Let' jump right in...
Who has heard the philosophy to not eat after a certain time of night or a certain number of hours before going to sleep?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I know you've heard this. Many celebrities preach about it. I remember an interview with Hugh Jackman (hubba hubba*) a few years back in which he stated he never eats anything after some crazy early time like 5--that's a little extreme. For a while, I tried not eating 2 hours before going to sleep. The logic behind this is that this act forces your body to use other energy sources during sleep rather than what you most recently ate.
Science 101 starting in 3...
2...
1...
Physiologically, your body uses glucose for energy first because the body is a pro at storing fats. Fats are lipids, which in case you didn't know are insoluble in water--lipids hate H2O. The body is not so great at storing glucose; glucose is stored in your liver in the form of glycogen which has water in it. Which one will be bigger and take up more space? The glycogen because it has water molecules taking up space as well. Therefore, your body is gonna go after the glycogen before it goes after the fat. When glycogen (storage form) is converted to glucose (usable form), water molecules are released. This process requires ATP (adenosine triphosphate--big fancy word for energy). Therefore, the body is most likely going to go after the usable glucose that hasn't been converted to glycogen yet. In other words, it is going to use the glucose that you most recently put into your system--food. If there is not readily available glucose to use (i.e if you don't eat for a few hours prior to going to sleep), your body will end up resorting to fat eventually. Makes sense to a certain extent, right? I'm not going to cite that information because I didn't get it from one particular place other than my brain. It's from a combination of many lectures and textbooks. That's my citation.
Science 101 complete.
This is what I lived by even to the extent that I would feel guilty if I ate right before bed, unless it was a night out and I was awake until 3am and food--especifically (this is my new word=combo of especially and specifically...feel free to adopt it into your daily vocab) fried food--was a necessity for survival. Most of you know what I'm talking about. Another time to eat late is during Late Night at a dance event--my fellow west coast swing dancers know what I'm talking about. There comes a point in the night when you either eat something, pass out from exhaustion, or both. But with the amount of dancing we do, it really is a necessity.
Recently, I read this Livestrong article opposing this thought process, sort of. It is suggesting we eat bigger, more substantial meals at the end of the day. The article had some pretty legit ideas and reasoning:
1. Natural instinct--The article explains that back in the day of the grunting cavemen, days were spent hunting and gathering and nights were spent feasting to refuel for the next day. Granted, most of us don't hunt for a living anymore. A huge majority of us just sit in front of a computer most of the day expending little-to-no energy. So this might not exactly apply...but valid point nonetheless.
2. The numbers--Go read this section in the article. It makes sense to me, and I definitely can't explain it better. To make a long story short (which I always say, and never do), it makes more sense with our habits, tendencies, and physiology, to eat lighter during the day and a little bit heavier in the evening. I like this. Please note, eating heavier means eating heavier with HEALTHY foods. No Big Macs.
3. Psychology--This is my favorite part. If I ate larger dinners, I might not be so tempted (and give in to temptation most of the time) to eat snacks closer to bedtime. Granted, I don't think I have enough cholecystokinin/CCK. That's another big fancy word for the hormone that tells you when you are full (Side note: I'm pretty sure there was a recent study released on this. I'll research it and blog about it during another week). Also, sometimes exhaustion or boredom, both of which tend to happen at night shortly before bed, are mistaken for hunger. Alright, not sometimes--most of the time.
4. Practicality--This is telling us to make your daily diet merge with your life, not the reverse. Hmmmm that is quite practical. Who woulda thunk it? Remember that game with blocks that babies play? There's a square, a circle, and a triangle. The triangle doesn't fit in the circle hole. You've gotta have a "circle" diet to merge with your "circle" life. Triangle diets don't fit in circle lives.
I still don't think it's a great idea to eat RIGHT before bed. It's really unnecessary if you think about it--the purpose of food is to be your body's fuel. You don't need much fuel while sleeping. Also, if your blood sugar/insulin levels are normal (i.e. you don't have diabetes), eating right before bed will shoot your blood sugar up for a bit of time--giving you a burst of energy. That's exactly what you need right before going to sleep...NOT!
