Fitness Your Way

Beachbody Delivers Nutrition Guidance and a Sensible Diet Plan

Beachbody programs deliver nutrition guidance not diet food. You are what you eat. That mantra helps me follow a sensible diet plan without feeling deprived.

Everywhere I look, I see ads for pills that promote fat or weight loss. I see commercials and magazine ads for companies that offer “diet food” to help you lose weight. I even see local ads in the newspaper advertising weight loss surgeries. What they do all of these methods have in common? They have the promise of fast weight loss. I am sure each method works for some people. I am not convinced that after the initial weight comes off that these programs provide enough support and knowledge to help people keep off the weight.

Weight loss clinics do offer counseling for their patients, but I have seen people take the weight off through weight loss surgery and eventually put it back on because nutrition and activity have not become part of their lifestyles. I am definitely not a supporter of popping pills because I personally believe they can have serious side affects.

So if you do not turn to pills or surgeries or diet foods from infomercials, what do you do? Well, there is the option of making small changes that add up to a lifestyle overhaul for your health and fitness. I love Beachbody workout programs because they offer the most complete solution in losing and maintaining weight. There is nothing magical in the Beachbody formula. It is quite “old school” really: exercise and follow a sensible diet plan.

Beachbody workout programs combine strength, flexibility, core, and cardio training and more. Unlike dvds you can buy at a department store, these programs also come with nutrition guidance and online support. The online support consists of message boards, chats, newsletters, a broadcasting network, your own Beachbody coach, and even access to an online meal planner that helps you select foods, make your shopping list, and stay within the calorie limits you choose. The meal planner will even allow you to pull up the nutritional inforamation (calories, fat, protein, fiber, etc.) on individual foods, so you can make better choices.

By the way, if you do not know how many calories you need, Beachbody helps you with that, too. When you become a member of the Team Beachbody community, you have access to a lot of free fitness tools like a caloric needs calculator, fitness tracker, and fat tester. Beachbody delivers nutrition guidance and a sensible diet plan with every workout program. I think the old fashioned way is a healthier and longer lasting plan than writing a check for a month’s worth of perfectly portioned prepared meals, popping pills with undetermined side affects or going under the knife. Overall, I think following a Beachbody program and diet plan is easier to follow and easier to maintain. Just saying.

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You Are What You Eat

Phat Facts on Good Fat and Bad Fat

You are what you eat. Get the phat facts on good fat and bad fat, saturated fats, unsaturated fats, and trans fats, including what to add, omit, or moderate. It sounds confusing and quite honestly it is confusing for most of us. Add in a polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, fatty acids, ALA, DHA, and EPA just to confuse the the average person even more. The purpose of this post is to simplify the confusion with of dietary fat.

Most of the fats we eat are triglycerides. That’s just a big name for the molecular structure of three fatty acids and a substance called glycerol. High levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream have been linked to heart disease. There are four types of fatty acids (fats): polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, saturated and trans fatty acids.

Good Fats

The first two fats are unsaturated. You will find them in a liquid state at room temperature. These are the good fats. They are found in olives, avacados, almonds, peanut butter, most nuts, corn, soybeans, fish and few other food sources. Increasing polyunsaturated and monosaturated fats in your diet can lead to improved cholesterol and heart health.

Good fats decrease the level of lipoprotein (LDL), also known as the bad cholesterol and raise the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol. Bad fats on the other hand, increase the levels of LDL in the body and lower HDL. Bad fats include saturated and trans fatty acids. Trans fats also increase triglycerides.

Bad Fats

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. They are found in dairy products such as whole milk, butter and cream as well as red meat, chocolate and coconuts. Saturated fats are found in many processed foods. According to Walter C. Willet, M.D. and author of “Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy”, you should limit saturated fats to below eight percent of your total daily calories.

Trans fatty acids are actually manmade. They are also solid at room temperature. They were actually developed to improve shelf life. You can find them in baked goods such as crackers and chips, deep fried fast food, and most margarines and vegetable shortening. These bad fats play havoc on cholesterol levels, leading to cholesterol related conditions such as heart disease. Avoid trans fats all together.

