09Jan

The Basics of Macros & Portions

January 9, 2023 Jessica Bottesch 31

You may have heard of the macronutrients (or “macros” for short). Even if you don’t know what
they are, you’ve likely seen them listed on the Nutrition Facts panel of all the packaged foods
you buy–carbohydrates, protein, and fat. These macronutrients are the larger components of
food and make up all the calories (also known as energy) that are found in our food. All three
macros serve different and important roles in the body, which we’ll cover the basics of here and
how to ensure you’re getting enough of each macro.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are long chains of sugars linked together.
Once in the body, the carbohydrates are broken down to, and used as, those smaller sugar
molecules. Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred energy source, especially for higher intensity
exercise and activity, and they’re the brain’s preferred energy source all the time. It’s important
to consume enough carbohydrates to ensure we have the energy we need throughout the day.
Sources of carbohydrates include (but are not limited to) rice, pasta, breads, cereals, granola,
fruit, beans, starchy vegetables (like potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and peas), and dairy foods
(such as yogurt and milk), and grains like quinoa and oats. A good general rule is that
carbohydrates should make up 45-65% of our calories, but your specific needs may vary.

Protein

Protein is found in all the cells in our body, most notably, it’s the building
block of our muscle tissue. Our body is constantly performing repair and remodeling to keep
everything healthy, and we need to ensure we’re eating enough protein to make sure our body
has the nutrients it needs to keep all our tissues healthy. Activity increases our body’s need for
protein by increasing the breakdown of tissues (requiring more protein for proper recovery and
repair). A general rule is that protein should make up 20-35% of our calories, but, again, your
specific needs may vary.

Fat

Our final macronutrient of discussion is fat. Fat is a storage form of energy, insulates our body,
helps to protect our organs, and fat is used by the body to make our hormones (which are our
body’s signaling molecules). Interestingly, while carbohydrates and protein both contain 4
calories per gram, fat is much more energy dense at 9 calories per gram, so the total amount of
it that we need to consume is quite a bit smaller than the other 2 macronutrients. A general
guideline is that fat should make up 20-35% of our calories.

How can I use this information?

If numbers and logging food to determine your balance of macronutrients isn’t for you, another
way you can make sure you’re getting a good balance of nutrients is through something called
the Plate Method. This method of portioning foods is so useful because of its simplicity. All you
have to do is portion the components of your meals as a proportion of your plate. With this, at
each meal, aim to fill ¼ of your plate with lean protein, ¼ of your plate with carbs and starches,
and ½ of your plate with vegetables and/or fruits. Here’s an example:

The size of your plate (and the size of each portion, as a result) should vary based on your individual needs. Additionally, depending on your goals, your proportion of each component of your meals may need to be adjusted. This is best discussed and determined in conjunction with your dietitian though!Need help putting this into practice? Reach out to our dietitian HERE.

12Jan

What’s the Deal With Superfoods

January 12, 2022 Jessica Bottesch 41

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

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If you follow food news or just look at new products in the grocery store, you’ve probably heard of various “superfoods” and the wide array of associated claims made about them. So, what’s the deal with these foods? Are they really “superior”? If so, what makes them super?

Superfoods get their name because they’re foods that are nutrient dense and, as a result, deemed to be “healthier”. Some examples of these sensationalized foods that you might have heard about include blueberries, açaí, chia seeds, flax, coconut oil, hemp, cacao nibs, avocado, kale, pomegranate, and salmon. Let’s look at the nutrients that these foods are rich in. Blueberries, açai, and pomegranate are high in antioxidants, and chia is high in fiber, antioxidants, omega-3’s, protein, and calcium. Flax is high in protein, fiber, omega-3’s, and rich in lignans (an antioxidant) which may reduce cancer risk. Coconut oil is a wonderful source of Medium-Chain Triglycerides (or MCTs), which the body metabolizes a little differently from other fats and it fuels the body and brain. Hemp is rich in healthy fats, and is high in protein, vitamin E, and several minerals. Cacao Nibs are an excellent source of protein, fiber, and healthy fats, and they’re rich in minerals too. Avocados are rich in healthy fats and fiber. Kale is high in Vitamins A, K, and C, and rich in antioxidants. Finally, salmon is rich in omega-3s, protein, and vitamin B12. Obviously, this is quite the list of benefits and quite different foods spanning plant and animal sources.

