Biggest Nutritional Mistakes People Make (#3)

By:  Maria

#3 Believing Exercise Can Make Up For Unhealthy Eating

If I had a nickel for every time someone described their incredibly over-loaded exercise regimen and their inability to lose weight, get strong, lean out, sleep better, get rid of achy joints, find motivation (should I go on?) - I would be living a carefree life in Fiji!

Exercise most definitely has a place in our pursuit of optimal health. Even better, having skilled trainer(s) that can help you execute a fitness program based on functional movements!

It will NOT, however, eliminate the effects unhealthy foods are having on your gut health and inflammation issues.   Although a consistent exercise program can have a positive impact on insulin sensitivity, it will NOT negate the impact when eating a plate full of syrup-laden pancakes. Exercise has absolutely nothing to do with our biochemistry - but guess what does?  Yep - our diet. 

You know the load of trans-fat that you consumed when you ate the side of french fries with that burger?   Exercise will NOT magically vaporize that trans-fat when you spend 30-40 minutes on a treadmill, it will NOT reverse the impact on metabolic derangement.

Although exercise can be a supplement to your healthy diet, it certainly is not a replacement. Don't sabotage all of your dedicated hard work in the gym by ignoring the importance of clean nutrition!

RATE YOUR HUNGER LEVEL

PODCAST OF THE WEEK: RATE YOUR HUNGER LEVEL

Hunger Level	Sensations and Symptoms
1	Starving, weak, dizzy
2	Very hungry, cranky, low energy, a lot of stomach growling
3	Pretty hungry, stomach is growling a little
4	Starting to feel a little hungry
5	Satisfied, neither hungry nor full
6	A little full, pleasantly full
7	A little uncomfortable
8	Feeling stuffed
9	Very uncomfortable, stomach hurts
10	So full you feel sick

Once you begin paying attention to how you’re feeling before and after you eat, you can start to make changes in what and how much you eat according to your hunger. It’s best to eat when your hunger level is at a 3 or 4.

Meatza!

By:  Maria

Ok, so we all love pizza, right?  Some of us don't necessarily love the effects from too much cheese and too many carbs that come from eating that pizza.  Even more important, some of us may have gluten and dairy sensitivities that force us to forgo even the tiniest amount of pizza.  Sure, they have gluten-free products, but most of those products still contain ingredients that have proteins similar to gluten and, therefor, have the same effect on our gut.

So what is one to do if we cannot/should not eat pizza (aside from never eating pizza!)?  Meatza!  A meat-based crust baked and topped with some wholesome ingredients that will leave you satiated and satisfied. I have to be honest; when I first mentioned what I was making for dinner, I got some strange looks from my kiddos (my hubby is open to everything!).  Once they got involved and customized their own Meatza, however, they enjoyed it and even looked forward to the next one!

Use a large baking sheet (mine is 17x12)

2 lbs. ground beef (I stick with leanest variety)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp caraway seeds (this is the magic inredient in my opinion)

1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic salt 

1 tsp coarse ground pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

2 eggs

1/4 c almond  flour (you can make your own by putting raw almonds in food processor and processing until fine.)

No-salt tomato sauce (seasoned with desired herbs - garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme or your favorite Italian seasoning)

Your preferred choice of toppings (get creative!)

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

 

Chop up desired veggies (I used onions, mushrooms, green bell peppers)

Saute veggies until nice and tender

Meanwhile, you'll be making the "crust" by mixing ground beef, seasonings, eggs and almond flour into a nice big mixing bowl.  Get your hands to do the mixing until thoroughly combined.  Dump beef mixture on to baking sheet and flatten with hands until the entire sheet is covered. Bake in oven for 10 minutes.

Once the "crust" is done, you will notice that it shrunk and there is rendered fat on the top.  You can blot up the excess fat with a paper towel, or leave as is. I use the leanest cut or grass-fed beef and know that type of fat is ok to leave on, so I don't even bother.

Set the oven to "broil".

Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the entire meat "crust".

Here is where your creativity and personal preference comes into play.  Add any toppings you desire.  I eat extremely clean and healthy, so I avoid all cheeses, but my Meatza's are loaded with nutrient-dense and tasty toppings.  This is so versatile, you can accommodate all tastes in just one pan by splitting the Meatza in half if need be.

Once the toppings are added, broil for 3-5 minutes (watch it carefully to avoid burning toppings).  (As you can see from the photo above, my daughter's tastes differ from my own - she chose to add cheese and olives to her section!).

Let sit for a minute or two, slice and serve!

Enjoy!

Improving Your Upper Body and Low Body Strengthen

Push-up Techniques

Speed up the push-up!

