The Fit Truth: Diet foods won’t make you fit.

The 4^th Key to Real Fitness is Food Quality.

Last week we talked about quantity. Balancing calories in with calories out is important. But so is learning about the quality of the calories consumed. A donut and a chicken breast may both have 240 calories but you will feel a whole lot different after eating the chicken breast than you do after eating the donut.

The clients who are the most successful, who show the best results in fat loss (which is different then weight loss, remember?) are ones who take the time to learn about food. They aren’t afraid to clean out their cupboards and start over. They embrace the idea of lean protein and stop being scared of carbs. Fats are no longer a four letter word.

I do have clients who try to slide by with 100-calorie snack packs and frozen meals to hit their calorie goals. In the beginning they do okay.  If you’re making better choices (after all a 100 calorie pack of popcorn is better than a bag of potato chips) you will see some progress. But eventually that progress will slow and frustration will set in.

Meanwhile, my clients who are getting in touch with real food are talking about how much food they eat. They don’t feel hungry.  They feel good! They have more energy! Their kids are asking for seconds! They are saving money since they aren’t eating out 3-5 times a week. Eating real foods is a win-win for your health, waistline and wallet.

They also allow themselves to have an occasional treat. This is the real world after all. We all have birthdays to celebrate and vacations to enjoy. But they are honest with themselves about what a treat is: not an every day occurrence.  A treat is something to be enjoyed once a month or even once a year, like your grandma’s chocolate pie that she only makes at Christmas. A true treat then should be enjoyed and savored. It should not be a source of guilt nor should it be saved up for or paid for the next day. This is not a process of deprivation and starvation but balance and being real.

Your food quality action plan is:

1. Educate yourself. If you don’t know foods that are good examples of protein, carbs and healthy fats pick up a copy of Nutrition For Dummies. I love the Dummies series of books because they break down potentially technical subjects into easy to understand chunks. Learn the basics.
2. After you’ve got the basics, pick up a copy (or subscription) of Clean Eating Magazine. Every issue has a variety of recipes plus snack suggestions in their meal plan. In my opinion it is the best source of healthy recipes out there. You’ll get variety and the recipes change with the seasons.
3. Do a cupboard cleanse. Out go the snack packs of cookies and crackers. Dump the diet soda down the drain.  Check condiments, sauces, cereals and breads for high fructose corn syrup. If HFCS is there, in the trash it goes.
4. Make a list of the clean eating staples for your next grocery trip. Include non perishables like natural peanut butter, oats, beans, lentils, whole grain flours, frozen vegetables, quinoa, whole wheat pasta and green tea.
5. Shop once a week with a list and a plan. Weekly because you’ll need to pick up at least some of the perishable items (like bananas and eggs).
6. It’s okay to take short cuts. Buy things like baby carrots, pre cut fruits (in their own juice only) and single serving bags of raw almonds if it’s going to help you make time for things that really require prep.
7. Again, this is a process. It will never be perfect. Just do the best you can, making the best choice available in any given situation.

So that’s it. Those are the 4 Keys to Real Fitness. They aren’t sexy or earth shattering. There’s no promise of an easy button or super fast weight loss. It is going to take some work.

But they are real. It’s not a “diet”, a road map to fleeting weight loss that leaves you as soon as you return to normal. It is the road to a new normal. It’s a transformation, slow and steady over time, to a life focused on living and not dieting. It just takes that first step to start this journey. Are you ready to say goodbye to the diets and take the brave first step to a new way of living?

See all articles in the series The Fit Truth.

Exercise alone won’t give you the body you want. You’ll feel better: have more energy, sleep better and move better. But you can’t out train a bad diet.

3500 calories equals 1 lb. In theory, you would need to eat 500 calories less per day to lose 1 lb. per week. This, however, assumes that people are only consuming the number of calories needed to maintain their weight. If you need 2000 calories to maintain your weight but average 3000 calories per day your 500 calorie reduction isn’t going to help you lose fat. You have to create a calorie deficit. In the example above, that person would need to reduce calorie consumption and increase activity to create a 1500 calorie deficit to see 1 lb. of weight loss per week.

