Here’s Part 3 of our favorite registered dietician’s nutrition series. This installment focusses on protein foods.
Take it away Alana…

You hear a lot about protein with regards to sports and performance, especially when muscle building comes up. Seems like everyone at the gym is doing it: filling up on protein to bulk up those biceps! But it is a misconception as eating extra protein doesn’t do much towards boosting your muscle mass and strength. In fact most Canadians eat too much protein (over 30% of their daily caloric needs) and medical research is showing too much protein could harm your body.

When you eat more protein than your body needs it causes a buildup of toxic ketones in the body. So-called ketogenic diets can thrust your kidneys into overdrive as they work at flushing these ketones out of your body. As your kidneys rid your body of these toxic ketones, you can lose a significant amount of water, which puts you at risk of dehydration, particularly if you exercise heavily.

This water loss often shows up on the scale as weight loss. But along with losing water, you lose muscle mass and bone calcium. The dehydration also strains your kidneys and puts stress on your heart.

So how much protein should you eat? Ideally, you should consume .36 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. So if you weigh 170lbs, you need about 61 grams of protein each day.

What is a protein serving? One protein serving = 7 grams of protein and can be divided in Lean Choices, Medium Fat Choices, and High Fat Choices. All choices can be eaten but just choose the higher fat choices less often.

Lean Choices- 1 serving

Hard Skim Milk Cheese (15% MF) – 1 ounce (30 gm)
Processed Cheese (75% MF) – 1 slice
Cottage Cheese (2% MF or less) – ¼ cup
Lean Beef, Round Steak, Tenderloin, Sirloin, Flank steak-1ounce
Lean Lamb, Veal, Pork, and Skinless Poultry – 1 ounce
Fresh Fish, Crab, Lobster – 1 ounce
Canned and Water packed fish or seafood – ¼ cup
Clams, Mussels, Oysters, Shrimps, Scallops – 3 each
Skim Milk – 250ml
Beans, Peas, and Lentils – ½ cup (125ml)
Tofu

Medium Fat Choices – 1 serving

Regular ground beef, roast, pork chops, and poultry with skin-1 ounce
Processed meats, cold cuts – 1 slice
Weiner – ½
Eggs – poached or boiled – 1 medium
1 -2% milk – 250ml
Peanut and nut butters – 50ml (4 Tbsp)

High Fat Choices

Hard cheeses like our usual cheddar – 1 ounce
Ribs, Corned Beef, Sausage – 1 ounce
** Bacon is more a fat choice than a protein choice!
Whole milk – 250ml

Not a complete list but gives you an idea!

We already talked about eating fish twice a week – now try and incorporate more beans into your meals. Add garbonzo beans to your lunch salad make up some hummus (so easy) for a snack with veggies; make a vegetarian chili, or Cuban black bean soup.

Although limiting your protein is important, it is essential for our bodies’ normal functions…….maintaining fluid balance, building antibodies against infection, blood clotting, synthesizing enzymes and hormones. Protein is the building blocks of our muscles, bones, skin, hair, and blood.

Protein is also important post-workout. Josh’s famous chocolate milk is the perfect combo of protein and carbs for post workout nourishment……………add a lean turkey sandwich on whole grain bread within an hour after a workout and your muscles are getting the raw materials they need to recuperate.

Before a workout as Josh has mentioned you want to stick to carbohydrates to provide energy as big meals with too much protein and fat can make you feel sluggish, nauseated, and give you muscle cramps.

So pre workout, try to not eat two hours before your scheduled workout – but of course sometimes schedules do not work, so if you need to eat something try fruit, low fat yogurt and berries-or make a smoothie, ½ whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese, or a small bowl of whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce.

** eating a high protein energy bar before working out is a bad idea. Protein takes longer than carbohydrates to break down in the body so your body will be processing the protein and trying to give you energy to workout at the same time – result will be not a great workout as you won’t have the energy you need.