Interesting stuff, right? Definitely worth a shot...a delicious, satisfying shot.
MMMMMM, FOOOOOOD
*hubba hubba is my written text way of respectfully admitting how incredibly attractive he is.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Insanity: no word is more accurate
On January 1, 2011, I started a journey that would change how I looked at exercise forever. This was the day I became Insane, the day I took the first Insanity Fit Test (more on the Fit Test later). I was in decent shape and mainly just wanted to increase my upper body strength and core strength. Little did I know that Insanity would also increase my endurance tremendously, tone my legs more than they already were, and cause me to lose 10-15 lbs that I didn't even intend on losing.
Starting that day, I followed the Insanity workout calendar every single day until its completion (that is 9 weeks including the rest week in between Month 1 and Month 2. For the record, I followed my typical healthy diet--mainly based on the Weight Watchers system--not the diet plan provided with the DVDs. My results might have been even better had I followed the Insanity diet plan.) Before completing the Fit Test, I could barely do real pushups--I did girl pushups, ya know...the ones where you rest on your knees instead of your toes. By the end of the 9 weeks, I had a legit 4-pack, toned arms, crazy endurance, legs that could scare Chuck Norris, and a sense of accomplishment that no one could ever take away.
I'm not gonna lie to you folks; it was tough. The first 2 weeks were brutal because I woke up sore every morning. It took a lot of will power and drive to make myself do the workouts. But those 35-45 minutes of solid sweat were worth it. Speaking of sweat. Holy sweat balls! People, you start sweating during the warm-up. It's insane (pun very intended).
Here's a quick synopsis of the 13 workouts (don't worry, they provide a big, pretty calendar that tells you exactly what workout to do on each day).
Side note, the Warm-up of every single video was more of a workout than most people ever get by just going to the gym. I can't stress this enough. It really makes you think about how you typically do your workouts.
Your body is capable of much more than you think!
A few positive things about this program. Safety! Shaun T (the Insanest of the Insane) is a huge proponent of safety and hydration on the video. He has the perfect balance of pushing you so hard you want to punch the television and reminding you to be safe and rest if your body needs it. There are even words scrolling at the bottom reminding you to stay safe, rest if your form starts to diminish, and hydrate often.
Another thing I loved seeing was how hard the athletes on the video had to work. Most workout videos show these people in amazing shape and say "You could look like this after 1 month of doing this video!" They're all smiley and barely breaking a sweat. Their hair looks perfect and their chiseled abs make you feel like a failure (too far? probskies.) Insanity marathon runners, fitness instructors, spinning instructors, dancers, etc. These people are in fantabulous shape and still sweating so much even their eyes start sweating (or were those tears-just kidding, sort of). They have to take breaks just like you do. It's so refreshing to see a video portray the difficulty level accurately.
Listen guys, this is a tough gig. It takes dedication and motivation. If I had the time to stick with it, I'd do it again in a heart beat. It definitely worked because I have never in my life felt as healthy as I did for the few months following Insanity. The results lasted for quite a while too (of course results don't last forever if you don't keep it up).
I highly suggest this program if toning and endurance are things at the top of your list. This is a program designed for people who are already in decent shape. If you are starting from scratch, I do not suggest this program yet! (yet is the key word)
Here is the link to Insanity. You can also buy it on amazon or ebay though I'm sure. Mine still sits next to my DVD player and it is my go-to workout when I have the time and energy.
DIG DEEPER!! -Shaun T
Starting that day, I followed the Insanity workout calendar every single day until its completion (that is 9 weeks including the rest week in between Month 1 and Month 2. For the record, I followed my typical healthy diet--mainly based on the Weight Watchers system--not the diet plan provided with the DVDs. My results might have been even better had I followed the Insanity diet plan.) Before completing the Fit Test, I could barely do real pushups--I did girl pushups, ya know...the ones where you rest on your knees instead of your toes. By the end of the 9 weeks, I had a legit 4-pack, toned arms, crazy endurance, legs that could scare Chuck Norris, and a sense of accomplishment that no one could ever take away.
