Personal Training

Sleep Your Way to Abs

When you think about ways to lose weight, you probably think of exercising more and/or eating less. You probably aren’t thinking that you need to sleep more…but you do.

The CDC estimates that over 1/3 of the U.S. population is sleep deprived. 5.8% of men and 3.5% of women reported falling sleep while driving over the last 30 days!

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

In order to optimize your sleep for fat loss (and good health) you don’t need a lot of sleep, but you need to make sure you are getting enough. This means getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night. The range accounts for personal differences in sleep needs. During times of higher stress, your body will need more sleep than it usually does.

Sleep and Weight Loss

People don’t get enough sleep. Sleep is important. How does this relate to you losing weight? The link between less sleep and higher body weight is growing clearer each day. Here are 3 ways that not getting enough sleep is hurting your weight loss efforts.

Sleep and Leptin

Leptin is a hormone that is released from your fat cells. Leptin travels from your fat cells to your brain and has the power to regulate both calories in and calories out. Higher levels of leptin will reduce your appetite and increase your metabolic rate.

Sleep is a major effector of leptin. Research shows that just one night of deficient sleep (4-6hrs) can cause up to a 20% decrease in leptin levels. These decreases in leptin due to sleep deficiency are also sustained throughout periods of not getting enough sleep.

Sleep & Ghrelin

Ghrelin is another hormone in your body, released from your digestive tract, that controls your appetite. Ghrelin is the hunger hormone; when ghrelin is released, you get hungry. Reducing calories (as you would as part of a weight loss diet) leads to a sustained increase in ghrelin levels (so you already have one strike against you with respects to ghrelin).

Inadequate sleep also causes a rise in ghrelin levels. Data from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study showed that sleeping 5 vs. 8 hours a night lead to a 15% increase in ghrelin levels.

The negative changes with leptin and ghrelin that occur when you don’t get enough sleep drive you to eat more calories, while your body is primed to burn less calories.

Sleep & Willpower

Not getting enough sleep also impacts your ability to make good decisions for your health and wellness. Our world is set up to get you to move less and eat more. Consistently exercising and eating a quality calorie controlled diet is not easy. It is even harder with reduced willpower and that is exactly what insufficient sleep gives you. When you are sleep deprived, the portion of your brain responsible for willpower doesn’t work as well. Keep your motivation high by getting enough sleep.

Successful Sleeping

Sometimes just getting to bed earlier isn’t enough, as despite being in bed, you are still having trouble getting to sleep. Here are 8 ways to get better sleep.

Have a routine: Get into a nightly routine so your body knows when it is time to get to sleep.

Avoid alcohol: Alcohol may help you get to sleep a little faster, but it decreases the quality of the sleep that you get.

 Make your room dark: Sleeping in a dark room will help improve the quality of your sleep.

Disconnect early: Disconnect from technology, as the light from different devices provides your body a false sense of the time of day as well. Getting away from that light allows your body to correctly identify that it is night.

Avoid stimulants: Minimize your intake of caffeine later in the day to ensure it doesn’t impact your ability to get to sleep.

Stay cool: Your body sleeps best and will be best able to transition to all the necessary stages of sleep at cooler temperatures.

Have a great bed: Get a great bed. You spend a good portion of your life in it! Having a great bed can be the difference between getting good and bad sleep.

 Stretch before bed: Stretching stimulates the rest and recovery part of our nervous system. Spend 5-7 minutes stretching before bed to help your body relax.

Healthiest Food You Can Eat?

What do the healthiest people in the world consistently eat? Fish. What do Americans hardly eat? Fish.

The most recent nutritional data shows that the average American gets more protein each week from grain/bread products than they do fish!

Fish, especially oily fish like salmon, contain a nutritionally complex and beneficial blend of protein, omega-3 fats (EPA and DHA), selenium, potassium, and vitamin B12. The omega-3 fats EPA and DHA are the most well-known health enhancers found in salmon.

Omega-3s – EPA and DHA

EPA and DHA are two long chain omega-3 fats that have potent effects on several major systems in your body, including the heart and brain.

