Snack Attack

An apple a day?

This is a reprint of one of my popular blogs. Fits in nicely with week 4 of our new year. In other words, fitness and nutrition related New Year's resolutions should still be going strong! This will help you plan your meals...

Let me just start by saying:  I don’t believe in snacking.  Snacking allows for a consistent release of insulin at regular intervals in response to each meal; regardless of the meal size.  Insulin must then modulate the blood sugar response with each of those meals. Insulin is a fat storing hormone and whatever calories from a meal are not utilized right away, will be stored as fat.
  
While some people can experience a drop in blood sugar that can drive them to crave carbohydrates/sugar if they go too long without eating, I believe that if your meals are properly balanced, you can eat every 4 to 6 hours without feeling “starved.”  Eating every 4 to 6 hours prevents repeated insulin responses which can lead to

5 Benefits of Starting a New Exercise Program

What to expect when you're just starting out

“Beach body, here I come!” one newbie client proudly proclaimed last January as she pulled out an US Weekly and showed me a particularly lanky actress sunning on a Maui beach. My client wanted a similar body before her mid-March Cape Town vacation. I wanted to reply that I was a personal trainer, not an alchemist, but I thought better and bit my tongue.

I get this this often, usually around the New Year, as people – admittedly, usually females – appear in droves determined to become lean and sexy for summer. Inevitably they become disappointed when fat loss doesn’t just magically occur after their second session.

After training thousands of clients, I can say one definite thing about working out:

7 Ways to Stay Motivated

What's your motivation?

Oscar nominations were announced last Thursday and Unbroken, did not make the list. Not that I expected it to. The movie was, as expected, inferior to the book of the same name. Not a criticism, just an observation -they never are.

I don’t usually feature book reviews in blog posts because that space is precious and I like to reserve it for teaching or coaching something important about health and fitness. Things that make a big impact on how you train and how you live. But motivation is an equally important topic, don’t you think?

As  the  Hollywood cliché goes…what’s your motivation? I’ll tell you mine.

When I first got in the business, an experienced coach told me that getting in shape was 85% “mental.” At the time, I thought that number was highly exaggerated. I’ve since learned that it isn’t.  There’s more to life than diet and training and there is more to fitness than barbells and chicken breasts.

That’s why reading Unbroken,

7 Strategies to Keto Smartly for Athletes

Glorious, rich, creamy, fat

“Fat is the new protein,” my colleague recently proclaimed. Most of us returned her comment with a what-on-earth? look. You see, within fitness circles, protein rules and fat often becomes the dietary pariah. Conventional wisdom says protein and complex carbs are your tickets for muscle gain and fat loss.

But things are changing. Over the past few months, I’ve heard major buzz about a high-fat, moderate-protein, lower-carbohydrate diet – called a ketogenic diet – where you burn ketones (fat) rather than glucose (carbohydrates) as fuel.

“Ketosis (pronounced KEY-TOE-SIS) is a metabolic state that happens when you consume a very low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat diet that causes your body to switch from using glucose as its primary source of fuel to running on ketones,” writes Jimmy Moore in his book Keto Clarity.

“Ketones themselves are produced when the body burns fat,” he continues, “and they’re primarily used as an alternative fuel source when glucose isn’t available. In other words, your body changes from a sugar-burner to a fat-burner.”

My #1 Strategy to Lose Weight, Build Muscle & Become Your Best Self

The best kept secret

“What’s your top strategy to get lean and muscular?” a podcast interviewer asked me several months ago. She probably expected me to excitedly describe a few cutting-edge strength-training exercises or to ditch sugary foods.

“It has nothing to do with diet or exercise,” I replied. “If you’re not getting eight hours of sleep every night, you will jeopardize even the best fitness and eating habits.”

Whatever your New Year’s health resolutions, optimal quality, uninterrupted sleep will help you get there.

You’ve experienced the over-caffeinated, sugar-fueled aftermath of even one night’s crappy sleep that leaves you snappy, on edge, tired, and mentally foggy. By 5 p.m., you’re too tired to hit the gym and call it an early night with a deep-dish pepperoni, a few light beers, and a Game of Thrones marathon.

Fat burning and muscle building