For maximum push-up, do the push-ups as quickly as you possible can. When performing a slower push-up, the gravity will affect your strength. But remember to always maintain proper form.

Proper Form: Your hands should be shoulder width apart with hands even with your shoulders. Placing your hands too high or too low will cause weakness.

The Super Set is one of the best ways to increase your push-ups, but while you "rest" your upper body, you can also improve your wall-sit.

Push-Up/Wall-Sit Super Set

Do 4 to 8 Sets:

• Regular push-ups to failure
• Wall-Sit to failure
• Regular push-ups, reps 20 to 30
• Wall-Sit to failure
• Regular push-ups, reps  10 to 15
• Wall-Sit to failure

Timed Workout
The timed workout is another way to increase your push-ups and wall-sit.

Repeat twice:

1 minute of push-ups

1 minute of Wall-Sit

Repeat twice:

30 seconds of push-ups

30 seconds of Wall-Sit

Repeat three times:

15 seconds of push-ups

Apple Spice Bars

By:  Maria

Are you still eating "nutrition" bars that claim to fuel your fitness endeavors? Have you checked the ingredients in those bars?  How long is the list? Can you easily pronounce ALL ingredients? Have you "decoded" some of the ingredients to unveil the true ingredient?  Some may seem completely innocuous, right?  Let me help.

Brown Rice Syrup = sugar

Rice Crisps = sends blood glucose sky high (think sweetened Rice Crispies...same)

Barley Malt =  boiled down variety of grain until starch is converted to sugar.

Evaporated Cane Juice Syrup = brown sugar (duh)

Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil = vegetable equivalent of wax (and you don't want to know what it does to your bowels)!

Hydrogenated/Partially Hydrogenated Oils = do we have to discuss those again??

Get rid of those glorified candy bars and treat yourself to something that contains minimally basic ingredients and are Gluten-free, Soy-free, Dairy-free. 

Key word: TREAT.  These shouldn't be eaten every day for every snack, folks.  Remember my post on "moderation"??

Ingredients:

 

6 dates, pitted

1/4 apple, roughly chopped 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 pinch cloves (optional)

1/2 cup raw walnuts

1/2 cup raw almonds

In food processor, process dates and apples for about 20-30 seconds until mixture forms into a loose ball.

Remove fruit mixture, set aside.  Add nuts and process until finely chopped.

Add fruit mixture and spices back into nut mixture and process until everything is thoroughly mixed.  Using your hands, take a portion and mold into bar size, bite size or any size.  At this point, you can either wrap all bars individually or place in tightly sealed container.  Place in fridge to chill.

 

I have the following other bars (email me if you want the recipe @ maria@wasatchcrossfit.com ):

Blueberry Muffin

Cashew Cookie

Key Lime Pie

Almond/Sun Butter Cookie

Coconut Macaroon

Pecan Pie

 

Happy snacking!

Workout Combinations

It’s important to work your upper body along with your lower body to make sure you are creating balance. It’s easy to get stuck in a routine when it comes to strength training. We go months doing the same workout over and over again allowing our bodies to plateau. This week’s newsletter we gave you a great upper body workout.  Don’t get stuck doing this workout the same way every time. Choose an exercise and try these combinations below to kick that body out of plateau. 

Warm up with light cardio or warm up sets of the exercises

Example 1

For each exercise, choose a light, medium and heavy weight and perform each set in the following format:
Set 1 - 12 reps, light weight
Set 2 - 10 reps, medium weight
Set 3 - 8 reps, heavy weight

Example 2
Set 1 - 12 reps, light weight
Set 2 - 10 reps, medium weight
Set 3 - 8 reps, heavy weight
Set 4 - 10 reps, medium weight
Set 5 - 12 reps, light weight

Example 3

For each set, choose enough weight that you can ONLY complete the assigned number of reps. Rest for 30-60 seconds between sets and exercises.

Set 1 – Take Muscle to failure
Set 2 – Take Muscle to failure

Roasted Radish Chips

By:  Maria

I had a great assortment of veggies and fruit in my last CSA basket.  Some veggies that I don't usually purchase (winter radishes) were in abundance this week and I wanted to do something other than the same ol' boring standby of throwing sliced radishes into a salad.  I had originally thought I could throw them into my dinner somehow, but it was a couple of hours after lunch and a few hours before dinner and I needed a snack, so.......

I took the bunches of radishes, sliced them thinly, drizzled with a good quality olive oil, sprinkle lightly with some sea salt and put into the oven to roast.  I had NO idea how these would taste or if they would even turn out.  I was pleasantly surprised, however. Not only did they turn out well, they were a delicious, crunchy and tasty little snack that I devoured by the handfuls!

Next time, I use flavorful coconut oil and sprinkle with some smoky paprika!