Then there are the people who have bought into the diet industry’s starvation mantra and are actually eating too few calories to sustain a healthy metabolism. Without adequate fuel on a regular basis the body is going to act like a calorie sponge when a normal amount (or excessive amount) of calories are consumed.

The Fit Truth: People have no idea how much food they actually need nor do they have an accurate picture of how much they are really eating.

The 3^rd Key to Real Fitness is food accountability with a food journal or meal plan.

After medical and lifestyle questionnaires the next assignment for all of my clients is a food journal. This lets me see which camp they fall into: too many calories or too few. (It also helps me understand the kinds of foods they are eating, but we will talk more about that next week.)

Would it surprise you to hear that most often they are eating too little instead of too much? When I tell people they need to eat more to lose fat they look at me somewhat blankly, like I grew another head or mysteriously started talking in a foreign language.

There are a lot of opinions on the actual importance of calories. But, based on my experience and observation, to lose fat you need to find that “sweet spot” for food intake. You need a caloric deficit to encourage your body to tap into its reserves. You also need enough coming in so that the body feels okay letting go, that it has enough to meet its needs so it can afford to use some of it’s stored resources.

So while I agree that all calories aren’t created equal they do still matter. To lose fat you need to create a plan to stay accountable to your calories.

To create food accountability, here are your action steps:

• Get an estimate of your maintenance level calories. Use the calculator on my Tools (female calorie calculator or male calorie calculator) page to help you determine how many calories you need to maintain your current body weight at your current activity level.
• Reduce that number by 20-25%. This is your target. Remember this is an estimate. You may, depending on results, need to adjust this amount. Also, rule of thumb, don’t let your calorie goal go below 1200 if you’re female or 1800 if you’re male.
• Pick a tool for your food log. It can be a notebook, spreadsheet, web site or app. It doesn’t matter as long as it works for you. This means you may need to experiment to find the right method.
• If you’re more of a planner, then choose a meal plan instead of log. A meal plan is more like a budget. If you have 1600 calories to spend, planning a budget for the day makes sure you get what you need by the end of the day-no more and no less. It also gives you a blueprint for the day so you don’t have to think, just do.
• Accept that no method is perfect. There is always going to be a margin of error and there may be gaps. Do your best and be consistent. It will pay off!

Remember how I said all calories aren’t created equal? Tune in next week for the 4^th and final key-Quality Matters.

See all articles in the series The Fit Truth.

When it comes to nutrition, there are 3 questions I always get as a personal trainer:

• Is soda really that bad for you? (Yes, it is.)
• What do you eat? (I’m at a different place than you are. You’re welcome to check out my food log on Dailyburn but I promise you won’t like it.)
• Are protein bars okay?

That depends on the protein bar and what you mean by “okay”.

Protein bars can be a great quick and easy snack. They fit in a desk drawer, backpack or purse. They can be a lifesaver when you’re on the go like I am. They, however, should not be a replacement for real food. You should not live off protein shakes and bars.

And some protein bars are really just glorified candy bars: high in sugar without an adequate amount of protein. Or if they are low in sugar it’s due to artificial sweeteners like maltitol, which can cause some serious digestive issues making you (and potentially those around you) very uncomfortable.

I’m always looking for good protein bars to recommend to my clients. Recently, I discovered another winner-NuGo Slim.

NuGo makes a variety of bars but the NuGo Slim caught my attention for 4 reasons:

• 15 grams for protein- 5-6 grams more than my next favorite bar, Luna.
• 2 grams of sugar-it’s real sugar too, but not too much.
• 9 grams of fiber-combined with the 15 grams of protein, this bar will keep you feeling fuller longer
• Dark Chocolate-even I occasionally need a chocolate fix. All 3 varieties that I tried were dark chocolate dipped and they all tasted amazing.