I'm not gonna lie to you folks; it was tough. The first 2 weeks were brutal because I woke up sore every morning. It took a lot of will power and drive to make myself do the workouts. But those 35-45 minutes of solid sweat were worth it. Speaking of sweat. Holy sweat balls! People, you start sweating during the warm-up. It's insane (pun very intended).
Here's a quick synopsis of the 13 workouts (don't worry, they provide a big, pretty calendar that tells you exactly what workout to do on each day).
- First, you take the 15-minute Fit Test 5 times throughout the program. This is a series of different exercises and you count the number of times you can do that exercise in 1 minute and write it down. You track it each time you do the Fit Test. This was my favorite day because I improved EVERY SINGLE TIME (even with the exercises I hated with all the fires of Hell.)
Side note, the Warm-up of every single video was more of a workout than most people ever get by just going to the gym. I can't stress this enough. It really makes you think about how you typically do your workouts.
Your body is capable of much more than you think!
- The Plyometric Cardio Circuit, Cardio Power and Resistance, and Pure Cardio are each about 45 minutes long and do exactly what they describe. They all use max interval training, which is basically just an extreme form of circuit training. You know that "I'm sweating so much, I might drown in my own sweat and so out of breath, I've utilized all of the oxygen in the room" feeling? Probably not if you haven't done Insanity. That's how you feel approximately 97% of the time during these workouts (inaccurate statistic).
- Cardio Recovery is the video you do once a week during the first month to "recover". (ha!) You have 5 hard workouts a week, 1 workout to stretch and release your muscles (this one) and 1 day to do nothing. This is the workout you really look forward to every week. Imagine holding your breath out for a really long time and then taking a big deep breath in. That big deep breath is Cardio Recovery.
- Cardio Abs is a 16-miniute video that kills your abs. It's awesome. I still do it when I can. No sit-ups or crunches, just standing abs and the C-sit position. It works (it got me my 4-pack--that is now gone. oops)
- Core Cardio and Balance is the video you do every day during the recovery week in between Months 1 and 2. It's a combination of yoga and pilates targeted to really give your muscles and joints a break before the craziness that is Month 2. After doing such intense workouts for a month, this one gets kind of boring to do every day for a week. You just think, "dude, is that all you've got? Bring it!"
- Well he brings it in the next month with Max Interval Circuit, Max Interval Plyo, and Max Cardio Conditioning--the Month 2 workouts. Imagine the Month 1 workouts took steroids...that's Month 2. They are each 10-15 minutes longer and more difficult. It hurts so good.
- Max Recovery is the equivalent to Cardio Recovery but a little more difficult because it is Month 2. It's like an even bigger, deeper breath.
- Insane Abs is the roided-out (may or may not have invented this word) version of Cardio Abs for Month 2.
- Max Interval Sports Training is an extra video. It's really really tough. Quite an accomplishment to finish this one. I think I only did it once so I shouldn't really write about it. Fail.
A few positive things about this program. Safety! Shaun T (the Insanest of the Insane) is a huge proponent of safety and hydration on the video. He has the perfect balance of pushing you so hard you want to punch the television and reminding you to be safe and rest if your body needs it. There are even words scrolling at the bottom reminding you to stay safe, rest if your form starts to diminish, and hydrate often.
Another thing I loved seeing was how hard the athletes on the video had to work. Most workout videos show these people in amazing shape and say "You could look like this after 1 month of doing this video!" They're all smiley and barely breaking a sweat. Their hair looks perfect and their chiseled abs make you feel like a failure (too far? probskies.) Insanity marathon runners, fitness instructors, spinning instructors, dancers, etc. These people are in fantabulous shape and still sweating so much even their eyes start sweating (or were those tears-just kidding, sort of). They have to take breaks just like you do. It's so refreshing to see a video portray the difficulty level accurately.
Listen guys, this is a tough gig. It takes dedication and motivation. If I had the time to stick with it, I'd do it again in a heart beat. It definitely worked because I have never in my life felt as healthy as I did for the few months following Insanity. The results lasted for quite a while too (of course results don't last forever if you don't keep it up).