“So didn’t know it couldn’t be done, so she went ahead and did it.”
Bridget O’Donnell

The Bootcamp Effect is the only bootcamp that has a complimentary dietary analysis by a registered dietician.

Part 2 of 3 of our nutrition series by Alana is on carbohydrates. Take it away Alana…

Carbohydrates are necessary to your health, because every cell in your body uses them for energy. In fact, your brain can only use carbohydrates for energy. Unfortunately, over-consumption of sugars and other highly refined carbohydrates has been associated with higher incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. And eating refined carbs can, over time, result in almost uncontrollable sugar cravings. According to the World Health Organization sugars and other simple carbs are a leading factor in the worldwide obesity epidemic.

With the popularity of low-carb diets, many people are afraid to eat any carbohydrates, but is important to distinguish between the health-robbing effects of simple sugars and other carbs and the health-giving properties of complex carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates are high-fiber foods, which improve your digestion. They help stabilize blood sugar, keep your energy at an even level, and help you feel satisfied longer after your meal.

In contrast, sugar and other simple carbs can alter your mood, lead to cravings and compulsive eating, cause wide swings in your blood-sugar levels, and cause weight gain in most people. In addition, a high consumption of sugar can lead to uncomfortable symptoms when you finally decide to improve your health and forget the sweets. Note here that new research shows that low-calorie diets can cause food obsessions and make sugar addiction worse – no wonder most people end up fatter than they started when they try to lose weight by dieting and not eating.

To get the picture lets talk about what happens to carbs in your body. The body breaks them down in to simple sugars, which are absorbed into the bloodstream. As the sugar level rises in your body, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is needed to move sugar from the blood into the cells, where the sugar can be used as a source of energy.

When this process goes fast – as with simple sugars- you’re more likely to feel hungry again soon. When it occurs more slowly, as with whole-grain food, you’ll be satisfied longer. These types of complex carbohydrates give you energy over a longer period of time.

The carbs in some foods (mostly those that contain a lot of simple sugars) cause the blood sugar level to rise more quickly than others. Scientists have been studying whether eating foods that cause big jumps in blood sugar may be related to health problems like diabetes and heart disease. You are already on the right track if you are limiting simple sugars and eating more complex carbohydrates.

Your diet should consist of 45-60 grams of carbohydrates – mostly complex carbs.

1 carbohydrate serving = 15 grams of carbohydrate = 3 tsp. sugar:

A few examples are 1 slice of bread, ½ cup cereal, 1 small fruit, ½ cup of juice, 1 cup plain yogurt, ½ cup of pop, and 3 tsp. sugar.

What are simple carbs:

Table sugar, corn syrup, fruit juice, candy, cake, bread made with white flour, pop, some packaged cereals, many coffee specialty drinks.

What are complex carbs:

Whole barley, grapefruit, lentils, potatoes, soy milk, wild or brown rice, tomatoes, onions, spinach, oatmeal to name a few.

Your fiber intake should be around 30 grams a day – usually double of what average Canadians eat right now.

Fiber is the ingredient that slows down the process of carbs turning to simple sugars. It will help you fill fuller longer.

So instead of fruit juice –eat the fruit, which contains fiber.

Read labels and avoid when possible – sugar, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, white flours. If these ingredients are at the top of the list, the food item will contain mostly simple carbs and not much else.

Even whole wheat is still over-processed so your bread should read

“Whole grains” as the first ingredient.

Look for foods that are not processed – usually high in fat, simple carbs (as processed food contains a lot of fillers), and sodium.

Those snack paks that are so popular right now – containing only 100 calories a bag are great! You should make your own to save the environment and your pocketbook. Take some healthy choice

snack foods and fill little baggies – when you need a snack instead of grabbing a big bag and eating more than you should, you can just grab your already calorie-wise portion paks!

“Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says “Oh Crap, She’s Up!

Stay tuned tommorow for the final post in the nutrition series: Protein Foods.

The Bootcamp Effect is coming to White Rock October 1st. Learn more here about this white rock bootcamp here.