Research shows that EPA and DHA can actually improve the electrochemical connections in your heart.

Enhancing your diet with EPA and DHA has also been shown to decrease your resting heart rate, which allows you to burn more calories during heart rate based training. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that this effect leads to greater weight loss.

Cooking Ruins the Benefits?

A common concern that people have about salmon and the beneficial omega-3 fats that are found in salmon has to do with cooking. Generally, heat is bad for EPA and DHA because it readily turns these fats rancid. Fortunately this is not the case with salmon. There seems to be something about the omega-3 fats in salmon that gives them protection against oxidation and going rancid. Researchers think the protection comes from being inside the food matrix of the salmon along with the presence of beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A and potent antioxidant (that gives salmon its natural orange/red color) which protects against the negative stress from heat. Cook your salmon and feel good about it!

Farmed vs Wild

When buying salmon, you are usually given the choice of farmed vs. wild. The differences between these two categories and within the category of ‘farmed’ can be confusing so let’s look at a couple key points.

-Farmed salmon generally has more omega-3s than wild salmon. It also has more omega-6 fats (more on the ratio of omega-3 / omega-6 fats in a couple of paragraphs).

-Some farmed salmon contains additives to enhance the color of the salmon, making it the orange/red color you expect. You usually find this on the ingredients list.

-Wild salmon is significantly more expensive, prohibitively expensive for some people. Quality farm raised salmon is better than no salmon at all. So, just because you can’t buy wild salmon doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat salmon at all.

Mercury Concerns??

One concern that people often have when it comes to eating salmon is mercury. Do the health benefits of the omega-3 fats outweigh the potential risk of consuming mercury?

According to a review of the research published by two Harvard University scientists in the Journal of the American Medical Association

“the benefits of fish intake exceed the potential risks”

One of the keys has to do with fish size. Fish concentrate mercury in their bodies over time. The smaller the fish, the less mercury it will take up and thus the lower the health risk. In fact, salmon contain some of the lowest mercury levels of any fish (<0.05µg/d).

Omega-3 vs. Omega-6 Ratio

The importance of the omega-3 / omega-6 ratio in our diet has been theorized to play a role in health promotion and fighting inflammation using the general assumption that omega-3 fats are anti-inflammatory and omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory. A perturbation in this ratio in the American diet (towards excessive omega-6 fats) is thought to be the driver of much of the obesity and disease that you see today.

Research has shown this to be a good fish story as the ratio of omega-3 / omega-6 fats in our diet doesn’t seem to have much impact on our health, but instead it is the total amount of omega-3 fats in our diet.

Salmon vs. Supplements

Maybe you don’t like eating salmon or you don’t eat with enough frequency to reap the benefits of the heart healthy omega-3s – what can you do? Are supplements just as effective? The good news is yes, they are! Research shows that your body benefits from getting EPA and DHA from a supplement as it does from oily fish like salmon.

Health Food Phoenix

Olive oil is one of the most highly touted heart healthy foods, but like most foods that are ‘good for you’ there is a wide amount of variation in the healthfulness of a food, depending on the version of the food you buy. Olive oil is no exception. Olive oil can be extra virgin, virgin, first cold pressed, chemically extracted, etc. Let’s look at the benefits of olive oil and how you can ensure that you are getting the best olive oil for your health.

Olive Oil Processing

Extra virgin olive oil is produced from mechanically squeezing the oil out of olives in a temperature-controlled environment (often referred to as ‘cold pressed’) so that heat does not play a role is disrupting the naturally occurring unsaturated fats and antioxidants in the oil. Extra virgin olive oil is considered the highest quality olive oil from both a taste and nutritional perspective.

Olive Oil Acidity

Virgin olive oil differs slightly from extra virgin olive oil in that is has a higher acidity, <0.8% vs. 3%. The acidity is technically a measure of the amount of free fatty acids found in olive oil. Acidity is a little known, but effective marker, of olive oil quality. The type of olive, soil, pressing, and processing of the olive oil are all reflected in its acidity. Certain types of olives will naturally have lower acidity than others, but as long as an olive is cold pressed within 24 hours of picking it should have an acidity of 0.8% or less. Olive oil lovers also find that acidity levels greater than 1% lead to an unpleasant taste.