Where I live, these bars are hard to find (anyone near a Whole Foods can pick them up there), however you can order them online for a good price from AllStar Health (my favorite place for protein shakes and vitamins).

Or you can win a box filled with all 3 varieties: Raspberry Truffle, Roasted Peanut and Dark Brownie Crunch.  Just leave a comment on this blog post telling me your experience with protein bars. Do you like them? Have you had some awful ones? Or is there a really good one you love? Maybe your own recipe? This contest is open to the continental United State only. One entry per person and winner will be drawn at random. Comments must be posted by 10 pm CT on January 25, 2012. There will be one winner, hope it’s you!

image by Harsha K R

The reality is most people spend a good deal of the day at the desk.  Snacks need to be non-perishable and quick.  Something that can stay in a desk drawer or office refrigerator and reloaded once a week.  Something that can be grabbed in the mad dash between meetings and conference calls.

I used to live that life, so I know how challenging it can be.  My go-to 2:00 pm snack when I started this journey (and for many years after) was a Luna bar. It still makes the top of my list. Just don’t wash it down with a Diet Coke as was my habit back in my office dwelling days.  I have since discovered that woman cannot live on protein bars alone.  So I have compiled a list with a variety of options for healthy office snacks or mini meals. If you’re struggling with office fuel or things to pack in a purse for a long day of errands I hope these options help you out.  If you’ve got a favorite not on the list be sure to share!

Desk drawer snacks:

• Luna Bars (170-190 calories each, depending on variety)
• Primal Strips Seitan Jerky (99 calories)
• Almonds (100 calorie packs for freshness)
• Bear Naked Fit Granola (120 calories a serving)
• Dry Roasted Edamame (130 calories a serving)
• Bananas ( small ones are about 75 calories) and apples (small ones are about 65 calories)
• Tuna or chunk chicken packets (for my non-vegetarian readers, about 70-100 calories per serving)
• Protein2GO (50 calories) perfect to add to a bottle of water

Break Room refrigerator snacks:

• Low Fat Cottage Cheese (1/2 cup 90 calories)
• Hummus with baby carrots (about 100 calories for a serving of each)
• Greek Yogurt (varies by brand, aim for 120-150 calories)
• Hardboiled eggs (71 calories each) or just the whites (17 calories each)

By planning ahead and bringing in a new bag of snacks each week you will have something to reach for (other than the vending machine Snickers) when hunger attacks.

Personal Trainer Pamela Hernandez takes a viewer question about tips for achieving a proper portion size.

In this video is advice for:

• Eating at home, plate quarters.
• Eating out, how to overcome huge portion sizes.

Labels can show us a lot of things: calorie count, ingredient list or serving size are all easily located on a standard nutrition label.  What isn’t easily determined is how some of those ingredients were processed or modified.

Whey protein is a great example. I have shunned most dairy from my diet but I continue to drink whey protein. I look for those low in sugar and carbs. I read labels to make sure that they meet my standards. But what I’ve never thought about is the quality of whey protein itself.  I never thought about whether the cows that produced the milk that lead to my whey were treated with rBGH or not.

RBGH is a genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone injected into lactating cows to produce more milk. While there is a more aggressive campaign to include it on the label or simply remove it all together milk, yogurt and ice cream, whey protein powders don’t seem to be looked at in the same way.

Supplements aren't regulated the same way medicines and foods are. While I don’t support some of the laws circulating that would cause most supplements to be held up in trials for years (like many potential life saving medical treatments), I think we need to hold our supplements to the same standards that we hold our food.  We need to ask whey protein makers to go rBGH free.

Luckily, one company has already made this choice. In my research, I found Beveri rBGh free Whey Protein.  I contacted the company and was rewarded with some samples to see how it compared with the whey protein I normally use.  Ingredients are important but so is taste. No matter how pure and good for us, if it tastes awful then we won’t drink or eat it.

