Look out flax, there's a new seed in town!

The most important medicine, especially for prevention and disease is our diet.

• Research has shown that over 2/3 of all deaths in the US are diet related
• More than 50% of all deaths are caused from coronary coclusion-blockage of the blood flow to the heart and/or brain
• According to the Journal of American Medical Association, fourteen hundred American's are dying of cancer everyday and they concluded that
  none of the risk factors for cancer is...more significant than diet and nutrition."

This is where the superfood Chia Seed comes into play:

• When mixed with liquids, the chia seed forms into a gel like substance in your stomach, slowing carbohydrate conversion to sugars thus creating an increased fueling effect for your body and increasing endurance, and also aids in weight loss.
• Chia seeds have hydrophilic properties and can hold on to about 12 times its weight in water, prolonging hydration and are recommended for athletes.
• A solid source of protein, promotes growth of muscle tissue for athletes.
• High in Omega 3 fatty acids, 3-10 times that of other grains, which help nourish skin cells, aid in respiration and oxygen transport.
• A rich source of calcium, containing the mineral boron, which acts as catalyst for the absorption and utilization of the calcium by the body.
• Chia seeds do not need to be ground like the flax seed to be able to process them in the digestive system.

Mix Chia seeds into yogurt, sprinkle them on cereal or oatmeal, add to salads, or even add them to your baking for optimal health benefits!

The truth behind burning body fat!

While it is true that a higher proportion of calories burned during low-intensity exercise come from fat (about 60 percent as opposed to approximately 35 percent from high-intensity programs), high-intensity exercise still burn more calories from fat in the final analysis. However, if you have 30 minutes to spare and workout at a low to moderate intensity, you will burn approximately 200 calories, and 60% or 120 calories of those will come from fat. If you workout for the same time at a high intensity, you will burn around 400 calories and 35% of them or 140 calories will come from fat. Overall, if you have 30 minutes to spare, it would definitely benefit you to push yourself to the highest level you can go, but in the end, you will burn close to the same number of fat calories.




Top recommendations if you are trying to lose body fat:

• Take part in high intensity interval training- running and biking sprints, or sprints on the elliptical or other cardio machines, and running stairs are great examples.  
• Circuit training on weight machines and with free weights and doing cardio-weights-plyometric circuits. Example=jumping rope for 2 minutes, standing lunges for 1 minute, tricep dips for 1 minute, and plank for 1 minute. Do this cycle 3 times and then switch to another set with different exercises.
• Consuming adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates, protein and fat is important. By consuming nuts, seeds, legumes, brown rice, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and some lean meats,  you will feel fuller longer and meet nutritional requirements.
• Keep a food diary- by writing down everything you eat, you can go on myfoodpyramid.com or any website where you can plug in your foods eaten and figure out your calories. By cutting out a few hundred calories a day of your diet, it will ultimately result in weight loss.

Cutting carbs extensively to lose weight? Think again...


Fats and carbohydrates are the primary fuels for exercise. It is estimated that a person stores between 50,000 to 100,000 kcals of energy in the adipocytes (fat cells). Fat and carbohydrates are oxidized (burned) as a mixture during physical activity, which depends on intensity, duration, level of fitness and diet.


There are various studies that indicate the primary fuel at rest and at low intensity activity is fat from adipose tissue. And fat oxidation is highest at moderate intensity activity such as light jogging. Higher intensity exercise such as running use carbohydrate as the primary fuel.


Low carbohydrate diets result in ketosis and most of the weight loss from these diets is due to water weight loss as each gram of carbohydate holds onto three grams of water. When there are no carbohydrates in the diet, ketones are produced, which are emergency sources of fuel to the brain and muscles. It's important to understand that the calorie restriction on a low carb diet is causing weight loss, not the carbohydrate deficit.


Key points to remember that will help your diet plan:

• Fat metabolism depends on carbohydrate- when carbs are depleted, fat oxidation is not possible.
• Fat is the primary fuel at rest and at low to moderate intensity physical activity levels.
• Fat is not an efficient energy source for exercise. 

"What a person eats everyday is an importance aspect of how his or her health will be in everyday as well as later life. "

It all comes down to will power.

And when it comes to being stressed out at work and there is a huge box of donuts in the break room, the last thing you are probably thinking about is your diet or how that donut will affect your organs, blood sugar, and how you will feel and look in the next 20 minutes and in the future. It's difficult, but try to have will power and think before you eat!!!!