Hey Guys,

Today’s post is the first in a 3 part series on nutrition by our lovely dietician Alana. Below is all the information you will need to know about fats, so you can gain a greater understanding of how you can eat healthy for life when you receive your food diary report from her.

Fat is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be! Our bodies need fat to function, it is all about choosing the best fats to do the job. You want to limit the amounts of saturated fat in your diet. In my opinion you should eradicate trans-fats from your diet all together. You want to keep your intake of fat to about 25% of your total calories for the day. So if you’re determined, you should be eating 1600 calories a day, and your total fat intake should not be more than 400 calories.

1 gram of fat = 9 calories. This means you need to eat no more than 44 gm of fat a day.

Considering that a piece of pizza can be anywhere from 9-30 grams of fat, a Big Mac is 29 grams of fat, and 1 Tablespoon of butter is 11.52 grams of fat – it can add up fast.

So you want to get most of your fat intake from mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats. There are two families of polyunsaturated fats your body needs in balanced quantities:

Omega-3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids.

These fats reduce the risk of Coronary Artery Disease and our often called “Brain Foods” for reducing memory problems and typical signs of aging and helping prevent dementia.

Mono-unsaturated fats come from nuts, nut butters, canola, and olive oil.

Poly-unsaturated fats come from seeds such as flax, sunflower, and sesame. Safflower, sunflower, corn and soybean oils and non-hydrogenated soft margarine made from these oils.

Oily fish such as herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines or trout should be eaten 2 times a week in place of meat ** salmon (wild), sardines and herring are low omega-3 sources that are low in Mercury as well.

Hydrogenation is the chemical method that adds hydrogen to liquid oils to form a stable and solid fat. Many food companies love hydrogenated fats as they are cheap to make and improves shelf life of food products immensely (anything that does not go bad should not be put into the body – my motto!).

These fats are the worst out there. They raise LDL (bad cholesterol) and lower HDL (good cholesterol).

They have shown to increase Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and cancer risks. Do not eat any foods labeled Hydrogenated – common culprits are fried foods, baked goods, shortening, salty snack foods.

Saturated Fats should be limited but not totally eliminated from the diet.

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature without any chemical modification.

Butter, hard margarine, lard, and shortening are obvious saturated fats. Creamy dressings and sauces, coconut milk, many deli meats, and a lot of crackers and baked goods also contain saturated fats.

Fat is needed by the body and also helps us feel satisfied and filled up. Many folks try to totally wipe out all fats in their diet in the hopes of losing weight. They end up being very cranky and feeling more hungry then if they would of just chosen healthy fats and eaten them in moderation.

There are always questions surrounding eggs and butter vs. margarine.

Eggs yolks do contain cholesterol as any animal product does. So egg yolks should not be eaten more than 4 per week for a person with healthy cholesterol levels. If you have high cholesterol than only 2 egg yolks should be eaten weekly. Egg whites are not high in cholesterol and can be eaten without restriction.

Butter vs margarine – both of these items should be limited. I never use either on sandwiches, corn on the cob, vegetables, or for cooking. So when I want butter on something I have it!

If you have high cholesterol you should be using a non-hydrogenated soft margarine instead of butter.

If you have healthy cholesterol and are limiting your total fat intake feel free to use butter sometimes as both butter and margarine have the same amount of calories per gram.

So when you go to Starbucks get an iced coffee no creamy topping instead of that Coconut Crème Frappuccino that will set you back for 32 grams of fat and 19gm of saturated fat – heart attack in a cup!

Keep on exercising as exercise increases HDL levels – your good cholesterol! Start reading those nutrition labels when you go shopping and mentally add up how much fat you are putting in your basket.

Also pay attention as items claiming to be “Low in Sugar” are often higher in fat.. Items claiming to be “Low in Fat” are often higher in sugar and simple carbohydrates.

Stay tuned tommorow for the next post in the series….CARBS – friend or foe?

Serving Langley and White Rock, British Columbia, The Bootcamp Effect is the indoor bootcamp that will never ask you to bring a set of weights to workout with.