My samples arrived and I made sure to give it a try in my next post workout shake. I tried the chocolate (it’s also available in Natural and Vanilla) with my usual unsweetened almond milk.  Creamy and delicious till the last drop. It’s sweetened with Stevia, but didn’t have the aftertaste I’ve experienced with some of the other Stevia sweetened powders I’ve tried.  Mission accomplished: another way I can continue to improve my nutrition and refuel after a hard workout.

Are you ready to demand more of your whey protein? Want to give Beveri a try? They were kind enough to send me 2 containers to give away to 2 lucky readers, one vanilla and one chocolate.  Here’s is what you need to do to enter:

1. Get an entry for posting a comment to this blog-how do you most enjoy whey protein? In a shake or smoothie? Do you bake with it? Maybe you put it in your oatmeal like me.
2. Get another entry for retweeting this article with the hashtag #livethrivefit.

Winners will be chosen at random. Comments and tweets must be sent by 10 pm CT Wed. Nov. 9 to be eligible for the drawing. Open to U.S. residents only. Winner will be notified by email and a comment to this blog.

First, let me introduce myself. I’m Linden’s husband, Rob. I was real happy when Linden started working with Pamela. I mean, I’ve always thought my wife was beautiful, but when your woman isn’t happy with her body, there isn’t much a man can say to make her believe that you really truly think she’s beautiful, ya know? But no way was I getting on board with this whole veggie-eating, favorite-shunning diet. I’ve only gained a few pounds in the last few years eating pretty much what I want. And my clothes always fit. No need to go overboard.

Until last week.

I needed some new dress pants, so I bought a couple in my size. They didn’t fit, and I didn’t want to take them back because we got a great deal on them. My only other options? Lose a few pounds. I had just started running again anyway, but I think the real key to fitting back into those slacks is eating less Funyuns.

I’ve been watching Linden portion out her food using the kitchen scale or measuring cups for weeks now, so I thought that would be the way to go. I finally asked her about the food changes Pamela is asking her to make--more veggies and less processed foods—but I don’t think I gotta do all that. I think it will make a huge difference just to eat more normal portions.

But I had to check out some calorie counting apps on my sweet Nexus S. That’s when Linden explained this whole “calorie deficit” thing that Pamela has taught her, so one night I find myself getting measured in about 18 different places so that we can estimate my body fat percentage so that we could then calculate my basal metabolic rate, so I that I could then eat about 500 fewer calories a day, which adds up to shedding about a pound a week. Once we had that all figured out, I got to play with those healthy apps some more. I’m using DailyBurn for calorie counting and iMapMyRUN+ to track my runs. Playing with the apps is half the fun, right?

It’s actually been pretty fun! I’m still eating what I want, but in healthier portions. I’ve already lost 3 pounds! And now Linden can’t say I don’t support her healthy eating thing. Win-win, right?

--Linden here. Luckily I found this before Rob sent it off to Pamela for me! Guys, stop reading. Ladies, don’t you just hate how quickly some men can lose weight?! Well, Rob is running hills pretty much every day, and he takes the dog for a walk as his cool down. I still haven’t quite convinced him about the whole “veggie eating” thing yet, but just give me a couple weeks…

Did you miss one of Linden's Posts? See them all at this link!

Trois Canelé by W Brian Duncan

It was my rest week, so I made no pretenses that I would workout. I knew this vacation, like always, would be one of constant movement. We always use public transit, and our own two feet, to explore a city when we can.  This, along with the desire to see everything possible, results in miles and miles of walking daily.

I also knew that my eating would be different.  While we rented an apartment, allowing me to have full kitchen privileges, I knew that breakfast would be the only meal we ate “at home”. Like I said, we wanted to see as much as possible and that meant walking till we just couldn’t go anymore most days.

The French also have a very strong and proud food culture. Meals are eaten at certain times and roaming the streets snacking does not fit into those eating patterns. While they are very used to America tourists, my goal was to experience Paris life, not try to recreate my American life there. That meant eating lunch around 12:30 or even 1:00 and not eating dinner until 7 or 7:30 pm with perhaps a mid afternoon café stop.