These foods are nutritious options and are great to incorporate into a balanced diet, but the whole concept of “superfoods” and, often their touted benefits, highlights the importance of a key part of a healthy diet, which is variety. If you look at food and nutrition related news, the headlines often seem to tout a single food or just a few foods that you need to eat to achieve some health benefit. I feel that this is a flawed approach to nutrition. Slimming down the list of foods or trying to have less variety in the pursuit of health is not the answer. When we cut out foods, we’re cutting out nutrients and other compounds that are beneficial to us. All foods contain different mixtures of the macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), and other compounds. It’s important to eat a variety of foods to ensure we’re getting all the nutrients that we need to support our health. There’s no one food that provides everything we need, so we need to eat a variety of different foods to make sure we’re getting all those different compounds.

So, while these superfoods are great to include in your diet, they shouldn’t be added, hoping to remove other things. Instead, I encourage you to give some of these foods a try as a way of including some variety into your normal routine and to mix things up.

Not sure how to incorporate superfoods or if you have enough variety in your diet? Sign up for a free Get-to-Know-You call with Michael here.

21Nov

Staying on Track During the Holidays

November 21, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 31

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

For people with health and fitness goals, the time of year (with a string of holidays in a row) can feel like a minefield of temptation and events pulling us off track. The great news is, it doesn’t have to be a stressful time of year that derails you from reaching your health and fitness goals! With these 5 simple strategies, you can enjoy the holidays AND stay on track with your goals. I always like to remind clients about the “big picture.” So, it’s important to remember that these holidays only come around once a year. If your celebrations are contained to just a couple of days or even just a couple of meals, it’s unlikely that you’ll undo progress in that short of a period, so maybe it’s best to not stress about it and enjoy the food and the time with loved ones.

Pick 2-3 of the basics to focus on. The holiday season can be stressful, with lots of events, travel, and disruptions to your normal routine. With so much going on, I find it helpful to pick just a few of the basics and be very deliberate with them. For example, focus on getting enough water every day, getting enough sleep (7-9 hours per night for most adults), and getting 10,000 steps per day (or substitute some other movement goal, like 30 minutes of deliberate movement each day).

Find non-food ways to celebrate. The holiday season doesn’t HAVE to be focused on food events. Find some non-food ways to celebrate holidays. Maybe it’s getting the whole family to sign up for a Thanksgiving morning “Turkey Trot”, or maybe it’s watching a movie or playing games to move the family time away from the table. Don’t be afraid to suggest or try new things (all family traditions started somewhere)!

Don’t skip meals or snacks. This one is so counterintuitive for so many of my clients. Most people think that on food-focused holidays they should skip meals or snacks to “save their calories” for these enormous meals where there’s a tendency to overeat. However, what I see is that when you skip meals and snacks, you get to these big meals and you’re starving, which drastically increases the chance that you’ll overeat. Instead, if you’re making sure you have a meal or snack every 3-4 hours, you’re appropriately hungry at these meal times and much less likely to overindulge and be miserably full.

Choose your battles. Is there a holiday dish or dessert you crave all year long? Indulge and have that dish. Instead, maybe reduce the number of drinks you have or go with fewer or smaller portions of the other desserts as a trade-off. If there are only a couple of dishes that you really love and would be sad about not having, embrace those, and exercise more moderation with the other foods and drinks that you’re not so attached to. This is a great opportunity to practice the skills of moderation that will carry you through the rest of the year.

Cut yourself some slack. The holidays, collectively, make up only a few days per year, so you will not derail your health and fitness progress with just a few days. If the holiday didn’t go exactly as planned, it’s okay! Enjoy the days and time with family, and get back on track the next day. The only way the holidays can derail your progress is if you let one “bad day” turn into weeks of not working toward your goals. Besides, when we get old and wise, I’d doubt that many people’s life regret is having too much to eat on Thanksgiving. I’d bet that the bigger regret is not soaking up the time with loved ones, and instead stressing about the food surrounding holidays.

I hope these tips help you navigate the holiday season!

If you’re struggling to apply these 5 strategies to your life and circumstances, click here to set up a free Get-to-Know-You call with Michael to talk about getting started on your nutrition.

26Oct

A Healthier Halloween

October 26, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 29

A Healthier Halloween

Beginning of the Holiday Season

Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season–(let the sugar-influx roll). The next couple of months are filled with treats, parties, family gatherings, alcohol, and a packed schedule. So how do you continue to pursue your health and fitness goals despite all that this time of year brings?

This year, as the holiday season approaches, challenge yourself to do things differently than you have in the past. It’s not about “depriving” yourself of your holiday favorites but substituting with healthier foods and behaviors. (I use quotation marks to show that choosing your health and well-being over sugar and less healthy food is a sign of love for yourself and those you love, NOT deprivation).

Non-Candy Alternatives

Halloween is next weekend; do you plan on handing out candy to trick-or-treaters? Let’s face it; kids will receive enough candy filled with high fructose corn syrup between parties and trick-or-treating. What if you handed out something that wasn’t candy? My guess is parents would thank you and you wouldn’t be left with a lot of candy in your house – which often inevitably ends up in your tummy.