So, pack healthy snacks for work that will keep you full and when you're feeling stressed out at work or life in general, breathe and just remember what you put into your body will 100% affect how you look and feel physically and mentally now and 10 years down the line. Snacks that are full of complex carbohydrates (whole grains, oats, flax, bran, agave nectar, etc) which enter the blood stream slowly and digest at a slow rate, combined with a protein such as nuts will keep you full longer.


Examples of great snacks to pack for work:

• Trader Joes snack packs of organic trek trail mix
• Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame plain or with dried goji berries
• Yoplait or Danon lite and fit yogurt
• Trader Joes organic brown rice cakes with Better than Peanut Butter
• A piece of fruit
• Fill a bag with high fiber, high protein, sugarless cereal (Puffins, museli, Kashi)
• celery and PB or better than peanut butter from Trader Joes
• Carrots and other chopped up vegetables
• Back to Nature sunflower and pumpkin seed granola
• Protein Bar (Lara Bar, Raw Bars from Whole Foods, Mini Clif Bars)
• raw peanut butter with organic sugarless jelly on eziekiel bread

Your snacks should be anywhere from 100-200 calories and ideally you should try to keep your blood sugars and liver and muscle glycogen stores in check by consumig a snack every few hours. Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of filtered water in a BPA free water bottle throughout the day and herbal green tea!! You should be urinating once an hour and your urine should be almost clear, which means you are fully hydrated!

Why go veggie?? Here's the top reasons...

I've been a vegetarian for about 8 years when I decided that I needed to take care of myself and live a healthy lifestyle as an athlete. I did this transformation on my own, with not a lot of support from friends and family. The fact is, I could not be happier that I have chosen this lifestyle. Not only am I a lot healthier than I was when I was younger, I also am happier overall. I have acquired a taste for all vegetables, fruits, soy and legumes, and crave healthy foods. I highly recommend this lifestyle to everyone, and am constantly sending my family and friends articles and e-mails about the benefits of being a vegetarian. All of you crack jokes at me still, and try to trick me into eating meat all the time, but get serious...everyone knows that a plant based diet is the healthiest diet and lifestyle to lead, that will ultimately lead to decreased risks for disease and an overall happier person! So, if you don't believe me that eating veggie has some serious benefits, check out this article and let me know what you think!

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/resources/why_go_veg/
 
Easy ways to incorporate veggies into my diet:
- Baking huge portions of vegetables such as asparagus, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, or anything else to last for a few days to save time and energy.
- Easiest way to bake big portions of veggies? Cut up a ton of vegetables and place in large baking dish, sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic and top with sesseme seeds and place in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until crisp.
- Cut up veggies such as cucumbers, peppers, celery, etc, and place into containers or ziplock bags for easy access throughout the day.
- When it comes to salads, adding a ton of other bright vegetables into the mix will make it taste much better! Mix in sunflower seeds, baked squash cubes, grilled oninos and mushrooms, jicama, tofu, sprouts, grilled tempeh, slivered almonds, chopped zucchini, etc. And for dressings, whole foods Galeo dressings are the best! Also, you can easily make your own healthy dressing with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic, and rosemary, thyme, dill, etc.

Happy World Vegetarian Day!

Check out the website below to find out more about World Vegetarian Day, which is actually the first day of World Vegetarian Month! No worries if you're not a vegetarian...but having a plant based diet full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants will benefit your short term and long term health.

http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/


For those of you who have a hard time making your daily workouts, you're not alone. It's not easy working a 10-12 hour day and then heading home to workout, so here are a few tips that can help push you along.


-If you don't have to be at work until 9:00 AM, wake up at 7 and run for an hour or hit the gym for an hour. Just make sure you eat something small before you work out such as a banana, yogurt, small bagel, bowl of cereal, or anything else that is 100-200 calories or 20-50g of complex carbohydrates. Getting a workout in before work can jumpstart your entire day making you more energized. And once you get home from work, you won't feel guilty about lounging.
-Coming from experience, I can tell you that working out after a long day is definitely worth it. Not only do I feel better and sleep better at night, I feel like I can release my days work of tension on a 1/2 hour to hour run. I would also recommend eating a small snack before your nightly workout to ensure energy levels.
-Overall, logging your food and exercise is a great way to keeping a solid routine and it helps with motivation too!
-Just a side note...when you're on your way home from work and the last thing you want to do is go for a run, just remember how great you'll feel after that workout session!!