What Will You Choose?

          I have been reading a few articles here lately about how America is the most obese country and the State of Mississippi has now declared war on obesity. I understand that a lot of people are a product of their environment and some of the only places individuals can get food from are the local corner stores, mom and pop diners and fast food restaurants. If they are able to shop at a grocery store because they have to stretch their dollars and get as much food with little money then things like fruits and vegetables are out of the question because of the cost. I understand all of that and hopefully one day this government and this country will find ways to make it easier for low income families to afford healthier foods. But right now it is killing many families especially African Americans.

            Now what I do not understand is how individuals whom have all the tools they need to become healthy and to be somewhat in shape still choose to make the wrong choices everyday when it comes to their health. Everyday some  people wake up and by their choices say I am going to choose to eat fried chicken, cakes, pies, fried fish, chips and soda, fried pork chops, burgers and french fries because it taste good. Instead of saying I am going to choose to love me and my body and choose to eat right. I am not saying that everything we put into our mouths has to healthy. You should be able to eat a combination but I do believe 70 to 80% of what you put inside of your body should be good healthy lean foods. The other 20- 30% can be your cheat foods.

            I could not imagine walking around my office out of breath because of the extra weight I am carrying around. I can not imagine not being able to enjoy a beautiful day in the park with friends and family because my knees are hurting. I could not imagine having to go to sleep with a sleeping aid because there is too much fat surrounding my lungs and heart. I could not imagine having medical bills up the wall because of something that I can personally prevent.

            I choose my health over choosing that bucket of fried chicken everyday. I choose to want to live a long healthy life instead of drinking soda everyday. I choose to walk around feeling great about myself instead of choosing to eat that double cheese burger or strawberry shortcake concrete every week. I choose to be disciplined and take the time out to think about what I am putting in my body. It’s okay to overindulge in the foods that you love every now and then but not on the weekly basis. I hope you choose what is best for your health and not choose what is best for your taste buds right now. Live Healthy, Live Long, Live Happy.

Yours Truly,

STL Healthnut

What do you do after you work out?

           I work up this morning and my body was aching (man) from an amazing workout I had yesterday and I could not for the life of me figure out why I was hurting so bad. Yes I had worked out muscles that haven’t seen those positions in while, but that shouldn't mean I have to go reaching for my epsom salt in order to get my day started. Eventually I thought about my workout and realized that I did not have the proper recovery afterwards. After each workout you should take an additional 5-10mins and properly stretch your body. This not only allows the body to cool down but stretching is essential to muscle health and prevention of injuries.

When your muscle is used repeatedly, lactic acid moves into the muscle. This is the stuff that causes pain in your body after working out. When you end your workout or activity, your muscles are at their shortest and in order to reduce the muscle pain, you need to stretch while the muscles are warm and this allows some of that acid to move out of the muscle. After saying all of that stretching simply prevents injuries and reduces muscle soreness.

           

In order to really reduce muscle soreness you should always have a recovery drink after each workout out. P90x has a great Results and Recovery packet that I use which refuels, re-energize, and reduce muscle soreness after-workout.  Also any type of performance recovery formula works as well.

            You can always just go and workout and get results but to ensure great body and muscle health and to also prevent future injuries you really need to make sure you do stretch and also utilize a great recovery shake! Otherwise you will be limping around like an old man or women feeling sorry for yourself or ashamed that your body does not recover as fast. You too can still feel and look young at any age. Just listen to your body and take the proper steps for prevention.

Yours Truly,

STLHealthnut & Beach Body Coach

http://beachbodycoach.com/stlhealthnut

To Sip or Not to Sip

One of the things I find really hard to give up in this weight loss journey and just being fit and healthy is alcohol. Some people don't want to give up there cakes and pies and pastas. I personal do not want to give up my tequila and red wine.

But, drinking alcohol can affect your weight loss progress. The fact of the matter is alcohol is filled with empty calories; there is nothing nutritious or healthy about drinking this useless substance. It contains about 7 calories per gram - which is nearly twice the calorie content found in carbs and protein (4calories/gram). Also, having a few glasses of wine or a couple of beers can equal an entire meal or a snack it just depends on how many you plan on taking back. I limit my alcohol intake to twice a week and those are the days I know I am going to be out with friends or going on a hot date. One thing I felt was helpful for me was knowing the amount of calories certain drinks have. So, if you can count calories and you need to have that glass of wine or beer or mixed drink(which is the worst when it comes to calories) knowing the amount of calories in certain drinks may help you decide what to sip or what not to sip!

Wines are the best place to start they have less then 160 calories. White wines contain about 65 calories and Reds contain about 70 calories. Port wines have the smallest serving size but the highest number of calories starting at 120.

Now beer on the other hand contain anywhere between 95-210 calories. One of the lightest beers is Anheuser Busch Select 55 with only has 55 calories. Then there is Michelob Ultra with 95 calories or a Bud Select with 99 calories. Shoot for the light beers, they have fewer than 100 calories. Most of the darker beers are loaded with calories and I would say stay away from them if possible. So for the heavy beer drinkers if you take 4-6 beers back then you are drinking on average between 400-600 calories in just of few hours of drinking. No wonder people have beer belly’s.

Hard liquor on the other hand ranges from 125 calories + just depends on the type of drink you are getting. If you are drinking hard liquor straight up then you have less calories to worry about, but when you add a mixer that is not a diet soda or club soda that’s when the calories start adding up. Example if you enjoy downing a margarita then a 4oz serving contains 180 calories (all carbs). Now the average margarita glass holds 12oz so you will be drinking 540 calories from one drink. Vodka and cranberry juice is about 167 calories. These types of drinks can really put a damper on your weight loss progress. Most of the mixed drinks contain a lot of carbs mainly from the juice which is one of the reasons you may feel really full after a night of drinking.

I am not saying don’t drink because obviously I do enjoy a glass of wine every now and then. But do watch what you are drinking and know that alcohol can play a role if you not meeting your weight loss goals. So just ask yourself when you are out to sip or not to sip!

Enjoy,

STL Healthnut