12Jan

What’s the Deal With Superfoods

January 12, 2022 Jessica Bottesch 3

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 19

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 18

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 16

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!

19Aug

How to Hydrate & Why it’s Important

August 19, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 17

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

“Hydration is the key to success” is a phrase I’ve said to nearly every single one of my clients, regardless of their goals. The importance of being properly hydrated for the health of nearly every system and part of our body can’t be overstated. Hydration is important for the health of skin and muscles (and recovery from those awesome workouts that Empower is delivering), the brain functions better with proper hydration, and proper hydration is important for gut and intestinal health and to keep our bowel habits regular, not to mention the fact that proper hydration even helps with oral health. Clearly, I’m passionate about hydration and feel that it is often overlooked. When talking about hydration, I like to break it down into a few considerations.

How much fluid we need?

How can we meet our hydration needs?

How can we monitor how hydrated we are?

First things first, how much fluid do you need to be hydrated? There are lots of different recommendations swirling around regarding how much fluid someone should drink in a day, from 8 cups per day to 1 gallon per day. However, like much of nutrition, hydration isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach, and how much water you should drink in a day depends on your lifestyle, your activity level, and even your body size. The easiest, simplest starting place is to aim for half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, if you weigh 160 lbs., you’d aim for.

80 oz of water each day. However, this is just a starting place, and you may need to drink more or less fluid depending on your needs. In addition, sweating and being active increase our needs above and beyond this “half our body weight” number. When exercising, an easy way to see how much fluid you need to drink to rehydrate is to weigh yourself before your workout and again after, and for every pound of weight you lose, aim to replace 16-20oz. For example, if you lost 2lbs over the course of your workout, add 32-40oz of water to your total water needs for the day.

Now, how to meet our hydration needs. We can meet our hydration needs several ways, and it’s important to remember that small things can add up. Ideally, our primary hydrating beverage is going to be water (including sparkling water, seltzer, etc.). Besides water, juices, sports drinks, caffeine free teas, milk, and non-dairy milks can all help us meet our daily hydration needs; however, we shouldn’t rely on these fluids for the bulk of our hydration. In addition, there are lots of foods higher in water that can help contribute to our hydration (albeit to a smaller degree, even so, every bit helps). Especially during summer, foods like watermelon, berries, cucumber, pineapple, and celery can be really refreshing, while also helping ensure we’re hydrated! There are also some beverages that aren’t as productive with our hydration. Coffees, caffeinated teas, and sodas shouldn’t count toward our daily fluid needs. Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it increases the body’s production of urine. If you consume these caffeine sources regularly, this effect is less dramatic and the amount it dehydrates us doesn’t exceed the volume of the drink; but for this reason, we don’t want to count these caffeinated beverages as hydrating. Alcohol-containing beverages also don’t count toward our fluid needs and actually increase the amount of fluids we need, because alcohol is a potent diuretic and can dehydrate us if we don’t drink extra fluids to offset it.

The final piece of the puzzle is monitoring how hydrated we are to determine if we need more or less fluid. The easiest, cheapest, and most convenient way for us to monitor how hydrated we are is to look at the color of our urine. It may sound weird, but everybody pees. All I’m suggesting is you take a quick look in the toilet before you flush it. Now, some supplements can affect the color of our urine (for example, beetroot juice supplements or B-complex vitamins), and in these cases, you may have to rely on other means to monitor how hydrated you are. For most people, though, urine color is a great tool for monitoring hydration. We want our pee to be the color of pale lemonade or lighter, but not clear. So if your pee is darker than pale lemonade, increase your fluid intake. If your pee is completely clear, lay off the fluids for a little until it darkens up a bit. Over time, you’ll figure out how much water you need to drink in a day and monitoring your urine color just serves to make sure you’re on track throughout the day.

You can see why hydration is so important. You know what things help hydrate you, and you know how to check how hydrated you are throughout the day. The only thing left is to put it into practice. Like any new habit, it takes work and time to build this habit of good hydration, but it’s a habit that makes a big difference regardless of what your goals are. Just start small and work your way up. If you’re consistently drinking way less water than you should be, start by just adding an extra 8-16oz per day until you’ve got that under control consistently,

Then add another 8-16oz per day and keep working until you’re consistently hydrated throughout the day most days. One big thing that helps many people is to just carry a bottle of water around with you no matter where you go, whether it’s around the house, on the coach, running errands—just having a bottle of water there makes you more likely to drink from it.

Still feeling a little confused about how much fluid you need or how to hit that number? Need some accountability in building this habit? Reach out or set up a free Get-To-Know-You call with me!

24Jun

Fueling for Performance, Recovery and Results

June 24, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 29

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.

21May

Intermittent Fasting

May 21, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 13

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN, CISSN

What is Intermittent Fasting (IF)?

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is a way of eating that, instead of restricting what you eat, restricts when you eat. This is done by restricting eating to certain time periods with long periods of fasting in between. There’s a lot of variety in how this can be done. Common methods are fasting for 16 hours and eating in an 8-hour window, a weekly 24-hour fast, alternate day fasting in which you consume extremely low calories, and the 5:2 method in which you eat healthfully for 5 days and then fast (only eating 300-500 calories) on the 2 fasting days.

