Using Supplements To Aid in Weight Loss or Maintenance

Supplements tend to get a bad rap because there are so many products that are out there that have some snake oil salesperson promoting them.  You know what I'm talking about.  I'm sure you have seen tons of infomercials that have crazy claims to help you lose weight and they offer guaranteed results without diet or exercise.  These are not the supplements that I'm referring to.  So before you head out to your local store and make those snake oil salesmen richer, I encourage you to read this.

Your body certainly needs balanced nutrition to function properly and that includes your metabolism.  Ideally you should get all of your nutrients from your diet, but that is often difficult to do.  I have several suggestions to assist you with your daily nutritional needs, but these are only suggestions and I am not offering dosing advice.  It is of utmost importance for you to discuss all of these with your physician to determine if it is right for you.  There are specific conditions that may be affected by adding certain supplements and doing so without your physician's approval could be detrimental to your health.

One of the most basic things that you should do is take a daily multivitamin.  There are several out there, but honestly myself and my children take two children's vitamins everyday.  I do this because I have sensitivity to most vitamins and tend to get really sick.  I encourage you to pick a daily multivitamin based on your needs, but make sure that it meets the 100% RDA (recommended daily amounts) of the most basic nutrients (Vitamins A, C, D, E, Calcium, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Zinc, Iodine, and Copper).  This is not a complete list, but these are the basic things that you should be looking for.  There are many other "proprietary blends" that you will find added to vitamins and other supplements, but the are often not necessary and could possibly be harmful.  Look for the one that best meets your needs.

For an extra boost of energy and metabolism boost, taking sublingual B12 in the morning can be beneficial.  This is really helpful is you are trying to eliminate caffeine from your diet as well.  B12 and other "B" vitamins are often the active ingredients in energy products.  A word of caution though, pay attention to how much extra "energy" products you are consuming.  While B12 is considered safe, other "B" vitamins are known to cause flushing and nerve toxicity.

Another supplement that aids in metabolism is chromium picolinate.  There are multiple chromium picolinate products on the market that have things such as guarana added to them and my advice is to steer clear of these products and only select products that are simply chromium picolinate.  Chromium picolinate aids in metabolism by assisting in glucose metabolism and stabilization of insulin levels.

Flaxseed is recommended to use as part of a balanced diet, but flaxseed oil can also be taken as a supplement.  Flaxseed has antioxidant properties that is believed to protect against cancer and heart disease.  Certain studies have shown it to be more effective than fish oil in reducing cholesterol levels because it contains omega 3 essential fatty acids.

So far I have mentioned supplements that I would highly recommend with approval from your physician.  I have a few other supplements worth mentioning.  One is green tea.  I would rather enjoy the health benefits of green tea from drinking it, that taking it in pill form, but there are definitely health benefits associated with green tea.  If you watch Dr. Oz, you are going to see the next big thing in natural weight loss and I have seen claims for Raspberry Ketone and Garcinia Cambogia.  Both of these are plant based supplements that studies have shown promising results in weight loss that included diet and exercise.  But before you race to the store to purchase one of them, I highly suggest that you do your homework.  I have looked at several of these products in the store and they have a lot of stuff added to them that is not healthy.  Make sure that you are reading labels to find out what is in these products.  As soon as products like these are released, there are tons of manufacturers jumping on board to make money and they do so at your expense.  If it has tons of infomercials and ads, I would steer clear of it.  Your best bet would be trying a small health food store and make sure that you read the label to ensure there are not tons of unnecessary additives.  Your best consultant is your physician.  Best wishes to your wellness!

Nut-trition, the good, the bad, and the ugly

When you start trying to improve your nutrition, adding nuts is a great way to add protein and nutrition to your diet, but it can also be your biggest downfall if you are not careful.  When it comes to just plain old nuts, try to choose almonds or pistachios and pay attention to the serving sizes and measure them out before you dig in to the package or you will quickly go over your serving and sabotage yourself before you know it.  I like buying prepackaged individual servings of pistachios in bulk from Sam's Club or you could purchase a large bag and measure out the servings and place them in individual bags to have on hand for snacks.  This is very helpful for a grab and go snack.  One thing that you have to do is read the labels.  There are so many "gourmet" nuts out there that have so many additives that are simply not good for you.  Pay attention to sugar and sodium content and you will be surprised at what you find on the labels.  Many of these so called "gourmet" nuts taste heavenly because they are terrible for you.  Make sure there are only a few simple ingredients like nuts, spices, and salt. 