I highly suggest this program if toning and endurance are things at the top of your list. This is a program designed for people who are already in decent shape. If you are starting from scratch, I do not suggest this program yet! (yet is the key word)
Here is the link to Insanity. You can also buy it on amazon or ebay though I'm sure. Mine still sits next to my DVD player and it is my go-to workout when I have the time and energy.
DIG DEEPER!! -Shaun T
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Heavenly yogurt sauce in your mouth
Welcome back! Hope you all had a healthy week. I've decided to post a recipe this week. Most recipes I post will be either stolen from someone else and/or made by someone else. I'm not a bad cook, I just get bored while doing it. Don't judge me.
This week, the boyfran (that's southern for boyfriend) made me dinner when I got back to the city from a distant dance competition. This is how the conversation went. Please note, this is a standard conversation for us:
Me: "Will you cook me dinner?"
Boyfran: "Sure. What do you want?"
Moi: "Something healthy."
Boyfran: "Do you have your spaghetti?"
(By "your" spaghetti, he meant whole wheat spaghetti. Of course I do! It's a healthy eaters staple. If you don't have it on hand, get it. It tastes better than white pasta and has more nutritional value. You aren't eating less calories or carbohydrates, but you are getting more nutritional value for what you are eating.)
Moi: "yup!"
Boyfran: "Alright, I'll look into it."
So he gets to my apartment and whips out this bag of yogurt sauce that he had created. Basically, it's tahini but used as a spaghetti sauce. We also figured out the difference between tahini and tzatziki. Tahini has garlic in it and tzatziki has cucumber. Both delicious. One makes your breath smell worse than the others. Take your pick. Here are some links on Tahini Nutrition and Tzatziki Nutrition. Middle eastern food is generally rather healthy.
So he sautées some chicken and asparagus (my fave veggie EVAH!) and red peppers, boils the pasta, and then mixes it up. This is a great alternative to Alfredo sauce. No, it doesn't taste exactly like Alfredo, but the healthy meter is off the charts compared to Alfredo sauce. You can find the recipe here:
Yogurt sauce deliciousness
We've already decided we are having it again some time this week. But maybe we'll add more things and experiment: shrimp? broccoli? carrots? portabello? onion?
You can also use the sauce as a dipping sauce for whole wheat bread or fresh veggies. It would also be a good alternative to mayonnaise after it sits for a day in the fridge to thicken up. Yum.
Try this out guys. The nutrition facts are at the bottom of the link and it's very filling. You get a lot of bang for your nutritional buck with this one.
Happy eating :)
This week, the boyfran (that's southern for boyfriend) made me dinner when I got back to the city from a distant dance competition. This is how the conversation went. Please note, this is a standard conversation for us:
Me: "Will you cook me dinner?"
Boyfran: "Sure. What do you want?"
Moi: "Something healthy."
Boyfran: "Do you have your spaghetti?"
(By "your" spaghetti, he meant whole wheat spaghetti. Of course I do! It's a healthy eaters staple. If you don't have it on hand, get it. It tastes better than white pasta and has more nutritional value. You aren't eating less calories or carbohydrates, but you are getting more nutritional value for what you are eating.)
Moi: "yup!"
Boyfran: "Alright, I'll look into it."
So he gets to my apartment and whips out this bag of yogurt sauce that he had created. Basically, it's tahini but used as a spaghetti sauce. We also figured out the difference between tahini and tzatziki. Tahini has garlic in it and tzatziki has cucumber. Both delicious. One makes your breath smell worse than the others. Take your pick. Here are some links on Tahini Nutrition and Tzatziki Nutrition. Middle eastern food is generally rather healthy.
So he sautées some chicken and asparagus (my fave veggie EVAH!) and red peppers, boils the pasta, and then mixes it up. This is a great alternative to Alfredo sauce. No, it doesn't taste exactly like Alfredo, but the healthy meter is off the charts compared to Alfredo sauce. You can find the recipe here:
Yogurt sauce deliciousness
We've already decided we are having it again some time this week. But maybe we'll add more things and experiment: shrimp? broccoli? carrots? portabello? onion?