Ideas include:

Glow Sticks
Temporary Tattoos
Stickers
Pencils
Plastic jewelry that is glow in the dark and Halloween themed
Mini Play-dough containers
Halloween themed mini-toys: plastic eyeballs, fake fingers, etc.

Bottom line is be creative…ask your kids what they would like to get other than candy.

Better Choices

The biggest issue with Halloween candy other than the obvious…sugar… is the high amounts of high fructose corn syrup and GMO’s (genetically modified organisms). You can bet that any product that contains high fructose corn syrup is a processed industrial food that is void of any nutrients. To increase health we want to seek whole, real, unprocessed foods that are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.

If you still want to hand out candy here are some “better” choices free of the ingredients above.

Endangered Species individually wrapped chocolates
Yummy Gummy Candies
Annie’s Gummy Snacks
Trader Joe’s Organic Pops
Unreal candy
Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups

Another tip if you have small children is the idea of the Switch Witch

What is the Switch Witch?

The Switch Witch lives on the dark side of the moon. She LOVES candy. The Switch Witch loves candy so much that she’s eager to trade toys to girls and boys for their candy stash.

The girls and boys can choose to keep a little candy for themselves, but the more they give the Switch Witch, the better their toy will be! The Switch Witch eats the candy over the course of the year. Just when she runs out, it’s Halloween time again and time for another visit from the Switch Witch.

The Switch Witch can also be known as:

The Candy Fairy
Great Pumpkin

Have the Switch Witch come to your house this year…

Make Halloween 1 day this year, after trick-or-treating on the 31st, allow your kids to pick 5 of their favorite pieces of candy. Place the rest on your front step for the Switch Witch. In the morning, your kids will find a new toy, book, or something else they would value more than candy in exchange for the candy they left the night before.

Recipes to Try this Halloween

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2 mashed bananas

1 cup canned pumpkin

4 Eggs

½ cup Almond butter

4 TBSP melted coconut oil

½ cup Coconut flour

½ TBSP Cinnamon

½ TBSP Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Vanilla

Pinch of Sea Salt

¼-1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine your bananas, eggs, almond butter, vanilla, and melted coconut oil. Mix well.

Add in coconut flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Mix well. Fold in your chocolate chips.

Grease a metal loaf pan with coconut oil. Pour in your batter and spread evenly.

Place in the pre-heated oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Ice Cream

2 frozen bananas

¼-1/3 cup canned organic pumpkin

¼ cup canned coconut milk

¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or to taste)

Directions

Add bananas, pumpkin, coconut milk, and pumpkin pie spice to a food processor.

Process until mixture becomes the consistency of ice cream.

If you like the “soft serve” texture enjoy right away. If you want it to be thicker, put in bowls and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

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Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

½ – 1 frozen banana

½ cup canned organic pumpkin

½ cup canned coconut milk or 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 scoops Shakeology Vegan Vanilla Superfood shake

¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice or ½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions

Add all ingredients to a blender and enjoy!!!

Final Thoughts

The holiday season is a wonderful time of year to connect with family and friends. Remember, it doesn’t always need to be centered on food and treats. This is a great opportunity to start family traditions that do not involve food. Examples include pumpkin carving or hiking in search of fall colors.

Or you can enjoy a healthier version of your favorite treats and not completely derail your supportive nutrition plan!

29Sep

Managing Hunger & Appetite

September 29, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 24

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

Maybe you’re a seasoned athlete, have been working out consistently for years, or maybe you’re new to working out consistently. Regardless of which camp you fall in, working out consistently and more frequently can lead to an increased appetite or feeling hungrier because of the additional calories you’re burning, and the additional calories needed for recovery. If you have goals of weight maintenance or weight loss, that can make it more challenging to keep moving toward your goals. Luckily, there are a few strategies you can use to head this off. Keep yourself fueled, keep from being too hungry, and keep moving steadily toward your goals.

Food is Fuel, Don’t Run Out of Gas!

To keep it simple, our body continuously needs energy. Our brains, our muscles, and the rest of our organs are constantly working and, as a result, need a steady stream of energy. When we haven’t eaten recently, our blood sugar dips, and our body breaks down body stores of energy to fuel these necessary processes and keep our blood sugar up. As we dip into these energy reserves, our body produces a hunger signal to encourage us to eat, recognizing that it can’t fuel us forever just based on our body’s energy reserves. When we eat, it provides our bodies with the energy it needs to fuel all the essential processes like fueling our brain, keeping our organs functioning, etc. This influx of energy and nutrients from our food also allows our body to repair and maintain tissues like muscles. So, my first tip for managing hunger/appetite is to ensure you provide your body with a steady supply of energy throughout the day by eating consistently throughout the day (about every 3-4 hours), whether this is a snack or a meal. For example, if you eat breakfast at 7am, aim for a snack around 9-10am, lunch around 12-1pm, a snack around 4pm, and dinner by 7pm.