Nut butters are a great way to fuel up on protein and energy both before and after workouts but again the serving sizes must be noted.  Most nut butters have a serving size of two tablespoons.  I recently went to the grocery store in search of a nutritious almond butter and guess what, I didn't find one.  I'm sure the people around me probably thought I was crazy because I must have been looking at labels for 20-30 minutes.  I read labels for every type of nut butter spread that the store had (and it was quite a few).  What I found was that even the so called "natural" nut butters had sugar added to them and even the ones that were supposed to be light or reduced calorie still had sugar added to them.  There were three types of almond butter on the shelf, one was honey almond butter, another was caramel almond butter, and the other was chocolate almond butter.  To top it off, one of these almond butters was $8 per jar.  If it was seriously good for you and the top of the line nutrition, I might consider it, but really?!!!!  The next thing I want you to steer clear of is hazelnut spreads.  These are full of sugar and void of nutrition, no matter what Kelly Ripa says.  Yesterday I saw her promoting the health benefits of Jif Hazelnut spread and I can tell you that she does not look the way she does by eating that everyday.  Matter of fact, I read an article that said she has a personal trainer that she works with for 90 minutes four to five days per week and she practices clean, healthy eating.  Hazelnut spread does not fall into that category!  I did recently read about a peanut butter substitute called PB2.  It is a little pricey, and there is sugar in the ingredients, but when I looked at the calories per serving, I realized that the sugar content could not be that high.  I tried it and it actually tastes pretty good.  To get the same protein amount as a serving of peanut butter, you have to double the serving, which results in 90 calories, but that is still about half the amount of calories as regular peanut butter.  It is made from roasting the peanuts and then pressing them to remove the fat and then grinding it to a powder.  You can sprinkle it on foods or reconstitute it with water to make a spread that actually spreads very much like peanut butter.  I am not recommending this because it is pricey and it has added sugar, but it is a viable alternative.  Best wishes to your wellness!

Crossfit vs Gym. Which is better?

Many people are getting ripped going to crossfit these days, but I have seen people achieve equal results by going to the gym.  There are pros and cons to both.  You will certainly get ripped off by both if you never go and continue to pay for it.  This is certainly one thing that you need to consider.  If you cannot afford a gym or crossfit membership, you certainly can get the same results for free.  Yes, I said free.  Have you heard of mountain climbers, planks, burpees, jumping jacks, and push-ups?  All of these things will get you fit, but the key is that you have to start somewhere.  I was recently talking to a friend of mine that had gained some weight and she told me that she was going to join the gym after she got her tax return.  While that is great, and I hope that she does, there is absolutely no excuse for not getting up and doing something right now.  I came across this image and I thought it summed things up nicely. Your welcome!

So what are some of the benefits of crossfit?  One of the main benefits is the comradery.  Crossfit is like a team effort.  You have your team cheering you on and helping push you to do your best when you don't think you can do it anymore. It works on muscle confusion by integrating the use of weights, aerobic exercise, and body weight exercise.  Can these types of exercises be done at home?  Absolutely!  The only difference is that you have to be very dedicated because without someone pushing you, you may not workout at the same intensity that you would by attending a WOD (workout of the day).  A chin-up bar and a few kettle bells can get you started at home.  Another crossfit type workout you could try at home would be the "Insanity" or "P90X" workout plans.  Both incorporate a great deal of crossfit type workouts into their plans.  I am by no means endorsing any of these though.  Attending a crossfit gym will help those that need motivation and someone to put their workout together for them so to speak.  You are not going to walk into a crossfit gym and wonder around aimlessly trying to figure out what type of workout to do because there will be someone there to push you through one.

Okay so what about going to the gym.  There are great advantages and only a few disadvantages of going to the gym.  I'm going to point out the disadvantages so you can identify them before they cause problems for you.  The first obvious one the I have fallen to many times is a recurring payment membership that I didn't use.  Totally my fault, but for goodness sake, if you are going to pay for it, then by all means USE IT!  The next downfall is running into everyone that you know and before you know it you have spent 20-30 minutes of your workout time talking and have accomplished absolutely nothing.  I don't know about you, but I have four kids and time is precious to me.  Recognize it before it happens.  Get tunnel vision when you walk in the door and head straight to your destination without stopping.  Here is a downfall that doesn't have to be one.  Not knowing what all that equipment does and can do for you.  I'll admit that when I first started going to a gym, I would get on a cardio machine that I knew how to use and watch other people to figure out what I was going to do next.  There are so many things wrong with that and as you can imagine, I did not see any dramatic results.  If you only know what a few machines do and you do the same workout all the time, you are not going to see the results that you want or need.  This is where you will more than get your money's worth by hiring a personal trainer.  Find out what YOU need to do to meet YOUR goals!  If you are going to invest in going to the gym, you might as well know what you need to be doing while you are there.  I live in a very small town and we have a small gym, but I think we have two of the best personal trainers anywhere!  I can't tell you how many lives that I have seen transformed because they made the decision to get the right kind of help-the focused kind.

Going about it on your own.  There are so many things that you can do, but you just have to get moving.  I was exercising regularly until I changed jobs and then because I traveled so much, I had about seven months that made regular exercise quite difficult.  Now because we are making it with one income, I'm exercising at home.  One thing I started doing was running in my house when I need to get things from room to room.  This may sound crazy to some, but if you knew how long my house was from one end to the other, you would understand.  It was just one way to start, that along with push-ups, planks and other cardio and core exercises.  I must say though, I am ready for warmer weather to get outside and run.  I try to get moving while I'm doing household chores, I have a Xbox Kinect Game that literally kicks my butt, and Windsor Pilates makes it a chore to move the next day.  These are all things that you can do at home if you cannot go to a gym for one reason or another.  You don't have to break the bank, just choose something and get moving.  No excuses!