Hi all,

Misconceptions have seemingly amassed mystical powers through years of crazy media marketing. Statements such as, “Lose 10lbs in 1 week”…”Lose 40lbs in 1 month”… and, “This vibrating, ab-twisting machine will melt away your fat and worries in seconds,” seem to leave individuals in a state of unrest when they are not able to match these results.

You see, these fitness fatloss myths are so ingrained in our heads that it is hard to shake this disbelief that they are not true. Remember, it is in my best interest to get you real results and keep you on track, so you can achieve those results.

So without further adieu and many conversations here are my 5 fitness fatloss mistakes…

1. I want to lose weight – The most common goal proclaimed by women involved in a fitness program. If you are overweight this is a great goal, but many individuals who are close to their natural, healthy weight should focus on another thing, and that is losing bodyfat. P.S. You can lose 10lbs of bodyfat and still weigh the same, but your body will look much fitter and healthier!!!!

Most people involved in a fitness program like a bootcamp, that involves high intensity cardio and resistance training, increases muscle while decreasing body fat, which will lead to a tighter, toned body. So if your clothes are fitting looser and you’re losing inches, you are on the right track!

During this time, bodyweight could increase or decrease. So, now you see why this “scale craze” is unfounded. You can improve your appearance, fitness levels, and elimitate unwanted fat in those trouble areas while relatively maintaining your bodyweight, so use the mirror as a guide to your progress and leave the scale alone.

2. I gained weight in the first month- I repeat, the numbers on the scale are not important in the short run! I hear way too many women concerned with a bodyweight fluctuation of 2 or 3 pounds or even not losing enough weight in the first month. There are many factors that account for this minor gain and none of these have anything to do with getting fatter. Water weight for instance is a culprit of these differences and has nothing to do with a permanent weight gain. Remember, it is the long run changes that matter.

3.  I’m doing the _____ diet – Way too many women get involved in diets. Let’s review what a diet implies…..deprivation aka starvation and an end-date. You know why there are so many diets? Because they don’t work! They are a short term answer to a long term problem, and involve giving up your favorite foods, enduring intense hunger and putting you in an unstable state of mind.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle and eat when you want and seriously cut the grapefruit, cabbage soup, atkins, southbeach, or whatever diet is the new trend. Those end dates of those diets are killing you as your 1 week of rewarding yourself after your diets with your favorite foods, turns into 1 month, which turns into 10. Small changes will equal the big change so avoid these crash diets, embrace portion control, and enjoy healthy foods.

P.s. These include diet pills – stay away – there is no magic bullet. You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind!

4.  I’ll have the salad – Greens are a great source of healthy nutrients, and salads are an excellent option, as long as there are no bacon bits, croutons, or massive amounts of dressing – this meal is loaded in calories and won’t make you full!!! Salads can offer variety as long as you keep them clean and keep the bacon and fatty dressing away. Adding a chicken breast or piece of fish to this will make a complete and healthy meal.

5.  I drink alcohol - When you consume alcohol, your body uses it for fuel first, and delays fat burning BIG TIME. Alcohol also contains almost twice as many calories as carbs and proteins. And what’s worse, these are “empty” calories, meaning that they provide no nutritional value.

When you down a few beers, your inhibitions are also squashed, making it more likely for you to cheat on your diet…Also, despite all those calories you are consuming, alcohol actually increases your appetite.

Every time you booze up, you also decrease your body’s total testosterone level. Testosterone is a powerful fat burner and muscle builder for men AND women. The less testosterone you have, the slower your muscles build while working out, and the slower your metabolism will be. And the slower your metabolism is, the harder it is to lose weight, no matter how disciplined you are in the gym.

Alcohol also wrecks havoc on your internal organs, including your stomach and liver, which are important to keep in good health if you want to see fat loss progress. If your stomach isn’t working at its peak, your foods will be digested less efficiently, which means more will be stored as fat. Your liver needs to be in prime condition because that’s the organ that turns fat into energy. If you must drink some brews with your friends, try to stick to light beer. The diet damaging effects of alcohol are still there, but it won’t be as bad because there are fewer calories.