Essential Fats

The efficient human body can create the fat it needs from other sources such as carbohydrates. There are a few fats that cannot be produced by the body though. These fats are called essential fatty acids and must come from the food we eat. Essential fats are all polyunsaturated fats.

One of the essential fats that needs your attention is the omega-3 fatty acids. There are three main types of omega 3 fats: ALA, EPA, and DHA. The body can convert ALA into EPA or DHA, but neither EPA or DHA can be converted to ALA.

EPA and DHA are found mainly in fish. ALA is found in a variety of food sources, including flaxseed oil, walnuts, soy oil, olive oil, grass fed beef, almonds, kale, and spinach.

Phat Fat Facts

Are you confused, yet? Let me simplify the fat equation for you. Increase unsaturated fats (poly and mono), limit saturated fats (think solids), and avoid trans fats. Eat foods that contain omega 3 fatty acids because your body cannot produce this essential fat on its own. Good fats improve your health. Bad fats do the opposite. Remember, you are what you eat. Be good to yourself and eat the good fats your body needs.

You Are What You Eat
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P90X Recovery Drink More Than 4:1 Carbs to Protein Ratio

You are what you eat. Refuel, re-energize and reduce muscle soreness post workout with the P90X Recovery Drink, an after work out drink that I now believe in. Why am I now passionate about spreading the word about the P90X Results and Recovery Formula?

I just started an intense sports performance conditioning program called The Asylum. I am completely wiped out at the end of one of these workouts. I would definitely classify Shaun T’s Asylum as an extreme Beachbody workout.

I did not try the recovery drink the first time I did a Beachbody workout. The first workout program I did was P90X. I did not think the extra expense would be worth the investment, so I tried to make my own recovery drink with protein powder and orange juice. It was easy to get the 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein, so I thought I was good.

I learned more about the P90X Results and Recovery Drink over time and realized that it was more than a magical ratio of carbs to protein. In addition to a high protein efficiency ratio, this post workout drink also has vitamins and antioxidants to assist in muscle repair and growth while reducing muscle soreness.

It also contains creatine, L-Arginine, and L-Glutamine which are muscle building supplements you can read about in any fitness magazine and buy in any nutrition store these days. One serving has 750% of your daily vitamin C, 500% of the vitamin D, and even 60% of your daily requirements for magnesium. (Read more on the P90X Results and Recovery Drink ingredients.)

I really do not understand the science behind why this after work out drink gives back my energy after an Asylum workout. This is the first time I have used a recovery drink. I experienced a faster recovery after the workout and am convinced I would have experienced much more muscle soreness and distress than I did the next day.

As a matter of fact, I did a Rev Abs workout just a couple of days before beginning The Asylum. My legs and butt were hurting for two days following that workout due to the number of deep lunges and squat thrusts. I wish I would have trusted the idea of a recovery drink after that workout. It sure would have made it easier to get up and down my stairs!

Anyway, they say you are what you eat. I have learned a valuable lesson about sports nutrition. If you are going to push yourself to your limits, you have to fuel your body with good nutrition and the right nutrition before and after your workouts.

More on the P90X Recovery Drink.

Sugar – How Much Is Too Much?

I always thought I was pretty aware of the food I was eating. I knew to stay away from some foods because they were high in sugar, but I had no idea of how much sugar was too much sugar until I started doing some research. My research was prompted by the cleanse I was following from Tony Horton’s book, Bring It!, which required the elimination of sugar duing a portion of the cleanse.

I find all kinds of helpful information from the Team Beachbody newsletter every week. I feel like I’m getting a free education from experts in their fields. I highly recommend opening your free account, so you can get the newsletter, too.

Tony Horton’s 30 Day Cleanse Lessons Learned

I’m at the end of week three of Tony Horton’s 30 Day Cleanse from his newly released body buidling book, Bring It!. I’ve decided to end the cleanse a week short because I believe I have accomplished by goals of separating myself from caffeine, reducing my sugar cravings induced by the end of year holidays, and learning more about gluten and gluten free foods.

I feel really good in the sense that I have not been craving anything. I also haven’t found myself having that feeling like I have to eat now and it doesn’t matter what it is. I might also attribute part of this to drinking Shakeology daily.