Mix it Up.

My next tip requires a little background information. When we eat carbohydrates, they leave our stomach and move into our GI tract relatively quickly, and they’re also absorbed and used more rapidly. Fat and protein leave the stomach more slowly and are digested and absorbed more slowly. We can apply these facts to our advantage. If we eat a snack, that’s only carbohydrates (like an apple or a banana), this doesn’t keep us full for very long–it gives us a quick burst of energy and then leaves us feeling hungry again quickly. If we have protein and/or fat with our carbohydrates, it slows down our digestion a bit, keeps us full for longer, and gives us more sustained energy. So, my second tip is to have a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, and fat at every meal, and to have carbohydrates, protein, and/or fat at every snack. This is actually pretty simple. For example, instead of an apple for a snack, try an apple with nut butter. Instead of crackers for a snack, try crackers and cheese or chips and hummus. For lunch, instead of just a salad with chicken on it, try adding some carbs to your salad with chicken (whether it’s fruit, potatoes/sweet potatoes, or a side of toasted bread).

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (sound familiar?)

My third tip deals with hydration. If you saw the last nutrition blog, then you know how important hydration is. If you missed that blog, you could check it out here. Outside of all the reasons I talk about in that blog, dehydration can also cause several same signs as being hungry, like fatigue, headache, difficulty concentrating, which can lead us to believe we’re hungry. When we are dehydrated, it can cause us to crave some foods, particularly salty ones, as our body is looking to correct fluid and electrolyte imbalances. The salty foods most people typically reach for when craving salt can be calorically dense and less nutrient rich, which isn’t typically in line with most people’s nutrition goals. Apathy and impatience are also signs of dehydration–things that rarely go hand in hand with making sound nutrition decisions that are in line with our goals. Think about it, when you’re exhausted and impatient after a long or tough day of work, are you going to choose to cook a nice meal at home or are you going to get takeout on your way home? The take home point being, make sure you’re hydrated. Proper hydration can help to curb cravings and help you stay on track with your goals when you must make food choices, not to mention, adequate hydration helps every single system in our body to function better.

Stick with it!

My final tip is consistency. The three tips above are great, but where they really have power is when we can apply them consistently. Work on applying these tips consistently. By making these tips into habits, they get significantly easier and require less thought and work, which also makes them easier to stick with. Many people think they need to make enormous changes or take drastic action to see the results that they’re looking for, but small, consistent changes add up to huge changes over the weeks, months, and years. Plus, smaller steps are typically easier to implement and are certainly easier to stick with!

So, if you’re struggling with increased appetite or always feeling hungry, give these tips a try. Not sure how to apply these to your life or even where to get started? Drop me a line here, I’d love to help!

24Jun

Fueling for Performance, Recovery and Results

June 24, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 45

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

Eating the right things at the right times around our workouts is one of the biggest things we can do to improve our performance for our workouts and improve our recovery from them—ensuring that we’re getting the most out of them. It also is one of the most neglected areas of nutrition for active people. The good news is, it just a few tweaks in the pre-, during, and post- workout periods can have a huge effect on our performance and recovery. It also doesn’t have to be complicated, so I want to keep this fairly simple and short so that it’s easier to remember and apply.

Background

Just a few reminders about the macronutrients before we get into nutrient timing around workouts. To keep things simple, carbohydrates are our body’s fast energy source and are the primary energy source during exercise. We can’t store very much carbohydrate in our bodies for future use, so it’s important to make sure we’re topped off on carbs before workouts. Fat is a good fuel source for lower intensity activity and inactivity, but it’s less efficient and less preferred by the body for high-intensity activity, so it’s less crucial right around workouts. Finally, protein is the building block of many tissues in the body, especially muscle, so it’s important to get enough protein in order to rebuild and repair from workouts. So, let’s look at how to time these nutrients.

Pre-Workout

Before a workout, the goal of our meals and snacks is to make sure we’re hydrated and fueled. We want to make sure we’re drinking plenty of water throughout the day; the best way to gauge your hydration is by the color of your pee. The goal is for our pee to be pale yellow (no darker than the color of pale lemonade), but not clear. So, if your pee is darker than that, drink some more water until it lightens up, and if it’s clear, lay off the water for until your pee is back to a pale-yellow color.

