Sunday 1/26
Hey, ladies!
FIRST, lets chat food labels and ingredients.
(scroll down for Q&A responses if that’s what you’re looking for)
Obviously what we eat and how much we eat plays a large role in our body composition and how our body functions. But, do we know how to figure out exactly what’s in the foods we’re consuming? Well maybe we can’t find out EXACTLY what’s in them, but we can get pretty close.
Food labels inform us of a food’s nutritional content and the ingredients that make up the food. Unfortunately, these don’t always allow us to know EVERYTHING that is in our food (but, I’ll save that for another day).
It is important to pay more attention to the ingredients list than the nutritional content. Why? Because companies can alter a food’s nutritional content by adding in ingredients to make the food appear “healthy,” BUT that doesn’t mean the ingredients are necessarily “good'“ for us. (This doesn’t mean don’t look at the nutritional content, but just be very mindful of the ingredients)
Let’s take a look at this CLIF Protein bar…
From the outside, looks perfectly fine, right? (Like a chocolate peanut butter protein bar sounds delish, no!?) On the package we can read: natural flavor, non-GMO, plant protein, gluten-free, low glycemic, 20 grams of protein… all great marketing words!
BUT, what most of us fail to do is look past the exterior.
[ Think of this stereotypical situation… when you’re in your early 20s and you’re only interested in all the “hot” guys because duh? But they end up being totally toxic. Protein bars are normally the “hot” guys… they look great on the outside, but they’re actually really awful. ]
Are you still with me?
Now, lets take a better look at this CLIF Protein Bar…
This, my friends, is a processed candy bar masked as a protein bar.
There’s 3 different sugar ingredients listed immediately following the first ingredient. This tells me that this bar is basically all sugar. (Ingredients are always listed in order of abundance.)
Besides the amount of sugar, this bar contains additives, preservatives, various oils, natural flavors, etc. that are TERRIBLY hard for our body to process, which will absolutely cause us digestion issues and discomfort in one way or another.
Fortunately, there’s simple ways to start choosing better options. An easy starting point is choosing packaged foods with shorter ingredients lists. If a food has a paragraph of ingredients, then it’s safe to say it’s not food… it’s chemicals. (I think we can all agree chemicals don’t belong in our bodies, right?) If we can gradually start shortening the ingredients list of the foods we buy, then we can easily start eliminating ingredients that don’t support our health and body goals.
*If you have difficulty finding options that better suit your goals, then feel free to speak with us. We can give you some direction in how to find better options that work with your lifestyle.*
SUNDAY Q&A
Thoughts on eating late/past a certain time?
Simply, I wouldn’t recommend anyone eat close to their bedtime. If you can give yourself at least a 2 hour window before bed with no food, then that would be ideal.
And no, it’s not because food eaten after 9pm instantly turns to fat or because eating a late night snack is “bad.”
If we eat close to bedtime, it negatively affects our natural circadian rhythm and does not allow our body to get optimal rest because it has to work on digesting.
Digestion is very difficult when sleeping because our digestion system slows down. Our digestion is also meant to be carried out while in a more upright position. Laying down takes out the force of gravity that pushes the contents of our stomach down, therefore making it even more difficult to digest food.
Sleep is very important. So, when we go to bed we want our body to simply focus on just that: good, restorative sleep. Because if our body does not get proper rest, then all our body’s functions are compromised, including our digestion, so it just becomes an unhealthy cycle to put ourselves in.
If you’re committed to hitting a certain protein goal for the day and find yourself having to make up most of it late at night, then I have 2 recommendations:
1.) Prioritize protein earlier. Make your first meal of the day a heavy protein meal. Try and get in 50+ grams in that first meal. Then, try to eat consistent meals/snacks throughout the day (about every 3 hours) that all prioritize protein.
To start, it would help to create a schedule for yourself and pre-plan protein amounts for each meal/snack and commit yourself to hitting them. Below is an example for an individual with a 150g daily protein goal.
Breakfast: 50g Protein
Snack: 20g Protein
Lunch: 30g Protein
Snack: 20g Protein
Dinner: 30g Protein
Play with a schedule that works for you and hold yourself accountable to getting the protein in.
2.) Make your last “meal” of the day a protein shake. Protein shakes are much easier to digest than a meal of dense food. Therefore, this would be a great option for someone who just can’t seem to fit all that protein in throughout the day. You’ll hit your protein target this way without compromising sleep as much.
“Push through” when sick or rest?
This is a tough question because it’s very individual.
In short: it depends.
Working with individuals over the years, it quickly became very apparent that, in general, “pushing through” is not something many individuals have the desire to do. To many, it’s nice to have an excuse to not go do something that is difficult and requires a lot of effort. “Pushing through” is a choice. It’s a part of being disciplined and many individuals simply don’t possess discipline.
It is important to know what type of individual you are, so you can make an enlightened choice to show up or not based on how you actually feel, not what you just feel like doing in the moment.
So, there’s 2 types of individuals:
1.) The individual who’s already a bit inconsistent. This individual takes any excuse (consciously or not) to skip the gym. Workouts are not really a top priority (again, may be a conscious decision or not).
2.) The individual who is very consistent. This individual rarely misses workout days unless it’s for a legitimate reason outside their control. Workouts are top priority.
Now, honestly, which type of individual are you?
When it comes to not feeling well…
If you’re individual #1, then you’re probably used to taking rest days when the common cold hits or when you’re just not feeling 100%.
If you’re individual #2, then you’re probably used to pushing through the common cold or showing up on days you aren’t feeling 100%.
But, let’s move on to the recommendations…
If you’re very sick with a bacterial infection, I wouldn’t recommend you workout. That can easily spread to other individuals and exercise could make the recovery process a bit longer, so its better to stay home and rest.
But, if you have a virus, depending on the severity, the answer could be yes some days and no other days. See below.
If you’re having whole body symptoms (body aches, fever, and chills, etc.), then I wouldn’t recommend you workout.
If you have a contained respiratory infection or a head cold, then go workout. Exercise is actually beneficial in the recovery process.
*These are just recommendations. You know your body best. Personally, I am the type to always show up even when I don’t necessarily want to. Sick (although I don’t get very sick often), tired, depressed, stressed, overwhelmed, etc… movement always makes me feel better (I can’t lay around and rot or I’ll feel even worse physically and mentally). I don’t need to go in to hit PRs and max myself out. I just need to simply move and do what I know my body can do for that day. Movement is medicine.*