, wild salmon). Another source, flaxseed, is also a versatile one: stir ground seeds into soups or smoothies, top salads or cereal, or sprinkle some on a PBJ & banana sandwich.

Deprivation a “Don’t” – Any diet or eating plan that asks you to wipe out entire foods groups or a significant amount of calories likely won’t be one that you can follow in the long term. When you add back starches or other foods that you may have dropped, such as on a low-carb plan, you may add back the pounds you originally lost and then some.

And in terms of fat-burners and other weight loss supplements, the only tried-and-true “magic pill” formula that exists equals consistency plus patience. Many diet pills result in water loss rather than fat loss. Ultimately, they can actually undermine your fat loss efforts, sap your wallet, skyrocket your nerves, and/or unsettle your stomach. Who wants to pay for those side effects?

It may have taken nine months to develop the pregnancy belly, but the most lasting results will come from steady weight loss of one to two pounds per week. At that rate, you’ll not only lose weight, you’ll maximize your fat loss.

So strap on your grocery-shopping shoes, and skim the perimeter of the store for your healthiest, least-processed finds to send that post-pregnancy belly packing!

Jodi Sheakley Peckich, MS, CFT, is a Health Educator with Total Nutrition Technology, Inc., in Charlotte, NC. Call 704.549.9550 to schedule your complimentary health assessment!

Staying Fit While Pregnant

It seems that the one time in life when people are constantly encouraging women to eat more is when they are pregnant. If you have ever struggled with your weight, as I once did, this is not an eating pattern you want to adopt. In addition to eating more, women sometimes decide to take their health-off for nine months.

You know the saying, “eating for two” and taking that saying literally is often why it takes longer for women to lose their “baby weight.” It’s so important for a mother’s health and the baby’s health to eat well and exercise while pregnant. But, it’s also confusing knowing what you can and should eat and how much you can exercise.

Healthy eating during pregnancy provides your baby the nutrition needed to grow and become healthy, reduces your chance of having health problems like low iron or high blood pressure, helps you gain a healthy amount of weight, and helps you and your family develop healthy eating habits for life.

What you eat goes to your child and you want to avoid giving your baby too much sugar and saturated fats. An interesting fact to consider when making food choices is that a person’s fat cells are developed in three stages: during third trimester in utero, during adolescents and while pregnant. It’s certainly all right to give into real cravings as long as you eat them in moderation. Just make sure your cravings are true and you aren’t just justifying your desire for something high in fat


Getting through the first trimester
During the first trimester, I experienced what a lot of other women experience as all-day “morning” sickness. I was nauseous unless I had something in my stomach and found myself eating constantly to avoid feeling worse. While I was eating more, I choose healthy foods like whole-grain crackers, almonds, walnuts and peanut butter.

Everyday I carry around several small Ziploc bags of trail mix made up of ¼ cup all-natural granola cereal, six almonds or cashews and 2 Tbsp. dried raisins or cranberries. This is a great mix of protein and helps control your blood sugar. I also recommend all-natural peanut butter on whole grain crackers and non-fat cottage cheese with fruit. I’ve found that when I’m craving sugar, if I force myself to eat some fruit the craving goes away and I feel great instead of guilty.

Preparing your body for delivery and after
Every client that I have worked with that has exercised and ate well during pregnancy has had an easier labor and easier time getting back into shape. Eating well is just as important as exercising. Strong abdominals, inner thighs, upper and lower back, and shoulders are important to develop during pregnancy, the delivery, and after the baby‘s born.

When pregnant, your heart rate tends to rise more quickly. Make sure to talk to your doctor to determine your target heart rate so that you can be cautious of that number while working out. Wearing a heart monitor is also beneficial to ensure you do not exceed that number. You need enough time between beats to get blood to the baby, and as your heart rate goes up, you don't pump quite as much blood each time and the blood is not as well oxygenated.

Exercise that is good for you
Especially during that first trimester, getting motivated to exercise when all you want to do is crawl into bed can be difficult. The trick is to force yourself to do something. Tell yourself you just have to be active for 15 minutes. Once you get going, you may find your able to keep going for 30-40 minutes. But remember, some exercise is better than no exercise.

The best cardio workout while pregnant is walking. Walking at a low-moderate pace with 1-2 lb. hand weights gets your heart rate up, burns calories and helps tone in a low intensity manner that is perfect for pregnancy. Walking on a treadmill or using an elliptical machine is also good means of cardio exercise.