Healthful Components of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Mediterranean diet is often described as being ‘rich in monounsaturated fats’ of which extra virgin olive oil is championed as being the key to this fact, (one Spanish survey found that 13% of calories consumed were from olive oil).

However, the Mediterranean diet is more than extra virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil is more than just monounsaturated fats. The polyphenol antioxidants found in the highest abundance in first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil have been implicated in providing neuroprotection and improvements in vascular health. Newer research has found that extra virgin olive oil contains “electrophilic fatty acid nitroalkenes” a class of compounds that can stimulate anti-inflammatory gene expression. The monounsaturated fats found in olive oil are good, but the antioxidants and bioactive compounds found in extra virgin olive oil are better.

Getting the Best Out of Your Olive Oil

The California Olive Oil Council recommends buying olive oil that has been harvested and cold pressed in the last 18 months (12 months is even better).

-Once you open the bottle is it best to use it within the next 30 days.

-Heat wreaks havoc on the antioxidants in olive oil (this is why it is cold pressed), so it is best used on cold dishes or cooked with at very low heat.

-Store your olive oil in a cool dark place to further protect the antioxidants in the oil from going bad.

-Find a brand that you can trust. An analysis from the Olive Oil Center at UC Davis found that 69% of extra virgin olive oils they tested did not meet the standards set from the International Olive Council.

-If your olive oil has a bitter or spiciness to it, that is good! This is a reflection of a high antioxidant content.

Olive oil is very good for you, but take the time to ensure that you are actually getting the right kind of extra virgin olive oil, which will confer the health benefits that you are looking for. If you weren’t already convinced about the benefits of extra virgin olive oil, I leave you with the results from one more study. An analysis from the PREDIMED study showed that for every 10g/d of extra virgin olive oil participants consumed, their associated risk of cardiovascular disease decreased by 7%.

3 Great Ways Green Tea Will Make You Leaner & Happier

Tea is the second most popular drink in the world, behind only water. The earliest documented use of tea as a beverage dates back to China in 59 B.C. It has been used for medicinal purposes for over 3,000 years.

Green, Black, White and Oolong tea all come from the same plant (Camellia Sinensis). Each variety of tea is picked, processed, and manufactured differently – resulting in different tastes, nutrient compositions, and health-boosting properties.

Antioxidant Power of Green Tea

Green tea contains higher levels of the antioxidants called polyphenols and catechins, as compared to black or oolong teas. You may have heard of EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), the most abundant (and well studied) antioxidant in green tea.

Relax with Green Tea

In addition to antioxidants, green tea also contains high levels of the amino acid theanine. Theanine is responsible for green tea’s relaxation and anti-stress effects.

In one study, researchers followed over 4,000 Japanese individuals for 11 years and found that the people who drank the most green tea were least likely to suffer symptoms of psychological distress.

Green Tea and Weight Loss

Green tea is a popular additive to weight loss supplements as it is consistently shown to help boost weight loss. But you don’t need a supplement to reap these benefits. Drinking 5 cups of green tea (not the de-caffeinated version) every day for 12 weeks can increase your weight loss by 3 pounds while decreasing your waistline by almost an extra inch.

Green tea does this by enhancing several different fat burning pathways in your body, from increasing the expression of fat burning genes, to properly stimulating your nervous system, to enhancing abdominal fat loss.

Nature’s Appetite Suppressant

Green tea can also help you feel more satisfied after a meal – a feeling that is often lacking from most dieters’ dining experiences. New research published in Nutrition Journal showed that drinking a 10 ounce cup of green tea while eating lunch increased study participants’ feelings of fullness and decreased their desire to eat more of their favorite foods.