You can also use the sauce as a dipping sauce for whole wheat bread or fresh veggies. It would also be a good alternative to mayonnaise after it sits for a day in the fridge to thicken up. Yum.
Try this out guys. The nutrition facts are at the bottom of the link and it's very filling. You get a lot of bang for your nutritional buck with this one.
Happy eating :)
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Yoga on Fire
I hate yoga.
That's a great way to start a post, right? No seriously though, I suffer from what some people call undiagnosed ADD and what I call distraction-induced-boredom disorder. In other words, I get bored and distracted rather quickly. Therefore, standing or contorting my body into an uncomfortable position for a long period of time while trying to clear my mind is not something that works well for me. My mind is alllllllllways going and always thinking about something. It jumps from topic to topic rather quickly--some people say I'm random. No idea why...
Anyway, I was just never able to get into yoga, but every couple of years, I try it again in the hopes that I will miraculously enjoy it. The verdict after my most recent attempts? drum roll please. badabadabadabada...I kinda dig it now.
Before I go any further, I should provide you with another side note--another peak into the life of yours truly. I'm a dancer--west coast swing primarily but also trained in classical ballet, jazz, a little ballroom, and salsa. As a dancer, your body is your tool--your paintbrush. As dancers, we express ourselves through movement in the hopes of creating art in motion. With that said, we have to take extra care of our tool--our body. When we start to neglect it even slightly, it's super easy to become aware of that by way of pain, muscle soreness, aches, injury, etc. The body is one tool that is not afraid to remind you to take care of it. True story.
Continuing with my story as I was so rudely interrupted by myself (psychologists, don't worry)...
One of my dancing comrades suggested I give the hot yoga trend a shot. I am typically down for trying new things (except escargot. I. WILL. NEVER. EAT. THIS.), so I figured I'd put my previous opinions on yoga aside and go for it. The lucky place to get my presence was this phenomenal little nook in Newton, MA called Prana Power Yoga. It was welcoming and people were very helpful. They even gave me a little key chain scan card to add to my other hundred thousand mini cards! I genuinely enjoy these things.
Hot yoga is basically yoga on steroids. I've never done steroids, so I'm no expert, but this is what I would imagine yoga on steroids to be like. Basically, it's this dim room that is approximately as hot as what I imagine Hell to feel like--aka Florida in August. (Florida, I love you, but you are a sauna. Don't deny it. (And yes, I am fully aware that I just addressed a state as if it could respond. You should be impressed.))
You set up and people are lying there, clearing their heads (I think), and here I am sitting Indian style, flapping my knees up and down like a 4-year-old in ballet class thinking about what I want for dinner even though I already ate dinner. TOTally normal.
Then the teacher comes in and has you do the Ohms. These still are uncomfortable to me for some reason, but I do them anyway. I knew the standard yoga positions going into my first class at this location, but it was really easy to just look around at other people when I didn't know what dead bug was (awesome position, bee-tee-dubs**). And at my last class, the instructor was amazing and very willing to help. She offered alternatives if a particular position was not beneficial due to injury or other limitation. This was particularly helpful to me when a former right hip injury and minor limitation was making one position quite difficult. She showed me an alternative position providing the same benefits.
The most I can handle is 1 hour before I start to go stir crazy mentally. This is a lot longer than I can handle with regular/not hot yoga. However, it is a challenge physically and you are definitely sore the next day.
Doing yoga is great for your body because it utilizes muscles you don't typically use. It is extremely useful for dancers! I highly suggest it for conditioning. It increases flexibility, focus, muscle tone, and core strength. It is also great if you are congested. The heat and controlled breathing clears that right up! I used to suggest a shot of vodka for strep throat, now I might prescribe Hell Yoga...excuse me...Hot Yoga. Just kidding. Sort of.
