Introducing… BodyBasics, the PULSE of Health & Fitness!
Nutrition Corner – Carbohydrates are NOT fattening!
In an effort to make a name for ourselves and really describe what it is that we do here at BodyBasics, we held a focus group in early October. The focus group consisted of 11 of our clients and two representatives from The Marketing Place, Inc., a marketing group we have been working with to help us better brand ourselves.
After much thoughtful discussion and brainstorming, our clients decided upon our new tagline. Our official name is now simply Body Basics, but anytime you see our name or our logo, you will see, Body Basics: The Pulse of Health & Fitness. The newsletter will undergo a slight change as well and will be renamed, “The Pulse.” Look for the first edition of “The Pulse” in your e-mailbox in January 2008!
Thank you to all of our clients who participated. We really appreciate your time and input. With our new tagline, the sky is the limit for the success of Body Basics!
Survive or Enjoy the Holidays?
The holiday season is upon us once again. As Fitness Coaches, we are often asked for advice on how to survive the holidays. For such a common question, we give quite an uncommon answer.
Our holiday survival advice is, in reality, lifetime survival advice. Why does the holiday season have to be so different from the rest of the year? Why is it that health and fitness goals seem to be virtually abandoned as soon as the air turns a bit crisp and bathing suits are packed away? The answer? Karen Helouin, a client of Body Basics says, Because the holidays are about good times and good food. Most people treat the holidays as a two-month vacation, a time of year when calorie-laden food is gobbled up thoughtlessly while exercise is bumped off the schedule for holiday gift shopping and office parties.
This process starts with Halloween when there are mass quantities of candy around the house that just have to be eaten to make room for Thanksgiving Pumpkin pies, which in turn are replaced by Christmas cookies and other holiday goodies. It is not until the end of December when you finally decide enough is enough and make a pledge that in the New Year, you will change your life.
We challenge you by asking, why wait? Why not make that pledge to yourself now? Make a Holiday Resolution now and start making change in your life before you get overtaken by the holiday hustle and bustle.
Do you realize Jenny has us exercising five days a week now? How did she sneak that past us? It does not matter how small the steps, just as long as you keep moving forward in the direction of your desired goals. Making small changes now will help you make it through the holiday season without the usual holiday guilt.
The more you deprive yourself, the more you are likely to cheat and eat every cookie on the plate. Recognize that the holiday season is a unique time of year and allow yourself to enjoy the certain treats that make this time of year special for you. Just keep in mind that moderation is the key.
The holidays can be an emotional time for many people and can lead to emotional eating. Emotional eating is when we eat out of emotion rather than hunger. Tucson native and Registered Dietician, Abby Floyd, says the holiday season evokes all sorts of emotions. You are surrounded by comfort foods that are often times associated with positive childhood memories. Floyd continues, Then you give yourself permission by saying oh, what the heck! It’s only one time a year. Besides, I never eat these foods during the rest of the year. That’s all fine if you indulge two days out of the month, says Floyd. It’s when the indulgence lasts through the whole two months of the holiday season that it becomes a problem.
Floyd suggests practicing moderation when it comes to holiday treats. One tip she gives is to think about adding to what you eat each day instead of focusing on what you think you need to eliminate. By ensuring that you are bringing in the appropriate amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and proteins, you crowd out the less nutritious foods.
Although it is very tempting to curl up and hibernate all winter long, remember that our bodies are meant to move! Keep up with your activity throughout the holidays by taking the stairs while shopping, parking far away from the store’s entrance, and going for a brisk walk around the neighborhood admiring the holiday decorations. You have the power to make the decision to move. And if you eat one-too-many of a holiday treat, remember that, on average, it takes 60 minutes of walking briskly (3.0 mph) to burn off 300 calories (Robinson, p. 23).
This year, we encourage you to use the tools for success to help you stay focused during the holiday season. Allow yourself to relax and have fun, while still keeping your health goals in the forefront of your mind. As you enter this season fully equipped, you will turn your holiday survival mode into holiday enjoyment that will last you year after year.
Believe it or not, even Fitness Coaches are faced with holiday temptations. We understand that the holiday parties and cookie-baking family bonding times do in fact exist. However, once you have prepared yourself to enter the holiday season with the right attitude, you can enjoy the good times and good food. And the rest is a piece of cake or pie, or cookie.
Don’t deny yourself the enjoyment of a special treat during the holiday season. Just make sure that you really enjoy what you choose to eat and that you are not just eating it because its thereâ€ says Jenny Kerbs, Fitness Coach and Studio Manager of BodyBasics Health & Fitness.
If you receive food as a gift from a friend, don’t feel obligated to eat it all. It’s okay to sample a little of everything advises Kathleen Kordich, Fitness Coach at BodyBasics Health & Fitness.
Remember that when you are sitting down to a big meal you don’t have to eat it all at one sitting. Attempt to stay out of the food coma by eating about half as much as you normally would and save the rest for later, suggests Chris Litten, President and Fitness Coach of BodyBasics Health & Fitness.
Robinson, Dorene D., RD, CDN. (2004). The Healthy Eating & Weight Management Guide: Science-based Strategies for a Better Life. Bellevue, WA: Beyond Fitness, a division of Peak Performance: The International Fitness Network.