We also want to make sure that our pre-workout meal/snack is fueling and helping us, not bogging us down. The closer to your activity, the smaller and simpler a meal/snack should be. The further out from activity, the larger and more complex a meal can be. This is a simple issue of digestion. We take time to break down and process the food we eat, and protein and fat slow down the rate that food moves through our body—this is a really favorable thing outside of workouts because it helps our food keep us full for longer, but right around our workouts, we want to use the energy from our food in a timelier manner. Since digestion takes some time, if we’re having a pre-workout snack in the hour before our workout, we want to keep it a little smaller and simpler (like a piece of fruit, a piece or two of toast, an energy bar, or even a piece of fruit and some nut butter). If we’re eating a little farther out from our workout, say 2-3 hours in advance, that can be more of a normal meal with an emphasis on carbs (for example, a sandwich with a side of fruit or rice with protein and veggies).

Everyone is different, so it may take a little experimentation to find what works for you regarding what foods you eat before a workout and when. Don’t be afraid to test some things out.

During Workout

I always tell my clients that hydration is the key to success. I won’t go off on a tangent on all the ways dehydration negatively affects us, but proper hydration is one of the biggest things we can do to feel and perform better in our workouts. We can set ourselves up for success by heading into workouts hydrated, and by staying hydrated during our workouts.

If your workout is an hour or less, you can drink plain water during the workout to stay hydrated. For workouts longer than an hour, it’s a good idea to incorporate a sports drink that contains electrolytes and carbohydrates to keep you fueled and to prevent dehydration.

Post-Workout

Workouts do a few things to our body. They cause microscopic damage to the muscle, and they cause our body to breakdown stored carbohydrates (glycogen). We have three main goals with our nutrition after a workout. Remember that our glycogen stores are pretty limited, so one of our nutrition goals after a workout is to replenish that glycogen by making sure we eat carbohydrates. One of our other main nutrition goals after a workout is to ensure we’re getting protein in to help repair muscle damage and rebuild muscle. The amount of protein and carbohydrate you need after a workout is specific to your calorie and macronutrient needs, but a general rule that can help to maximize recovery is a 3:1 ratio of carbs: protein (for example, if you have 15g protein, aim for 60g carb).

Our third goal of our post-workout nutrition is to REHYDRATE. You may have gathered by now that I’m huge on hydration and really reinforce it. One easy way to do this is to weigh yourself before your workout and again after; aim to drink 16-24oz of water after your workout for every pound of weight that you lost. For example, if you lost 2 lbs over the course of your workout, aim to drink 32-48oz of water to help with rehydrating. Again, monitoring our pee color is a great way to check in with how we’re doing with rehydrating.

If you have questions or want to know the specifics of how to apply these recommendations, drop us a line HERE to set up a FREE initial consultation with Michael.

27Apr

5 Tips to Spring Clean Your Diet

April 27, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 25

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

There’s no “right time” to start a new habit or change your diet. However, in all areas of our lives, whether it’s cleaning our living space, our car, or our pantry/diet, it’s often helpful to start at the beginning of the new season. So, if those goals you set on January 1^st for your nutrition habits have gone by the wayside, then spring cleaning is the perfect time to brush them off and start again using these 5 tips.

Become aware of your food choices (if you’re not already). To make changes, we first have to know what our diet looks like. Are you mindlessly grabbing candy at 2am? Are you adding extra sugar to your coffee? Mindlessly snacking on handfuls of chips/pretzels/nuts/cookies just because they’re there? We can become mindful of these things in a couple of ways: 1) be mindful when you’re actually eating. Note the foods you selected, really focus on smelling, seeing, and tasting them. 2) Write down everything you eat on a phone note or notepad (or by logging your meals through an app such as MyFitnessPal). Seeing this written out and thinking about writing down each of the things we eat helps us become more aware of the choices we’re making. As we do this, most people naturally become more intentional with their choices as well!

Clean up your liquid intake & drink more water. How’s that soda intake looking? Sweet tea? Coffee? Take a look at the fluids you drink in a day and look at how much water you drink, and determine if you need to make adjustments. A good starting point is ½ of your body weight in ounces of water per day (for example, if you weigh 160lbs, aim for 80oz of water per day). You may need to drink a little less or a little more depending on your activity level. I always say that hydration is the key to success, because everything is improved with good hydration—better cognition and mental clarity, better recovery from workouts, more energy, and healthier skin just to name a few.