Increased levels of neurotransmitter norepinephrine can help reduce food intake and increase the feeling of fullness. The antioxidants in green tea prevent the breakdown of norepinephrine, helping you eat less.

Next time you have a food craving, snack on a handful of pistachios and a large cup of green tea. The anti-hunger effects of green tea, combined with the protein and fat in the pistachios, are a powerful enough combination to curb any craving attack.

The Perfect Cup of Tea

The bottom line about green tea is that you should drink it – but how? To make the best tasting cup of tea, allow the water to sit for one minute after it has boiled, then let the tea bag sit in the water (also known as steeping) for 1-1:30 minutes.

The longer you steep the tea, the more antioxidants will be drawn from the tea leaves. However, antioxidants tend to taste bitter. So, the longer you steep your tea, the more bitter it will taste. Research from Temple University shows that Americans in general do not like overly flavored or bitter green tea. If green tea isn’t instantly your favorite beverage, try steeping it for a shorter amount of time. You can still get the most antioxidants from your tea by re-using the tea bag and having another cup.

Skip the bottled artificially-sweetened teas sold in stores. An independent food lab based out of North Brunswick, New Jersey found that these products have only 6% of the antioxidants found in regular green tea.

Health Food Phoenix

Once quarantined as the food you must avoid if you had heart issues, a new growing body of research touting their nutritional benefits have caused eggs to rise from their nutritional grave to take their rightful place as a true power food.

Cholesterol, Eggs, and Your Heart

Improving heart health has long been about lowering your cholesterol. It would seem to make complete sense that if you wanted to decrease the amount of cholesterol in your blood stream then you should decrease the amount of cholesterol you are eating.

Eggs pack a whooping 200mg of cholesterol per serving (essentially the limit of recommended intake on ‘heart healthy diets’) making eggs public enemy #1 when it comes to reducing dietary and thus blood cholesterol levels.

Here’s the good news…for most of us the amount of cholesterol that you eat doesn’t have that much of an effect on the levels of cholesterol in your blood. Research shows that only 30 percent of people experience significant increases in cholesterol levels after following a diet high in cholesterol. After looking at the dietary habits of 100,000 people, a group of researchers from Harvard University reported that daily egg consumption in healthy people did not lead to an increase in risk of coronary heart disease.

Gold Standard of Protein Quality

Once you can take your focus off the eggs and cholesterol debate, you are able to see that eggs are a nutritional powerhouse, especially when it comes to protein. Eggs have always been the gold standard of protein. When protein quality is measured, researchers compared the protein food that they are measuring to eggs.

One egg contains 6-7 grams of the best protein that you will find. Full of essential amino acids that are readily absorbed by your body.

Whole Egg vs. Egg White

The popularity of eating only egg whites came from the drive to eat less fat and cholesterol (as all the fat and cholesterol is in the egg yolk).

Eggs whites are great but they are nutritionally a one trick pony – protein. An egg white contains all protein ~3 grams; the rest of the nutrients, protein and fat are hiding in the golden center, aka: the yolk.

Egg yolks are much more than just protein. They contain key fat soluble vitamins A, D, and E, a muscle building nutrient. If you opt to buy eggs from chickens that were fed omega-3 rich feed, the health promoting omega-3 fats in the feed transfer to the egg, giving you as much as 150mg of the long chain omega-3 fat DHA.

Egg yolks also contain, leutin, and zeaxanthin. Choline is an essential nutrient for brain health, while leutine and zeaxanthin are two potent antioxidants that may help prevent age-related problems with vision.

When you think about antioxidants, eggs are probably not the first food to come to mind, but a study published in Food Chemistry found that the antioxidant capacity of eggs was equal to that of the poster child of good health: apples!

Whole Eggs and “Good Cholesterol”

Researchers at the University of Connecticut wanted to test the power of whole eggs vs cholesterol/fat free egg substitutes. They found that men who ate three large whole eggs per day increased their HDL or good cholesterol by 20 percent. There was also no impact on LDL or bad cholesterol. The people who ate the egg substitutes didn’t experience any change in either risk factor for heart disease.