Bottom line, if you DO drink, control the amounts and drink only on rare occasions. I’ve known so many women who workout almost everyday, watch what they eat, then go out drinking on the weekends and wonder where their bodyfat comes from….It’s the BOOZE!

So what should you do…

In order to lose fat at a fast rate, you need to create a large caloric deficit in a relatively short period of time.  Recall, a pound of fat is 3,500 calories.  Want to lose a pound of fat?  Then you’ll need to be 3,500 calories in the hole. That’s not just burning 3,500 cals, that’s having a deficit after all your food intake! Want to lose Five pounds of fat? Make that 17,500 calories.  There’s simply no getting around the physics of this matter. And unfortunately, drastic reductions in caloric intake will only cause your body to fight back against your dieting efforts, shutting down metabolism and holding on to body fat as a starvation protection response ,also known as the dreaded starvation mode.

Slow and steady = permanent fat loss…

Enter your predicament, you can’t lose fat fast enough without creating a massive caloric deficit, and you simply can’t create this deficit with a quick shift in your eating habits to starvation mode.

Sure, you may have known someone who has lost a lot of “weight” in a short amount of time or watched an episode of The Biggest Loser (see my next blog). But weight loss and fat loss are 2 critically different animals. Want to lose weight in a short period of time. You can, and here will be your results…

1. A lot of water loss – that’s bad
2. A lot of muscle loss – that’s bad
3. A bit of fat loss – it’s not all bad

And of course, a metabolism so haggered that the moment you decide to get off your “diet” and return to your normal eating habits, all your “weight loss” and then some is gone and fat will be back at even faster rate.

So Stay strong, Stay hungry, Stay motivated…

Your Bootcamp Instructor,

Josh

Ok, this has been bothering me lately….

It’s called the STARVATION RESPONSE and it’s the #1 reason why you are overweight and can’t lose weight even though you don’t eat and exercise.

See, you can bust your butt all you want at the gym or at bootcamp and you won’t lose any weight until you fix this, and start eating 5-6 small meals throughout the day.

So what is the starvation response?

It’s your body’s internal mechanism that keeps you alive when you don’t eat anything. It’s how people survive in the jungle or the desert without any food for days. It’s how our ancestors who lived in caves with clubs and chased masterdons survived because it was bloody hard to have a constant supply of ancient elephant meat available.

The starvation response actually slows down your rate of burning calories because it senses food is scarce and does this because if you keep burning calories at a normal rate you will not have any energy to do anything. This means you could be working out hard for an hour and burning very few calories.

This is your basic prehistoric survival mechanism that is still functioning in us today. Sure, we have no need for it now in today’s westernized world, where there seems to be a grocery store on every corner.

Slowing down your metabolism like this will never make you lose weight in the long term. You can never starve yourself to lose fat! You may lose weight initially, but at some point , when you start eating normal amounts of food, you will gain it all back.

So do yourself a favor, if this sounds like you….You have been gaining weight and have that stubborn fat in those trouble spots, then you are most likely suffering from the starvation response and need to reset your metabolism.

Here’s how

• eat small portions and eat frequently (2-3 hours in between meals)
• eat over 1200 calories a day
• NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST
• consume protein in every meal
• eat 4-6 meals per day

Now this may scare you, and you may even gain weight initially from the extra calorie consumption. DO NOT WORRY! This is because your metabolism is slow and is not used to the extra food. After a month of eating like this and doing exercises such as squats and pushups, your metabolism will be higher and prepare you for a lifetime of losing fat the proper way.

Get in the habit of making changes, you may be reading this article because you are unhappy with your appearance and need a change. Something is wrong if you are exercising 3-5x/week and trying to lose weight, and getting no results. So make this change!