Clean up your snacking habits. One of the most common things I hear from my clients is how busy they are. Time is a limiting factor for so many people these days—people are busy. For many of my clients, this shows up in their snacking habits/choices. It’s really easy to skip snacks between meals or just grab whatever is convenient without much thought for how it’s fueling our body. The great news is healthful, balanced snacks don’t have to involve a lot of planning and thought. The general rule I tell my clients to aim for is to have carbs, protein and/or fat, and something colorful (fruits and veggies) at every snack. This can be as simple as Greek yogurt with berries, fruit and nut butter, nuts and dried fruit, hummus or guacamole with those chips, etc. Want something more convenient? No problem! Bars are a great grab-and-go snack option. Best practice is to opt for bars with fewer ingredients and make sure it’s got some carbs and some protein. Some of my favorite go-to’s are Larabars, RX Bars, PRO Bars, and Skratch Labs Anytime Bars.

Look at your eating out habits. Those busy schedules and not having to do the shopping, prep, or dishes makes eating out a default for a lot of people. Look at those dining out habits and consider your goals and priorities. If you’re not happy with how much you’re dining out, start small and work to just make even 1 more meal at home. If you enjoy dining out and don’t desire to dine at home more, that’s totally fine! Instead, take a look at the choices you’re making at these restaurants, and, again, start small and aim to just make even 1 healthier choice or substitution at each outing. For example, start by just making sure you have a fruit or vegetable every time you dine out. It may not seem like much, but these small changes really add up over time!

Clean out your pantry & fridge. I’m not a proponent of throwing away food that you’ll eat, so I tackle pantry and fridge clean-outs a little differently than some. You don’t need to do a massive overhaul where you throw everything away. Instead, take inventory of what foods you have stocked/have been stocking in your fridge and pantry, and think about if you could make any improvements. As you use those things up, work on making better choices and then restocking with healthier items. For example, if you’ve got lots of chips, crackers, and cookies stocked in your pantry, try restocking with more whole foods like fruit (dried fruit included), nuts, and vegetables alongside your favorite type of chip/cracker/cookies. In the spring, lots of fruits and vegetables are in season, so if you haven’t been eating many fruits or vegetables, take a look at what’s in season (for an added bonus, see what’s local). Fresh produce is an easy, fun, and tasty way to clean up your diet, like NC strawberries, fresh blueberries, asparagus, squash, and zucchini—all of which are starting to be in season. A good way to start is to aim to add a serving of fruits or vegetables to every meal.

Feeling overwhelmed with the idea of spring cleaning your diet but you don’t want to give up on your goals? Don’t hesitate to reach out! I’d love to work with you to simplify things and help make nutrition make more sense.

12Mar

Introducing a New Nutrition Partner

March 12, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 40

You have likely heard the phrase “you can’t out-exercise a bad diet,” and the deeper truth is that our nutritional habits have a far greater impact on our body composition and health goals than any other fitness component. Here is just one reason that is so: We eat more frequently than we exercise (we may exercise 5 – 8 times per week, but likely we eat 21–35 times per week), giving us many more opportunities to make healthful choices that can positively affect our body composition and health.

This we know: Nutrition and exercise are BOTH important parts of losing fat, gaining strength, preventing disease and feeling good, so the best way to create positive body and health changes is to implement a combination of a customized fitness program and a well-balanced whole-foods nutrition plan.

Our Empower trainers have you covered on the exercise tip. We have helped you create a customized plan based on your needs and goals and have been keeping you sweating, strengthening, and stretching (many of you for years).

However, it has been a while since we have had a strong Nutrition Counseling program in place. This is a void we are on a mission to fill, and we are so excited to introduce a new Nutrition partner.

Michael Raynor, from Raynor Strength and Nutrition will come on board as Empower’s lead Registered Dietitian Nutritionist – and he is AWESOME!

If you or your family have been struggling with:

weight gain
poor eating habits
being bloated
improper digestion
feeling tired, irritated or stressed
craving unhealthy foods
poor performance
or eating for reasons other than hunger . . .

And you are ready to see how improved nutrition can help you:

increase energy
improve sleep quality
strengthen your immune system
boost mood
increase concentration
lose fat
increase muscle
improve performance
reduce symptoms of disease
and more . . .

Sign Up for a FREE get-to-know-you nutrition consult call, where Michael can help you determine the best plan for you and your family.

SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE CALL HERE

Meet Michael:

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Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN, is a Triangle area-based registered dietitian nutritionist. His interest and love for nutrition started in high school, where he played ice hockey and eventually picked up cycling and bicycle racing—racing at a national and international level. It was through sports that Michael realized the direct link between the food we eat and how we feel and perform.

Michael received his BS in Nutrition from NC State University. He completed his Master’s degree and dietetic internship through Meredith College. Michael is currently serving as the President of the Raleigh Dietetic Association. He has a wide breadth of experience working with clients with cardiovascular diseases, weight management, diabetes, & athletes of all levels.

When not helping clients reach their goals and achieve their best health and fitness, Michael loves to ride his bike, walk his dog, Boone, with his wife, and go camping and hiking.