To summarize, I guess I should revise my opening statement to "I hatED yoga" because now, I don't mind it so much. I highly suggest hot yoga for anyone and everyone especially my peers who suffer from distraction-induced-boredom disorder, dancers, and the ill (unless you are contagious because then you are basically creating a breeding farm for nasty germs). Give it a shot and comment with your experiences. Here's a good link proving the benefits of hot yoga:
Little PubMed gem on Hot Yoga
**bee-tee-dubs=btw's=by the ways
That's a great way to start a post, right? No seriously though, I suffer from what some people call undiagnosed ADD and what I call distraction-induced-boredom disorder. In other words, I get bored and distracted rather quickly. Therefore, standing or contorting my body into an uncomfortable position for a long period of time while trying to clear my mind is not something that works well for me. My mind is alllllllllways going and always thinking about something. It jumps from topic to topic rather quickly--some people say I'm random. No idea why...
Anyway, I was just never able to get into yoga, but every couple of years, I try it again in the hopes that I will miraculously enjoy it. The verdict after my most recent attempts? drum roll please. badabadabadabada...I kinda dig it now.
Before I go any further, I should provide you with another side note--another peak into the life of yours truly. I'm a dancer--west coast swing primarily but also trained in classical ballet, jazz, a little ballroom, and salsa. As a dancer, your body is your tool--your paintbrush. As dancers, we express ourselves through movement in the hopes of creating art in motion. With that said, we have to take extra care of our tool--our body. When we start to neglect it even slightly, it's super easy to become aware of that by way of pain, muscle soreness, aches, injury, etc. The body is one tool that is not afraid to remind you to take care of it. True story.
Continuing with my story as I was so rudely interrupted by myself (psychologists, don't worry)...
One of my dancing comrades suggested I give the hot yoga trend a shot. I am typically down for trying new things (except escargot. I. WILL. NEVER. EAT. THIS.), so I figured I'd put my previous opinions on yoga aside and go for it. The lucky place to get my presence was this phenomenal little nook in Newton, MA called Prana Power Yoga. It was welcoming and people were very helpful. They even gave me a little key chain scan card to add to my other hundred thousand mini cards! I genuinely enjoy these things.
Hot yoga is basically yoga on steroids. I've never done steroids, so I'm no expert, but this is what I would imagine yoga on steroids to be like. Basically, it's this dim room that is approximately as hot as what I imagine Hell to feel like--aka Florida in August. (Florida, I love you, but you are a sauna. Don't deny it. (And yes, I am fully aware that I just addressed a state as if it could respond. You should be impressed.))
You set up and people are lying there, clearing their heads (I think), and here I am sitting Indian style, flapping my knees up and down like a 4-year-old in ballet class thinking about what I want for dinner even though I already ate dinner. TOTally normal.
Then the teacher comes in and has you do the Ohms. These still are uncomfortable to me for some reason, but I do them anyway. I knew the standard yoga positions going into my first class at this location, but it was really easy to just look around at other people when I didn't know what dead bug was (awesome position, bee-tee-dubs**). And at my last class, the instructor was amazing and very willing to help. She offered alternatives if a particular position was not beneficial due to injury or other limitation. This was particularly helpful to me when a former right hip injury and minor limitation was making one position quite difficult. She showed me an alternative position providing the same benefits.
The most I can handle is 1 hour before I start to go stir crazy mentally. This is a lot longer than I can handle with regular/not hot yoga. However, it is a challenge physically and you are definitely sore the next day.
Doing yoga is great for your body because it utilizes muscles you don't typically use. It is extremely useful for dancers! I highly suggest it for conditioning. It increases flexibility, focus, muscle tone, and core strength. It is also great if you are congested. The heat and controlled breathing clears that right up! I used to suggest a shot of vodka for strep throat, now I might prescribe Hell Yoga...excuse me...Hot Yoga. Just kidding. Sort of.
To summarize, I guess I should revise my opening statement to "I hatED yoga" because now, I don't mind it so much. I highly suggest hot yoga for anyone and everyone especially my peers who suffer from distraction-induced-boredom disorder, dancers, and the ill (unless you are contagious because then you are basically creating a breeding farm for nasty germs). Give it a shot and comment with your experiences. Here's a good link proving the benefits of hot yoga:
Little PubMed gem on Hot Yoga
**bee-tee-dubs=btw's=by the ways
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