Should You Embrace a Gluten Free Diet?

This has a complex answer.  If you have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance, or gluten allergy then the answer is absolutely yes.  If you are looking to improve your health and/or possibly lose weight then the answer is both yes and no.  Before you go running to the store to stock up on everything that says it is gluten free let me clarify.  Whether you are trying to lose weight or avoid allergens, the best gluten free diet is one that consists of lean meats, proteins, fruits, and vegetables.  Most of the substitute products in the store for gluten are baked goods that are simply NOT good for you and you should try to avoid them in your diet if possible or at least greatly reduce them.  For instance, I love bread, but it loves me so much that all of the gluten glues right to my gluteus maximus.  If you do not have allergies to gluten, find whole grain substitutes that are nutritious and low calorie such as Wasa whole grain Crispbread, whole grain english muffins, whole grain pitas, or whole grain tortillas.  These should count as a grain for your meal, which should consist of one protein, one grain, and a combination of two fruits or two vegetables or one of each.  Gluten free choices for grains include quinoa, steel cut oats, brown rice, or brown rice pasta.  There are others but this is a simple list to begin with.  The point I want to make is that many people decide to go gluten free and they rush to the store and load their pantry with tons of products that are full of sugar and other hard to pronounce ingredients and void of nutrition.  No matter your reason for choosing a gluten free diet, it is important to remember what your diet should consist of and most things that we eat containing gluten should probably be eliminated from our diet anyway.  I will say that an occasional treat (every few weeks, months) is not going to ruin your diet.  I have found though, that I don't enjoy them as much as I used to though.  With that being said though, if you are ever in Downtown Little Rock, Dempsey's Bakery serves great gluten free desserts and lunches and they have frozen baked goods that you can take home as well.  Best wishes to your wellness!

Sugar Free Products Good For You?

Unless you were born yesterday, you probably know that white refined sugar is really bad for you and should be eliminated from your diet.  So what does our brain automatically think?  Sugar-free options should be healthy right?  In about 99% of cases it's absolutely wrong!  Think about those sugar-free candies.  You know the chocolate, caramel, and pecan turtles.  Why, these must be better for me because they are sugar free, right?  NO, NO, NO!  Most of these sugar free candies have sugar alcohols in them that cause diarrhea for one thing, but you only took out the sugar and left the fat and there is no other nutritional value in them.  So stay away from sugar free candies.  If you are really craving a sweet treat, try this:  1 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 small apple cut into wedges.  I have this quite frequently as an afternoon snack and it takes care of the sweet, chocolate, crunchy munchies.  Okay so here is another example that was a real disappointment to me, coffee creamers.  I love, love, love adding this creamy goodness to my coffee.  One day as I was sipping my coffee I realized that it just tasted too good to be true and of course I was correct.  They label it as sugar free because they do not add sugar to it, but it has corn syrup in it which has an asterisk next to it stating that it adds a trivial amount of sugar.  Really?!!!  That means they don't have a clue and you are not doing yourself any favors by drinking it, you might as well pour corn syrup in your coffee to sweeten it, which is not much different than adding white sugar.  If you really enjoy flavored coffee I have a few suggestions.  You can purchase the flavor of coffee you want and use stevia to sweeten and almond milk for creamer or you can make your own flavorings by using stevia as the sweetener, almond milk as the creamer, and a few drops of whatever extract you want for the flavoring.  I will note that I researched the ingredients in flavoring extracts and most of them have an oil that is from the actual flavor itself and propylene glycol.  Propylene glycol is found in tons of industrial, pharmaceutical, and food-grade products and is regulated by the FDA.  It helps to pull water out of substances.  The CDC and FDA agree that it is a safe product and you have probably received it before in injections.  A drop or two diluted in your coffee is not going to hurt you.  Ok, I'm going to get off that soapbox.  The bottom line about sugar-free products is that you have to realize that just because it says it is sugar free, does not mean that it is good for you.  I'm about to step on toes here but I'm going to say it, diet soda is a no-no!!!  And so is almost every other type of soda.  Drink water, plain and simple.  Your body needs it and you don't get enough.  Ditch the soda period!  I could probably go on and on, but read labels and realize that if the real thing is not good for you, the sugar free version probably isn't either.  With that being said however, get creative and come up with alternatives.  Instead of a big bowl of ice cream, opt for a bowl of mixed berries with some greek yogurt, baked apples with cinnamon and stevia instead of apple pie, key lime smoothie, or whatever your mind can create that keeps it clean and healthy.  Best wishes to your wellness!

Welcome To Wellness Matters

On my blog you will find tips to help you achieve wellness.  I am constantly reading nutrition labels, current news trends, current exercise trends, and social network posts to help people determine fact from crap.  Sounds pretty harsh, but it is true.  There is so much stuff out there that will waste your time, money, and energy and get you absolutely nowhere.  In fact, some things I come across are actually pretty harmful.  I hope you enjoy why My Wellness Matters!