Low carb tolerance

Ok so there's a host of diets out there and if you're wanting to lose some weight/body fat you probably have tried several of them. Some of them worked for a while, but at some point you just gave up and went back to the 'normal'. Or maybe it worked for somebody else, but not for you. Well here's the thing, every single body is different, therefore there is not one cut diet that works. It takes a while to figure out what your body responds best to, but there are some pointers that'll help you figure it out faster. Today I want to focus on those people who probably have the hardest time losing weight. People with low carb tolerance.

Do you carry most of your extra fat around your midsection and lower back? Are you naturally broad and kind of thick? Is fat loss you main priority? If this is you you probably to respond well to carbohydrates. If you recognize yourself in this, you want to be careful with carbohydrates and have most of your carbs shortly after your workout.

Make sure you have plenty of protein from lean meats, fish, dairy, eggs, and legumes. Most of your carbs have to come from vegetables, which are fiber rich and some fruit. 9-11 servings and only 1-2 of those servings should be fruit. Healthy fats you can get from avocado, olive oil, variety of nuts, fish oil, flax oil. Don't be afraid of saturated fats either, coconut oil, eggs, grass fed beef, palm oil, and some cheeses are perfectly healthy. Just make sure your fats aren't processed.

Next time a recipe with low carbs, but lots of flavor!

No hassle mango smoothie

I love smoothies any time of the day, but with a bunch of fruit added and possibly juice it's easy to get lots of sugars in a smoothie that the body doesn't actually need. This doesn't mean that I shouldn't have any smoothies (yay!), I just have to be smart about the timing of it. So I have my smoothie right after my workout when sugars are absorbed faster and can actually help with recovery and muscle building. No I'm not looking to become bulky or anything, but ladies for the majority of us it's difficult to get bulky anyway (unless you're on something).

So here's my super easy no hassle mango smoothie with only 3 ingredients since after a workout I don't feel like making a complicated smoothie.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of frozen mango 
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Well do I need to write directions? Just blend it all together in a blender or little 1 serving blender. Add more buttermilk if you like it thinner. I like using buttermilk because it makes it tangy, creamy, and is low in calories. 

Vegetarian diet yes or no?

More and more people choose to eat less meat, become vegetarian, or even vegan. From an environmental standpoint I totally understand and respect this choice. From a health standpoint though I don't really understand this choice. Instead of going straight to being a vegetarian or vegan I would suggest to get free range and grass fed meat. It is so important to get lean protein at every meal and although there are plenty of protein-containing foods these are often higher in calories, carbs, and soy for example has to be consumed in moderation. So rather than avoiding meat you can achieve all the health benefits of a plant-based diet by just eating more veggies, legumes, nuts, seeds and fruits.

Going for a plant-based diet? You hopefully know that you need to get protein from other sources, but what you might not know if that you're also short on other nutrients. Here is the list and what you can do to balance your intake.

Vitamin B12. Mostly found in animal foods so make sure you get a supplement or get it from fortified foods like grains or non-dairy milks.

Calcium. Found in leafy greens, tofu (large intake can compromise thyroid function and raise estrogen levels though), fortified non-dairy milks, legumes, and nuts. 

Iodine. Kelp and other sea veggies, asparagus, leafy freens, iodized salt/sea based salt.

Omega-3 Fat. Flax, hemp, walnuts, seaweed and other marine-based supplements. Make sure it's high in both DHA and EPA.

Vitamin D. Get some sun! Around noon is the best source for Vitamin D. No sun? Get a supplement, about 1000 IU/day should do it unless a test tells you otherwise.

Zinc. Zinc absorption from plant food is lower than from animal foods. Have calcium in between to help zinc absorption. Good sources of zinc are quinoa, wheat germ, lentils, chickpeas, tahini, almonds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, goji berries, dried apricots, cocoa powder/nibs.

So if you do choose to give up animal foods make sure that you plan carefully. Your body could miss out on essential nutrients such as protein and other vitamins and minerals plus it's often not beneficial for fat loss, but that's another subject :)


Article on grass fed beef
http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/2010/3/14/5-reasons-to-choose-grass-fed-beef.html

Fat Free... It's a big Fat lie!

I used to be one of those people who would buy fat free milk, fat free yogurt, fat free butter (seriously what was I thinking? No good can be in that?!), fat free salad dressing, fat free sour cream and so on. It doesn't surprise me that so many people think it's the 'healthy' thing to do. In my job I talk to so many people who tell me they eat healthy and start telling me about the fat free and whole wheat (that's for another day) products that they eat. I don't want to be discouraging, because at least they try to be healthy, but I sigh on the inside. What has the food industry done to make us believe we should eat all this man made fat free junk?