Resistance training is helpful for toning and maintaining your strength. I’m a huge fan of resistance bands. They are inexpensive, lightweight and can pack easily.

Here are some examples of good resistance band exercises to strengthen your core areas during pregnancy. For each exercise you can do 2-3 repetitions of 12-15.

Outer and Inner Thighs Exercises:
Tie the resistance band ends together to form a circle. With your feet shoulder length apart, place the band around your feet. Place a hand on something stable and lift one leg to the side using the resistance band to tone outer thighs. Switch legs. For inner thighs, lift leg to the front. Switch legs.

Shoulder Exercise:
Put resistance band under feet with feet shoulder length apart. Hold both ends of the band in each hand. Do front lateral lifts with the resistance bands.

Abdominal Exercise:
Put resistance band under feet, with feet shoulder length apart. Do side to side crunches using the resistance band to work oblique’s.

Don’t use your pregnancy as an excuse to take time off from your health. Avoid the attitude that since you are already gaining weight naturally, you can eat whatever you want. Knowing that what you put in your mouth also nourishes your baby will help keep you on track. You need to be healthy for not only the baby, but yourself. You need strength for delivery and after the baby’s born. Extra weight will slow you down and also make your pregnancy more uncomfortable.

You don’t have to be overly strict and regimented, but stay balanced with good eating habits and physical activity; you’ll find your pregnancy to be healthier, delivery to be easier and losing the weight after the baby is born to happen more quickly.

Mastering Metabolism

HE Carol Goodwin wrote an article on metabolism that will be published on 411fit website on Thursday

We all know them. Those enviably thin people who can eat anything they want all day long and never gain weight. Then there are those of us who even briefly entertain thoughts of a donut, and the next thing you know, we can’t zip up those jeans we just bought. What makes us so different when it comes to weight loss and weight gain? Some of the answers lie in the mysteries of our metabolism. It may seem logical to think that significant weight gain or being overweight is related to a low metabolism or possibly to a condition such as an underactive thyroid gland. In reality, it is very uncommon for excess weight to be related to a low metabolism. Weight gain is more likely due to an energy imbalance – consuming more calories than your body burns. To lose weight then, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories, increasing the calories you burn through physical activity, or preferably both.

What is metabolism? Simply put, metabolism is the sum of all our physiological functions that convert food into energy. During these complex biochemical processes, calories from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, are combined with oxygen to release the energy needed to function. The number of calories your body burns each day is called your Total Energy Expenditure. Total energy expenditure is comprised of the following 3 components:

1. Basic Needs – the energy needed for all basic functions such as breathing, circulation, hormone adjustment, immune response, cell growth and repair. This includes time spent awake and at rest and is known as Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Typically, the BMR is the largest portion of energy expenditure – approximately 75-80% of the total calories burned.

2. Food Processing – the energy needed for digestion, absorption, transportation, and storage of the nutrients we take in. Typically about 10% of our total caloric expenditure.

3. Physical Activity – The energy required for all movement and all types of movement; playing tennis or golf, running a 5k race, doing dishes, or sitting at the computer, all burn calories. These calories make up the remainder of our total energy expenditure and vary from individual.
There are many influences on our metabolic rate. Some of which are contingent on our genetics, and some that we can control or adjust.

1. Body size – The larger the surface area, the greater the energy expenditure.
2. Body composition – The higher the degree of muscularity, the higher the energy requirements.
3. Age – Metabolism decreases with age.
4. Gender – Men have a higher metabolic rate than women.

Your ability to change your metabolic rate is limited. However, you can increase daily activity to build muscle mass and increase calories burned. Even though consistent aerobic exercise and strength building exercise is best for increasing metabolism, any extra movement will help burn calories. I’ll bet that same thin person, who can eat and eat, is also the type of person who never sits still. If you can envision your metabolism as a fire that you want to keep burning, the best way to do that is to eat smaller more frequent meals throughout the day. Be careful not to put a wet log on that fire at the end of the day, but balance out the amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Be sure to give that fire a jump start first thing in the morning. Based on the factors that determine our metabolic rate, we all need a different amount of calories from food.

When trying to determine the proper amount of calories from food to take in, there is a simple 10 minute metabolic test you can do to determine your exact BMR. This test is available at Total Nutrition Technology offices throughout the Charlotte area. Call or email us for an appointment at: 1-877-TNT-WELL or www.tntgetfit.com.

