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FITNESS AND NUTRITION TIPS - Jan 15, 2009
Core Intervention & Fit By Intent
BARB WEIGHS IN
ON CHEAT MEALS
Chris and I talk to our clients often about the importance of
choosing wisely when it comes to fueling your body. Eating a clean
diet is half (maybe more) of a successful fitness program.
One subject we address often are cheat meals. Sometimes you
just need something that is a little decadent, but it helps if you
know how and when it is okay for these type of meals.
As most of you know I weighed in at 245 pounds less than
three years ago. My weight is now in a healthy range but I
constantly have to watch what I am eating. I decided to try an
experiment and hope you learn from the results. I ate properly
throughout the day and ate a cheat meal for dinner at a local
Mexican restaurant.
10 Tortilla chips with red and green sauce
1 cup of Charra Bean Soup
-
Beef fajitas – marinated, oil and 1 flour tortilla: ½ lbs., 400
calories, 16.4 grams of fat, 700 mg sodium, 40
carbs.
- Add
an extra flour tortilla: 150 calories, 3.3 grams of fat, 250 mg
sodium, 30 grams of carbs.
-
1
oz of tortilla chips: 142 calories, 7.4 grams of fat, 150 sodium,
17.8 grams of carbs.
- 6
tbs. of red sauce: 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, 1250 mg sodium, 10
grams of carbs.
- 4
oz of guacamole: 170 calories, 15 grams of fat, 370 mg sodium, 8
grams of carbs.
Total: 922 calories, 42.10 grams of
fat, 2720 mg sodium, 105.8 grams of carbs.
– honestly I bet this meal was closer to 1100 calories, but you
can’t know for sure because it was prepared at a restaurant.
Tuesday I weighed in at 133.6 pounds. Wednesday I weighed
in at 136 pounds. That is a big difference for one day. Some of
the gain will be attributed to water, but it took me 3 days to get
back to my weight of 133 lbs.
There are a few lessons you can learn from this experiment….
If you are in a weight loss mode versus a maintenance mode –
you HAVE to minimize your cheat meals to as seldom as possible. If
you cheat weekly, you will wipe out the majority of the
progress you have made. Even when we cheat a “little” during the
day – it will add up.
When you feel like you need to cheat, cheat smart. Cheat
at home if possible, but if you eat out – follow the tips we give
you when ordering from a restaurant.
If you weigh daily you and keep your diet diary, only then
will you begin to understand how your body responds to different
foods.
Hope this information give you food for thought! If you
have any comments or questions, we would love to hear from you!
CHRISTINE
WEIGHS IN ON CHEAT MEALS
First let’s
define what is a cheat meal?
Most
dieters think a cheat meal is the chance to break down and eat their
favorite food that they have been giving up for their “diet”. They
want to eat it because they just can’t STAND IT ANY LONGER . It is
usually prepared somewhere other than their own kitchen
(fried mozzarella sticks, enchiladas, carrot cake, sweet ‘n sour
pork w/fried rice, hamburger and fries are extreme examples) Many
times it is a last minute lunch or dinner with a friend and is
rationalized as being deserved.
If you are
overweight and weight loss is your goal, you do not have the luxury
of eating like this without consequence. If find yourself saying
“I’ll just have this one tiny piece of cheesecake and just do extra
cardio later”- this is not a cheat this is a screw-up. Screw-ups
slow down your progress.
If you are
muscular and lean (ie body fat <20% for females, body fat< 15% for
men) then these indulgences are allowed, are called cheat meals and
leave no lasting damage. They are planned , controlled and don’t
occur very often. They are also eaten with no guilt or remorse.
Total enjoyment.
Being able to
eat all your favorite things and still lose weight is the approach
of the programs like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystems. Of course you
will lose weight if you reduce calories by eating a hamburger the
size of a poker chip. I had a client who would buy the assortment
pack of 100-calorie snacks. The only problem is that she had to
taste 2 or 3 flavors each time. Cookies don’t make you fat…too many
cookies make you fat.
Many “experts”
will tell you it’s all about calories in calories out. Lowering
calories does result in weight loss but it’s the quality of
the calories that determines what weight is lost (lost
from water, muscle or fat) We teach our clients how to lose fat
weight so it will be permanent. No mo’ yo-yo.
If you are on
a diet and are tempted to “screw-up” many times it means your body
is craving a missing nutrient. This is common with the
eat-all-your-favorite- foods diet plans as well as the low calorie
or no carb/fat plans. We study client food journals very closely to
make sure they are getting all essential nutrients the body needs.
Then if they still have the urge to “indulge” there is a
psychological trigger we need to identify and address. We stick with
clients until they succeed. Clients learn to avoid screw-ups and
enjoy cheats. We understand fat-loss could be a lengthy process
which requires clients to learn about their body , and retrain their
thoughts towards food and exercise.
I’m not saying
this is easy, but I am saying your results will last if you do.
Do you have a
question for Christine or Barb? Just drop us an e-mail!
Upcoming Cookbook
I’m very pleased and excited to announce we will be releasing a healthy
cookbook (as yet untitled) in February 2009. “Three personal trainers
share how, what and when they eat. Recipes, tips and educational tools
included.” Christine Boss, RPh, CPT; Ray Bessette, CPT; Barb
Henley, CPT, FNC; share “secrets” with clients. To preorder, please send me an
e-mail for more information.
Chris@CoreIntervention.com This
e-book will retail for $25.00.
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