Does it work?

There’s still a lot of research that needs to be done on Intermittent Fasting (IF) for us to better understand the benefits. However, current research suggests that IF can be as effective as eating a balanced diet and exercise for weight loss. With other benefits, IF may also help to improve several risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including blood pressure, triglycerides, blood sugar levels, and markers of inflammation. Intermittent fasting may also help to fight inflammation and help to resist oxidative stress. In addition, fasting may help the cells in our body start a waste-removal process called autophagy, which may be protective against several diseases.

Obviously, all of this sounds pretty appealing! While there are a lot of claims regarding IF that have been circulated, it’s important to keep in mind that some of these assertions are based on research in animals, which is no guarantee that humans react the same way.

The Verdict?

Intermittent Fasting (IF) works for some people because of the structure and rigidity, and there appear to be some health benefits to it. However, for many people, it’s not a sustainable approach to nutrition—you can’t really stick with it if you’re starving all the time and constantly breaking your fast because you can’t wait to eat. I’m huge on sustainability and always tell people that the eating pattern you adopt (your diet) should be something you could do for the rest of your life. Which may seem silly, but think about it. If you’re only temporarily changing the way you eat, everything will go back to the way it was when you resume your normal diet.

If you think IF will fit your lifestyle, then try it. If it doesn’t sound good to you, that’s fine too! There’s plenty of other strategies you can use to reach your goals. In my professional opinion, the quality of your diet is the most important factor whether you are using the IF method or if you choose some other approach to eating. You still need to eat good, lean proteins, healthy fats, whole-food complex carbohydrates, and fruits and vegetables.
If you would like more information about IF or a nutrition plan that would work for YOUR unique body, health and life. Sign up for a FREE getting started call with Michael HERE.

12Mar

Introducing a New Nutrition Partner

March 12, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 31

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 34

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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.

07Feb

Survey Response

February 7, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 39

As we moved into this new year, with so many changes afoot, I felt it was important to check in with you, our loyal clients, to see how we could serve you better.

We asked, you spoke, we listened!

Now, I would like to share some responses we received and our solutions to the requests or issues you raised, because after all – we do what we do for YOU! This is YOUR EMPOWER.

**These are paraphrased, and similar requests combined.

How Can We Improve In-studio Sessions?

Feedback 1: Would like an area where I could warm up before an appointment.
Our Response: We have two rooms (the smaller and larger group fitness rooms) that can be used for general warm up. The small room has a Peloton bike, ankle bands, and foam rollers. The larger room has a row machine, ankle bands and foam rollers. Please, just notify your trainer that you would like to arrive early to warm up and they can tell you which room is available.

Feedback 2: Would like general access to the studio at times I am not working with a trainer.
Our Response: We have taken the COVID-19 pandemic seriously and have tried to create the safest possible environment for our clients and trainers. With this goal, we created workout area “pods” for each client (or client small group) – so we could limit the amount of space sharing. Therefore and likely until positive test rates drop below 4% and the vaccination rate increases significantly. If we were to allow open studio access, we could not maintain our workout pod set up. However, we have other ways to help you stay active on the days you are not working with your trainer. Please see Your Off-Day Workout Options section below.

Feedback 3: I would like to come in to use the treadmill on days I am not working with a trainer.
Our Response: Our team has decided that we can make a special case for clients who would like to come in on an off day to use a piece of stationary cardio equipment with a few stipulations. Please contact your trainer to “reserve” time on a piece of cardio equipment. They will make sure someone will be present at the studio to let you in and be there for the duration of the time you are exercising. You must use the screens to create a workout pod around the piece of equipment you are using and if another client is in the studio working out you must keep your mask on. Again, our number 1 goal is your health and the safety of our community.

How Can We improve Virtual Sessions?

Feedback 1: I get better visuals when my trainer uses an iPad or computer versus a phone.
Our Response: Luckily, Empower supplies all trainers with an iPad and we addressed this issue in our last team meeting. The only time trainers might need to use their phone instead of an iPad or computer is if the Wi-Fi signal is weak or breaking up and they need to use the cellular signal on their phone to connect with you.

Feedback 2: It would be nice if the trainers had a better set up for the virtual appointments.
Our Response: We agree and as we recover from the financial effects this pandemic has had on our business, we imagine creating space within our studio with better visual and audio tech for virtual appointments. However, currently many of our trainers are training using this format and often are doing it from their homes. We will keep you posted as we improve and evolve our virtual training services.