Though your metabolism influences your energy needs, it is ultimately your food intake, and your physical activity that determines your weight.

Sleep the Night Away

via papertissue

Being tired can make you fat. Getting inadequate sleep probably won't make you eat bigger meals but it WILL make you snack too much during the day says a recent study from the University of Chicago Medical Center. Adults ate 221 more calories from snack foods when they got only 5 1/2 hours of sleep, compared to those who got 8 hours of sleep, and the majority of these calories were from refined carbs. Having small, healthy snacks in between meals is a great way to keep hunger at bay and rev metabolism but lack of sleep can lead to snack options with little nutrition value and possibly send your blood sugars soaring and crashing - leading you to look for yet another snack.

Honor Roll Status Pantry!

Falling back into fall routines, we’re used to organizing backpacks, schedules, and upcoming holiday to-do lists. However, an often-overlooked area that’s also part of our daily routine lurks behind closed doors: the kitchen pantry. Within this small space, though, we have the power to save money, buy time, reduce stress, and (perhaps most importantly) improve our nutrition and overall health with the following strategies:

If Outdated, Out It Goes
Sifting through an overstuffed pantry? As an easy first step, check the expiration dates, and pitch the overdue items. You’re on your way!

Donate Without Remorse
Most of us likely wouldn’t experience “separation anxiety” when we drop extra inches from our hips…so you shouldn’t feel guilty about parting with unused brownie mix, either. Items that qualify include: (1) those that don’t contribute to your wellness goals…you know the ones; and (2) those that you’ll likely never use…canned boiled peanuts, anyone?

If you’re still unsure, check nutrition labels for the following:
- less than 10% saturated fat;
- less than 500mg sodium; &
- less than 5g total sugars.
Generally speaking, the less an item is processed and the fewer ingredients it contains, the better.

Front-and-Center Foods
Invest in a few clear plastic boxes for healthy, on-the-go foods, and place them at eye level. Portion snacks into single-serving baggies, and place them in boxes by type (trail mixes, cereals, nuts, pretzels, etc.). It’s a “fitter hunger fix,” as well as a quicker, economical grab versus convenience store choices or fast food restaurant fare.

Occasional treats are fine, too. (*Note that the key term in this phrase is occasional rather than usual, though.) The best way to “highlight the healthy” is to store less-than-optimal choices on the top or bottom shelves, and/or at the back of the closet.

Organizing What’s Left
I admit, I used to make fun of my mother for alphabetizing her spices. Now, as the sole chef in my household and with limited time to shuffle through a sea of spices, I find her strategy a valuable one! Consider inside-the-door racks and lazy-Susan spinners to keep small items neatly racked and readily accessible. It’s easier to concoct healthier recipes when the clutter is cleared.

Next, you have several options for simplifying your canned and dry goods. First, you can arrange them by category: beans, tomatoes, sauces, condiments, pastas, rice, cereals, etc. On the other hand, you might arrange them by meal or recipe. For instance, since I like to prepare a tortilla casserole for the week, I keep olives, green chilies, salsa, and rice next to one another. Do what’s most convenient for you, or you’ll be chanting, “Take out!” faster than you can pull your needed items off the shelves!

By following these guidelines, you, too, can arrange a pantry worthy of honor-roll status.

This article will be published in the October '09 issue of Lake Norman Magazine, by Jodi Peckich (HE)

60 Day Food Journal

Ta-dah! I'm so excited to present the TNT 60-Day Food Journal to you all. This will help our clients so much to help follow the their customized TNT program.

The lovely Diane from Sharper Images helped out with the design and of course printing. Thank you, Diane! I'm so excited to see them :)

Grains of Salt

Nearly all of us get too much salt, even when we do not use the salt shaker at the table or when cooking, there are high levels of salt in foods - even some sweet foods! Many of us can look for the common form of salt in the ingredients - sodium chloride - but one form of potato chips found in the market has EIGHT DIFFERENT types of salt in that one product! A good rule of thumb by dietitian Elie Krieger of the food network is to read the label and make sure the sodium content is not more than the calorie content.

Also, you may know that watching your salt intake is helpful for controlling blood pressure. But, did you also know that potassium can also help lower blood pressure? The RDA for this mineral is 4,700 mg per day and getting this each day could lower your rish of heart disease by up to 15%. Some potassium-rich foods include bananas, strawberries, spinach, tuna, halibut and cod.