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I have mentioned to you a time or two that I am a certified personal trainer. I don’t talk about that extensively on this blog but because it’s part of my life it does occasionally come up.
I did a post of fitness tips you can check out HERE and after I shared my bikini calendar shoot with you guys I got a lot of questions about fitness.
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Bikini season is around the corner and I am seeing all kinds of magazine articles, commercials and advertisements on diets and quick fixes to get into shape. It frustrates me that there is so much misinformation out there and honestly diet is a huge part of staying in shape. So I decided to do a post with some proper diet information for anyone who’s interested 🙂
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This may sound repetitive so bare with me:
1.) Stay away from sugar:
and I’m not just talking the white granules that you bake with. Unsuspecting things like OJ, salad dressing, cereal and whole wheat bread (YES!) turn to sugar.
I made a chart to explain what happens when you take in too much sugar:
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When your blood sugar spikes or gets too high your body produces insulin. Insulin lowers your blood sugar but also signals your body to store fat. When your blood sugar comes down quickly, you become hungry again making you want to eat more. Things with refined sugar spike your blood sugar levels and create this vicious cycle. The goal is to keep your b.s. even keel without spikes or drops. Make sense?
2.) Not all carbs are created equal.
Yes we need carbs for energy, but there are certain carbs we DO NOT need. These carbs spike blood sugar and increase insulin. Things like Whole Wheat bread (YES!), pasta, cereal, crackers, bread crumbs. They all put your body in a fat storing state.
That is not to say all bread is bad. There ARE breads and grains that do not increase insulin and will keep your blood sugar levels lower: Sprouted grain, rice, spelt, millet, quinoa, sweet potato and of course, fruits & veggies.
3.) You must have fat to burn fat.
Fat does NOT make you fat. The right kind of fat will make you burn fat. It will increase your metabolic process to burn fat. Bad fat will make you store fat.
Good Fats: butter, eggs, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, raw nuts
Bad Fats: Hydrogenated oil, corn oil, canola oil, margarine (all butter substitutes)
4.)Processed foods not only contain sugar, but chemicals that make it impossible to burn fat.
The liver has 2 jobs. 1.) breakdown fat and 2.) filter harmful substances.
If the liver is working really hard to breakdown the chemicals in the food you’re eating it makes it impossible for it to breakdown fats. Do you do two jobs equally well at the exact same time?? Well neither can your liver!
Some harmful chemicals: artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, processed soy products (YES!)
5) When in doubt, eat foods that contain ONE ingrediant.
Things like meat, eggs, fruits, veggies, sweet potatos, whole grains.
Don’t worry about how many calories, worry about the QUALITY of calories. The main thing is the metabolic enhancing effect they have and if you are eating the right things you WILL LOSE WEIGHT.
And don’t forget to cut yourself some slack. It’s ok to be naughty once in awhile. Just make that the exception not the norm!
I really hope this helps you all get ready for the beach! If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Happy weekend! 🙂