BodyBasics offers a Yoga class on Tuesday mornings from 7:00-8:00am. It’s a great way to start your day energized and clear-headed.
Please call us by 5:00pm on Monday to reserve your spot.
The holiday season is upon us once again! If you’re to get a jump on your shopping, a BodyBasics gift certificate will help you give the gift of health! Ask one of our Fitness Coaches for details.
The 10th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is scheduled for April 6, 2008. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information on how to join our BodyBasics Crew team!
Carbohydrates are not fattening emphasized Nancy Clark, MS, RD at her Exercise and Nutrition seminar in Phoenix on October 12 and 13, 2007. Nancy Clark is an internationally known lecturer and Registered Dietician who specializes in nutrition for sports and exercise, weight management and nutritional management of eating disorders.
Carbohydrates have had a bad rap over the past few years due to the popularity of high-protein and low-carbohydrate diets. An estimate of 25.4 million people have tried The Atkins Diet (12% of adult population). Consequently, the bread sales have declined 2% per year since the release of the Atkins book in 1997. Wheat consumption has dropped more than 12lbs per person. There has been an increase of beef sales per capita of about 1.8lbs per year since 1997. And the consumption of bacon and eggs are at a 10-year high. Interestingly enough, the obesity levels of Americans are on the rise as well. According to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), the prevalence of obesity in America has increased from 15% in the 1976-1980 survey to 32.9% in a 2003-2004 survey. We are not necessarily saying that the increase in beef, bacon, and eggs is directly related to the obesity levels in America today, but we do strongly believe that the confusion about carbohydrates, a healthful, lean and very necessary nutrient to our bodies, plays a big role in the declining health of our country.
The truth is carbohydrates are a healthful source of energy. They contain anti-oxidants, phytochemicals and fiber. It is the carbohydrates that fuel our muscles, improve our stamina and delay fatigue to keep us moving all day long. Carbohydrates also enhance strength and cardiovascular fitness. They are an essential part of a healthy diet and a healthy body.
Clark recommends that carbohydrates make up two-thirds of your plate. In other words, two-thirds of your plate should consist of whole grains, fruits and/or vegetables. The remaining one-third of your plate should consist of protein and fat.
Ensuring that carbohydrates make up the foundation of every meal you eat will not make you gain weight. Again, carbohydrates are not fattening. Excess calories are fattening. Whenever we hear people say that carbohydrates make them gain weight, we question them further because we know that by simply eating carbohydrates, body fat does not increase. The questions we ask are: what else are you eating throughout the day that may make you gain weight? And if you do increase your carbohydrates, do you increase other foods as well? How are your daily eating habits? Do you eat breakfast? All of these questions can help us determine the reason you are gaining weight (or not losing).
Another fact about carbohydrates is that for every one ounce of carbohydrates your body stores as glycogen (the fuel for your muscles), three ounces of water is also stored (Clark, p. 233). This is a good thing. Your body needs this water to function efficiently and to stay active. So by increasing your carbohydrates, you may see a temporary increase in body weight, but it is simply water, not fat. This also means that when you cut your carbohydrates, you will see a significant drop in body weight (which is very true of those on the high protein, low carb diets). Do not be fooled though, because this temporary drop is mostly water, not fat.
Now that we have drilled in the fact that carbohydrates will not make you fat, we are going to address what will make you gain weight. Excess calories will make you gain weight. It comes down to the timing of your meals, portion control, and making sure to fill your day with a variety of whole grains, fruits and veggies, sufficient protein, and fat. We find that the main culprit to weight gain is not eating enough throughout the day to keep your hunger under control from morning to night. The majority of the people we encounter fall victim to what Clark calls, crescendo eating. Crescendo eating is when you eat little to nothing for breakfast, maybe a little snack for lunch and by dinner time you are ravenous and ready to eat everything in sight! The majority of the day’s calories are consumed at night, when you are least active. Think about the times that you have been really hungry. What do you crave? Most likely, you crave carbohydrates. When your body craves carbohydrates, it is really craving calories. When you let yourself get so hungry that you are craving calories, you will have a tendency to over-eat and therefore take in excess calories. It is these excess calories that are fattening, not the carbohydrates.
Clark, Nancy, MS, RD, Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook: The #1 nutrition resource for active people, 3rd edition. Sports Medicine Associates, Brookline, MA. 2003.
Statistics on The Atkins Diet, wheat, beef, bacon and eggs sales taken from lecture notes provided by Exercise Physiologist Dr. William Evans, for the Nutrition and Exercise seminar.
This recipe was tested and approved by one of our clients, Debbie Dempsey (and Chris and Jenny and then Chris again). It is out of Jessica Seinfeld’s book, Deceptively Delicious and was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show in October.
These brownies fool everyone! You won’t believe how scrumptious they are (or how good they are for you) until you make them yourself. Just don’t serve them warm it’s not until they’re completely cool that the spinach flavor totally disappears.
Preheat the oven to 350Â°. Coat an 8″ x 8″ baking pan with cooking spray.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame.
In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine and vanilla and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.