Why should you not eat artificially made fat free dairy products? 
- It often has more sodium in it 
- It often has more sugar in it
- It has a bunch of added ingredients in it to give it the right consistency (fat free yogurt would look like watered down cottage cheese without it)
- It doesn't keep you full like a full fat product does and you'll reach for other snack shortly after to fill you up again
- Full fat tastes better
- Your body needs fat to run properly
- And many, many other reasons...

Fat is not bad! This doesn't mean you should eat ice cream, cookies, or cake to get healthier. You still want to steer away from sugar (and fake sugars) and also the higher your fat intake the lower your carb intake needs to be. Make sure you get a good amount of fats from nuts, avocado, olives, olive oil, fatty fish etc. 

Chocolate dusted almonds

I've been slacking off! Maybe the wait makes you more excited to read the blog again :)?

Well I've been experimenting in the kitchen. I saw the chocolate dusted almonds they have in the store and wanted to get them until I saw the price. They're 12 dollars per pound, while I buy my raw almonds at 12 dollar per 3 pounds. So it only made sense to make it myself plus that way I can control what's in it.

Don't get me wrong though, raw almonds are better for you than chocolate dusted almonds. This is just my version of eating a healthy yummy snack. There's only a few people I know who don't like chocolate and in my humble opinion they're crazy (if you are one of those people, it's nothing personal :)). Almonds are a great source of healthy fats and dark chocolate is a source of anti-oxidants. The maple syrup in this recipe... well that's just good for the taste buds.


You need:
2 cups almonds
2 tbsp of organic maple syrup (or you can use honey or agave syrup)
4 tbsp of unsweetened dark cocoa powder
coconut oil for pan

The Result

Preheat oven at 275. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and cover it with light coat of coconut oil. Put almonds in bowl and pour maple syrup over top. Stir and make sure each almond is covered. Add cocoa powder and stir until all almonds are completely covered. Spread out on baking sheet and stir after 10 minutes and after 20 minutes. Bake for a total of 25 minutes.

PB chocolate ice cream

Peanut Butter Chocolate ice cream... what?!?! Yes that's right I just got done with dinner and had some delicious ice cream for dessert. I absolutely love chocolate and I know I'm not the only one. When you want to live a healthy lifestyle you don't have to miss out on good tastes! So I figured you all (sorry I just can't do the "ya'll", doesn't sound right coming from me) would like a healthy chocolaty dessert.

Here's what you need:
- 3 frozen bananas
- 3 tsp of dark chocolate powder (unsweetened!)
- 3 tbsp unprocessed peanut butter (you know the kind you have to stir before use)
- whole milk (preferably organic) Lactose intolerant? Use unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
- food processor

Mix all the ingredient in the food processor and add milk only enough to make it spin. It'll become a gooey texture. Freeze it for about 3-4 hours and enjoy! Couldn't be easier right? As you can see you can also make a smaller batch by using 1 of each :)

After workout option: instead of using chocolate powder use chocolate protein powder.

Carbs or no carbs?

I changed my mind, no recipe today, because I found this info more important.

A lot of people think carbs are evil, and they can be, but they don't have to be. It's very important what kind of carbs you eat and when you eat it. When it comes to carbs it's all about TIMING. There is a difference between people who want to lose fat and people who want to gain muscle however (I'm assuming not many people have the goal of gaining fat or losing muscle so I'm leaving those two out :)). So I decided to give you two scenarios; carb timing for fat loss and carb timing for muscle gain.

Fat Loss:
You have to earn your carbs. Do you want to have some bread or pasta? You can, but mostly within 1-2 hours after exercise in combination with a good source of lean protein (watch out for fat intake after your workout it'll slow down your metabolism during that time). Another time to have carbs would be with breakfast, but make sure you eat it in combination with protein. Always try to go for the least processed, organic food. So you don't have to eliminate your carbs, you just have to control it. 

Muscle gain:
When you're looking to gain more muscle you want to have an exercise drink (good guideline is 20-30g carbs + 15-25 g protein + 600 ml water) during and after your workout. Have a meal with unprocessed carbs within 3 hours after your workout and depending on how well your body tolerates carbs you can have some (generally 30% of your meal) with every meal too. Just like with fat loss try to go for the least processed, organic food. 

Next time you will for sure get a recipe though! Have you bought coconut oil and quinoa yet?