A note from Michael to the Empower Community:

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Hello Empower Family!

I’m so excited to be partnering with Empower to provide nutrition services to the Empower community. I’m a Raleigh-based Registered Dietitian, and I help people fuel their best health and fitness through food and nutrition. I really enjoy helping clients with weight maintenance, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and athletes, and I especially enjoy helping clients fuel their workouts and fitness endeavors with a well-balanced diet. I discovered my passion and love for nutrition through my fitness journey. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused by how to eat a healthy, balanced diet, or you aren’t sure how to properly fuel your activities and workouts, I’d love to help untangle the web of nutrition and get you on the right track. Reach out!

Happy eating,

Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

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26Feb

The Truth About Cholesterol

February 26, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 43

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February is Heart Health Month – so let’s talk about it.

A January 2009 study published in the American Heart Journal found that nearly three out of four patients hospitalized for a heart attack had total cholesterol levels in the “normal” range of 200 or less. Some of them were taking statins to lower their cholesterol, and some of them had naturally low cholesterol. Basically, the statins weren’t preventing heart attacks from happening, and neither was low cholesterol.

So why then is cholesterol STILL a focus with overall health?

What Is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy substance, technically a sterol–that is an important constituent of cell membranes. The vast majority of cholesterol in the body is made in the liver, while we absorb the rest from the diet. Cholesterol is the basic raw material that your body uses to make vitamin D; sex hormones, and bile acids needed for digestion. The theory that fat and cholesterol cause heart disease became widely accepted despite much evidence to the contrary.

Cholesterol travels in particles called lipoproteins, the most common of which are high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL). HDL is the smallest of the lipoprotein particles and enables the transportation of triglycerides through the bloodstream. It also uses and excretes LDL form the body by delivering it to the liver; therefore, HDL is referred to as the “good” cholesterol. An increased level of HDL is protective against cardiovascular disease, lower levels of HDL raise your risk of heart disease. An HDL of 70 mg/DL or higher will give you the biggest benefits for your cardiovascular health. We refer LDL cholesterol to as the “bad” cholesterol. It is actually a combination of two primary types: the large, fluffy Pattern A and the small, dense Pattern B.

Is What We’ve Been Told about Cholesterol Misleading?

All of us have been told to avoid heart disease and heart attacks we need to keep our cholesterol levels in check. The media will have you believe that a low-fat diet that avoids foods high in cholesterol (like eggs) but includes foods high in carbohydrates (like Cheerios), will help lower cholesterol and protect you from heart disease. However, our body only absorbs approximately 15% of the cholesterol we eat, the other 85% is excreted, therefore the cholesterol we consume has very little to do with the cholesterol levels in our bloodstream.

Who are the Real Bad Guys?

The greater danger for everyone is in foods that are high in trans fats. The manufactured form of trans fat, seen on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil, may be found in products, such as packaged cakes, cookies and pies, shortening, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, such as biscuits and rolls, fried foods, like french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken, nondairy coffee creamer and margarine. Trans fat increases your (bad) LDL cholesterol and decreases your (good) HDL cholesterol. It is the oxidized (bad) LDL cholesterol that sticks to the lining of the arteries and begins the process of inflammation–THIS IS THE TRUE CAUSE OF HEART DISEASE. Chronic inflammation is a significant component of virtually every single degenerative condition, especially heart disease, and often flies under the radar with no obvious symptoms.

Another dietary contributor to heart disease is refined carbohydrates, specifically SUGAR. Sugar contributes to inflammation in the artery walls. Processed carbohydrates and sugar increase triglycerides, which are an important and independent risk factor for heart disease. Hypertension, high levels of triglycerides, and a high ratio of triglycerides to HDL are all better predictors of heart disease than cholesterol, and sugar increases every single one of these measures.

In conclusion: The Bad Guys = Trans fats and Sugar

Lifestyle Habits that Increase Heart Health

Eliminate or reduce: sugar, soda, processed carbs, trans fats, processed meats, processed soybean and vegetable oils.

Eat more: WHOLE FOODS–veggies, fruits, lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats–check out this article from Mayo Clinic: Heart-healthy Diet–8 Steps to Prevent Heart Disease.

Manage stress: exercise regularly, meditate or practice deep breathing, express your emotions, play, cultivate intimacy & pleasure, and enjoy life!

Need more help with your Heart Health or Overall Fitness and Nutrition?

Email me to set up a FREE Initial Session with an expert Personal Trainer or a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

21Oct

Mother Nature’s Halloween Candy

October 21, 2020 Jessica Bottesch 29

While ‘tis the season to be stocking up on Halloween candy, we have a challenge for you: See what treats you can find in the produce section of the grocery store instead of the candy aisle.