That also meant eating what they eat, sans meat of course. Enjoying the things that are truly different than what we have here. Like the produce. I ate white grapes that were so ripe and round, almost shimmering , and unlike anything I’ve ever seen here.  Or strawberries so bright and red they almost didn’t look real. They tasted amazing in my morning yogurt.

Yes, yogurt. I put my dairy reduction plan aside to enjoy their yogurt, cheese and butter. I ate more cheese in 8 days than I’ve eaten in the last 8 months. Nothing tastes as good as their warm goat cheese on a salad of greens, carrots, mushrooms and beets.  Unless it's 3 cheese quiche, where each bite seems to melt in your mouth.

I ate things that I would not normally eat, but seemed to be a part of Parisian life. Like chocolat chaud, hot chocolate made with steamed milk and melted chocolate. Or almond croissants, flaking with buttery yumminess. Or fromage blanc with fruit coulis, a creamed cottage cheese and fruit concoction that totally change my mind about cottage cheese.   And I ate them without guilt and without regret. And if you go to Paris I expect you to do the same thing.

Life is too short to eat junk. Eating hotdogs, frozen meals and french fries doesn’t make sense. If you’re really honest with yourself you’ll admit they don’t taste that good. Why waste calories on food that doesn’t really taste good and doesn’t nourish our bodies the way they need and deserve to be?

And life is too short to not enjoy true delicacies when they are presented. Life is too short to not fully experience those things that may be a once or twice in a lifetime opportunity. While this won’t be my last time in Paris, I certainly won’t be there again next week, next month or even next year. I savored every bite knowing that next week these glorious foods wouldn’t be available to me.

They say the French truly live to eat. When there, I had no problem embracing their philosophy knowing that upon returning home I would once again be eating to live.

photo by Alpha du Centaure

For example, each month I meet up with fellow bloggers at a local pub. While we are called the Springfield Bloggers Association, we actually spend very little time discussing blogging. It’s really more of an occasion for us to socialize. I love the break it gives me from my normal routine of train, write, read and sleep.

I, however, have become somewhat frustrated with the local pub that hosts us. They are very nice and accommodating of our crowd on a slow Monday night.  And I know my request for decaf tea is unusual for a pub. So I’ve taken to bringing my own tea and asking for hot water. No problem, although the lavender chamomile they used to serve would be much appreciated again.

Last meeting my frustration kicked up another notch. One of my blogging peers is trying to make some healthier choices in her life. And she also happened to be sitting next to me the last time the group got together.  When it was her turn to order and the server asked if she wished to have fruit, salad or fries as her side she made the awesome choice of fruit. I was extremely proud, knowing not too long ago it would have been fries. The server then said,

The fruit is $2 extra, will that be okay?

I wanted to answer for her. NO that is not okay. NO I shouldn’t be penalized for making a healthy choice. This establishment makes its reputation on local fresh foods and you want to charge me more for fruit instead of fries?

I don’t blame her for reverting to the fries.  As a small business owner, I’m on a budget too (which is another reason not to eat out a lot).  I am frustrated with the restaurant and their roadblock. While I don’t know the specifics of their profit margins, I can’t imagine that a small serving of fruit could cost more than the giant portion of the fries they serve. My only guess is it’s the “inconvenience” of it.

So I’ve been trying to think how to make my voice heard to this establishment. I didn’t think this post was the proper forum so I didn’t name them, although some may be able to guess who it is.  How do you think I should make share my discontent? Talk to the manager? Leave a comment on their Facebook wall? Have you faced this situation in the past and taken action? What did you do?

Personal Trainer Pamela Hernandez gives her opinion on the healthiness of McDonald's Fruit and Maple Oatmeal as a healthy food choice.

In this video is advice for:

• The sugar content of McDonald's Fruit and Maple Oatmeal
• Alternatives to this oatmeal