The Starvation Response is a life-saving mechanism and it will destroy your efforts trying to lose fat because your body has no idea how to differentiate between “dieting” and “starving”. Once the response has been activated it becomes almost impossible to lose weight, so you should NEVER severely drop your calorie intake. By being a starvation response victim, you will lose muscle, which is the worst thing for your metabolism. And you have to keep that metabolism high!!!

This is why it is much easier to lose weight if you previously ate too much as opposed to too little.

Disclaimer: This rant was meant for those who eat 1 or 2 meals per day. If you are currently eating 4-6 meals per day then carry on with what you are doing. This is one of the biggest reasons why Moms struggle with fat loss. If you have any questions, you know where to reach me.

Dedicated to your success,

Josh Saunders

Langley Personal Trainer

It’s vital to keep hydrated, we are all made of water, so keep it that way. After all, water is “the bringer of life.”

Check out these water based facts, so that you can perform your best at bootcamp, and get the results that you’ve been waiting for!

Fact #1 – Your brain=85% water, your blood=83% water, your muscles=75% water, Your bones=35% water. You get the picture. Let’s be logical about this, depriving yourself of water will dramatically affect your health.

Fact #2 – Water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue, so if you find yourself a little sluggish during that 2pm meeting – grab a glass and ENERGIZE! (More fuel for the machine that is you! But don’t grab that coffee – explained in fact #6

Fact #3 - 75% of North Americans are chronically dehydrated. And why is this bad? See below.

Fact #4 – Do not wait until your thirsty to drink as your body is now indicating to you that you are in the process of dehydration. Even if your body is in a mild state of dehydration, it slows your metabolism by 3% (and you know how big I am on keeping that metabolism as high as possible with my three pronged high intensity formula.

Fact #5 – Drink 8-12 cups per day (2-3 litres). If you’re exercising you should be drinking around 200ml every 15 minutes (hint: 1 can of beer = 355ml) as water affects your performance more than any other nutrient.

Fact #6 – Minimize your consumption of tea, coffee, and alcohol. These drinks may be primarily composed of water, but they also contain diuretics, which cause the body to lose more water than it absorbs. However, it will have less of this affect on individuals who consume these regularly.

Fact #7 – Keep a bottle of water handy with you – at work, at bootcamp, at home… Use a stainless steel container or some other reusable container as reusing those plastic water bottle containers may subject you to leached carcinogens – I used to drink out of these all the time until I learned about this…

Fact #8 – Start your day off with 1 glass of water every morning, if your exercising that morning, you will start exercise in a hydrated state, and give a better effort towards attaining your goals.

Stop dieting!  I’m serious, I don’t want you to even think about the word.   Why would I say such a statement?   Because individual caloric intake should never drop below 1200 calories per day for women and 1500 calories per day for men.  As long as you keep it clean and eat your 5-6 small meals consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, and healthy fats, you will see results.  So keep this in mind and create a 500 calorie deficit per day.  What this means is burn more calories than you consume.  Let’s say you burn 2000 calories in an entire day (including around 500-700 at your boot camp workout).  This means you should consume 1500 calories. But don’t calorie count, I just want to give you an idea of where you should be at. THIS DEFICIT CAN BE ATTAINED BY MODERATELY CHANGING YOUR EATING AND EXERCISING HABITS.  This approach ensures you avoid the starvation response which lowers your metabolism (you do not want this to happen). A 500 calorie deficit per day = 3500 calories per week = 1 pound of fat loss per week. Voila. Your on your way!!

So create this negative calorie balance and expend more calories than you consume (you’d be surprised how many calories you burn doing simple household chores.) A slight calorie deficit from your current state with an increased amount of exercise is your most logical attack plan against fat.

Girls – keep your calorie intake between 1200-2000 calories. Guys – keep your calorie intake between 1500-2800 calories for optimum fat loss.Very active lifestyles require more calories.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not want you to count calories, use these numbers as a guide for a few days to see what your dietary intake is. www.fitday.com is an excellent resource that will count calories for you.  I would suggest doing this for 5 days, and remember to write down the food before you eat it! That way you will think twice about eating something unhealthy!

Keep It Healthy,

Josh Saunders