For us, one of our favorite foods to explore this time of year is **squash.** So, today we are highlighting some different varieties: what they look like, how to cook them, their nutritional benefits, and some recipes you can try. Because soon, temperatures will be dropping, we will want to hunkering down and cooking some fall comfort foods – soups, warm casseroles and roasted winter veggies come to mind
Enjoy!

Acorn – dark green/orange, or buff-colored, has a ribbed rind, and contains a moist yellow or orange interior. This particular variety of squash contains vitamin A, niacin, folate, thiamine, and vitamin B6 but it is especially a high in vitamin C. Acorn squash is also high in potassium, magnesium, and fiber. Great for roasting and then using as a “squash bowl.” Check out this recipe from Elana’s Pantry for Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing. You could serve as a side dish or add ground sausage for a complete

Butternut – probably the most common variety of winter squash. It has a bell shape with a butterscotch colored skin. Butternut squash contains the highest doses of vitamins A & C of any other squash. It also packs potassium, folate, and lots of fiber. It is easy to peel, cube, and then roast. Great for roasting and soups. Check out this recipe from Cooking Light – for a flavor-pack fall salad – Autumn Glow Salad. Or this recipe from easy, vegan, gluten-free and delicious Crockpot Butternut Soup from Show Me the Yummy – nothing beats a warm bowl of soup on a chilly night.

Delicata – also known as sweet potato squash because of its creamy flavor and texture. This squash resembles a giant, fat cucumber and has a pale yellow skin and dark green pinstripes. Delicata squash, much like other varieties, is rich in carotenoids and a source of vitamin C, B1, B6, niacin, and potassium. You can eat the skin and it is great for roasting and stuffing. My favorite recipe for Delicata squash is from Paleomg, Chicken Bacon Alfredo. You can also roast delicata squash and then stuff it with shredded meat and/or sautéed veggies.

Kabocha – has a subtle, honeyed sweetness and smooth texture. The exterior is jade green, has light green stripes, and the meat inside is pale orange. Besides being an excellent source of beta-carotene, Kabochu squash also contains iron, vitamin C, and some B vitamins. Kabocha squash is drier and denser than other varieties, it can be baked or steamed, or pureed for soups. I love to roast it and use this recipe from Nom Nom Paleo as a guide, Roasted Kabocha Squash.

Pumpkin – has a bright orange skin and light orange flesh. Pumpkins have a mellow sweetness and dense flesh perfect for fall baking. They contain vitamin A & C, B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, copper, and phosphorous. To use for baking look for small sugar or New England pie varieties, not the large ones used for decoration and/or carving. Great to roast or steam, puree, and then add to any recipe that calls for pumpkin. And fall isn’t complete without at least 1 pumpkin pie. Here is a great recipe for THE BEST Pumpkin Pie ever from Joy Food Sunshine!

Spaghetti – oval yellow squash contains a stringy flesh that when cooked separates into mild-tasting spaghetti-like strands. The nutritional benefits of spaghetti squash are that it contains vitamin A & C, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, vitamin K, manganese, and fiber. It can be topped with tomato sauce like pasta or flavored with butter and herbs. Great for roasting. However, there are so many delicious recipes to try using spaghetti squash. For a kid-friendly twist on everyone’s favorite – Pizza, try this Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole from Raia’s Recipes.

Well, there you have it – our season of squash round-up. Let us know if you try any of these recipes.

Pro-tip: If you are taking part in Halloween in any way this year, wait until Oct. 30th to buy candy and give it all away by Nov. 1st.

Comfort Food is One Way to Warm-Up Group Training is Another!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A CURRENT CLIENT TO JOIN US FOR THESE SESSIONS!

Group training is perfect for the days you can’t find the motivation to make yourself exercise. You get the knowledge, expertise and motivation of an Empower professional AND you get the benefit of working out alongside others in our virtual group sessions.

Our group training workouts are designed just like a personal training session – with the appropriate warm up, attention to detail, and personalization of exercise intensity that you know and love.

If you’re struggling with motivation, you are getting a little bored with your workouts or you KNOW you should get more exercise then give group training a TRY!

Here Are Your Options This Week

Virtual Group Training – Pre-register at least 30 minutes before the group training session, and we will send you a Zoom link to join from the comfort of your home or office. Our workouts are creative, efficient and require very little equipment. Choose from Cardio Circuit or Strength Training. Your first session is FREE or use your class card.

In Person Group Training – Join Judy Raby of JARBarre for a one of kind experience –Yoga Fusion to Barre. This class will be held outside Empower and limited to only 5 participants (to maintain appropriate social distance). Kick off your Saturday with a blend of yoga and barre and be on your way to creating a great day. $20/class and pre-registration is required.

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