Feedback 3: I worry about my form and getting injured if I am not doing the exercise correctly and my trainer can’t see me from all angles.
Our Response: This is definitely a concern of ours because seeing you on a screen makes you 2 dimensional and not 3 dimensional and sometimes clients go outside the camera view while exercising. Giving good cueing and helping to ensure suitable form is tougher when we are not in person, but we have addressed this issue at multiple team meetings and believe that a couple things can help. For starters, your trainer can give both verbal cues AND visual cues – so if you are not sure what to do, please ask for them to demonstrate the exercise. Also, our trainers will make sure they have a good view of how you are performing the exercise and ask you to reposition the web cam if they cannot see you. Hopefully, with a focus on form and diligence, all workouts will be safe and effective.

Feedback 4: Need more low-intensity workout videos.
Our Response: Oh, just you wait! We are completely revamping and reorganizing our Empower On Demand video library, and it will be so much more user friendly. And we will definitely add more moderate level and lower intensity workouts in all areas (yoga, strength, cardio circuit, mobility, balance). Stay tuned!
Feedback 5: I would like to know ahead of time what equipment I need for my workout, so I don’t waste time gathering things once the appointment has started.
Our Response: We totally get it, and anyone who feels this way just needs to let your trainer know. They can easily send you a quick text before your appointment so you can be set up and ready to sweat when the virtual sessions starts.

What other service or offerings would make us (more) excellent fitness partners for you in your health journey?

Feedback 1: Would love water-based workouts or if Empower had an affiliation with a local pool.
Our Response: This is a great idea! Empower will probably never have a pool of its own, but partnering with a local pool is definitely doable. This is something we can investigate later this year when COVID-19 is less of a threat and other organizations may be more amenable to having outside members coming into their facility. Thanks for the suggestion!

Feedback 2: Would love partner-based workout videos on Empower On Demand (both exercise and stretching videos)
Our Response: We love this idea – partners working out together at home! We are adding this to the list of videos to produce and will post them when they are ready. Again, we will upgrade the whole Empower On Demand service – stay tuned!

Feedback 3: Would love full locker rooms, sauna, steam room, cold baths etc.

Our Response: You might remember that just a few short weeks before this pandemic hit, we had just signed a lease extension that included an expansion and renovation of our studio. We were hoping to do a big locker room make-over. However, with months of forced closure and decreased business, it would not be fiscally responsible for us to take this on at this time. Our focus turned immediately to our employees and keeping their income stable. That remains the number one goal, but hey it never hurts to dream and put big goals out into the atmosphere. While we might not be adding a steam room soon, see the next section about recovery sessions.

Feedback 4: Would love boxing classes or individual workouts

Our Response: Boxing workouts are great exercise, fun and allow you to vent any pent-up frustrations (which we all have after a year of Covid-life). Almost any trainer should be able to create a fun but serious boxing workout for you, but we have a couple trainers in particular who have great experience and love this style of fitness. Please just let your trainer know this is your jam and they will either serve you up some hard-hitting boxing workouts or get you scheduled with Chuck or Amanda.

Feedback 5: Would love mindfulness or meditation videos

Our Response: YES! We all need more peace in our lives, and this could definitely help. I will reach out to three fabulous meditation guides I know to see if they would take this project on. Stay tuned, I will let you know what I get worked out.

Feedback 6: Would love recovery sessions where a trainer spends a full 30 minute passively stretching me and using the Thera-gun massage tool on problem areas.

Our Response: You read our minds! We are converting the small fitness room into more of a Recovery Zone and all of our trainers are already proficient or training on passive and PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching techniques. Soon you will be able to purchase add-on Recovery Sessions to make your workout experience complete. If you need pain relief, increased range of motion, reduced muscle stiffness and soreness, or faster recovery from workouts these sessions, that incorporate corrective exercise techniques, total body stretching or massage gun percussive therapy, are just what your trainer ordered.

We are launching a new Nutrition Services arm of Empower in 2021 – would you be interested in working with an Empower dietitian to bring more focus and attention to how you are fueling your body?

Feedback 1: 43% of survey participants said “Yes, please!”

Our Response: I am excited about expanding our Nutrition Services and I am meeting with a potential Registered Dietitian partner tomorrow! Again, stay tuned for details coming soon.

Thank you to all who took part in this survey. Your thoughts and opinions mean so much to us and we strive to provide the very best service possible. I always have an open door and ear so please email me anytime: Jessica@becomepowerful.com.

Beginning of the Holiday Season

Non-Candy Alternatives

Better Choices

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

Recipes to Try this Halloween

Final Thoughts

Food is Fuel, Don’t Run Out of Gas!

Mix it Up.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (sound familiar?)

Stick with it!

What is Intermittent Fasting (IF)?

Does it work?

The Verdict?

What Is Cholesterol?

Is What We’ve Been Told about Cholesterol Misleading?

Who are the Real Bad Guys?

Lifestyle Habits that Increase Heart Health

How Can We Improve In-studio Sessions?

How Can We improve Virtual Sessions?

What other service or offerings would make us (more) excellent fitness partners for you in your health journey?

We are launching a new Nutrition Services arm of Empower in 2021 – would you be interested in working with an Empower dietitian to bring more focus and attention to how you are fueling your body?

Youth Athlete Training Program start January 23rd. Limited spots. Enroll today to save your spot.