Here's why you're always hungry

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(It's got nothing to do with calories)

By Ryan Andrews

If you often grumble about not being full or always being hungry, you may have beachfront property in the world of negative dietary displacement. Are you relying on fake foods to meet your nutrient and satiety needs?

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It was cold. It was Ohio. It was 2005. I had just arrived at a graduate student senate meeting. These meetings consisted of, well, grad student issues. Oh yeah, and they always served lunch.

As the meeting began and lunch was served, hungry grad students swarmed the food table. I observed what appeared to be a lean, healthy and fit female grad student approaching the table. She selected a good sized veggie sandwich and two pieces of fruit.

Her friend, who followed behind her in line, appeared to be overweight, unhealthy and un-fit. Her friend moved through the food line and selected a lunch that consisted of diet Coke and a cookie.

Who cares, you say? Shouldn’t people be allowed to pick whatever they want for lunch?

The dietary displacement gods care and you probably should too. These daily choices can help explain why humans might be getting fatter and more unfit.
What is dietary displacement?

Negative dietary displacement


Have you ever known someone who skips out on a salad with greens, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, beans, sunflower seeds and flax vinaigrette in order to budget their calories for the scone and Frappucino splurge at Starbucks later that evening?

Welcome to the land of negative dietary displacement. It’s when someone skips out on healthy eats and displaces them with non-nutritious foods.


But even with this displacement, who really cares? I mean, as long as calories are balanced we’ll be just fine, right?

Not necessarily. 

Negative dietary displacement generally leads to:
  • rebound overeating
  • lack of satiety
  • atrocious nutrient intake
  • loss of muscle mass
  • low energy levels
  • increased body fat

In other words, you feel crummy, you don’t look your best, and on top of that — you’re still hungry! Bummer.


Positive dietary displacement


On the flip side, have you ever known someone who skips out on the massive dessert brownie, or only has a small piece, because they are satisfied from a nutritious meal of whole, real foods?

This is positive dietary displacement: when someone eats enough nutritious food each day, leaving little or no room for the non-nutritious foods.

When people eat this way, it generally leads to:
  • consuming the right amount of food for your energy needs
  • satiation after meals
  • a stellar nutrient intake
  • lean muscle development
  • high energy levels
  • lower levels of body fat

Unlike the negative dietary displacement, you feel good, you look good, and your tummy is happy. Sign me up.


Why is dietary displacement so important?


When individuals are trying to eat healthier, they tend to focus their efforts on what they should be cutting out and restricting.

But what does that really accomplish? Shouldn’t they worry about how in the heck they’re going to eat enough healthy food over the next 24 hours? That’s usually difficult enough.

Humans usually eat about 3-4 pounds of food per day. If we add in enough healthy foods, we won’t have much room left for unhealthy foods. We can use this to our advantage.

Similarly, if you fill your day with activities related to a rewarding career, enriching relationships with family and friends, and personal wellbeing, there isn’t much of an opportunity left to engage in cigar smoking, strip clubbing, and Internet flame wars.
All calories are not created equal

We all know by now that industrialized populations are getting fatter. This can make us fixate on meeting a daily calorie quota. We worry about daily numerical goals instead of food’s quality — about how much we eat, rather thanwhat we eat or how our food contributes to keeping us healthy.

If someone saves their goal number of calories to dine on Hot Pockets, mochaccinos and candy, that’s poor nutrition. But people do this because they realize they only have a limited number of eating opportunities each day. They might not want to “waste” these eating opportunities on foods that don’t taste as good as the Hot Pockets, mochaccinos, and candy they crave.

However, a candy calorie is much different than a kale calorie. “Non-food” calories are more likely to be stored as fat, degrade health, lead to further hunger, lead to further food preoccupation, and low energy levels.

Can you spot the difference? Your brain and body sure as heck can.


What you should know about dietary displacement


A rigorous calorie tally can backfire in more ways than one.

Most people generally know that eating too much each day will cause body fat gains and health problems. When people get too wrapped up in the numbers, they feel like they must save up for the tasty (read: over-stimulating) edible food-like substances. And this is where most dietary displacement originates from. You know, the land of counting points, calories and grams.

Awareness of calories = probably good. Detailed calorie counting = probably not so good.

Appetite


It’s interesting to note that one of the most important factors related to dietary displacement (and nutrition success) lies just beyond our direct dietary control. This factor is appetite.

Most people feel as if they have no control over their appetite. So they either ignore it (which never works in the long run, even for veterans of the physique world) or they try to find a magic supplement that helps control it (yes, people still do that).

But we all have some control over our appetite. You see, appetite isn’t primarily controlled by the number of calories we eat. Rather, it’s controlled by thevolume of food that we eat.

Simply put, our appetite is based on how much total food volume passes through our digestive tract.
If a lot of food volume passes through, we’re satisfied.

If very little passes through, we’re hungry (note: this is in regard to true physiological hunger, not “head hunger.” “Head hunger” is when someone eats for reasons other than physiological hunger; you can’t satisfy “head hunger” with food and drink).

Therefore, the volume/weight of foods seems to be more important than the calorie content in terms of keeping us fuller for longer during the day.



So, if you consume 3-4 lbs of scones, candy and Frappucinos each day, you could easily rack up a lot of extra calories that’ll need to be stored somewhere. On the other hand, you could eat 3-4 lbs of nutritious, whole food that easily keeps you full but promotes health and fat loss at the same time.
“But I’m never full!”

Maybe you’re eating the wrong foods.

Here is an example of how the volumes of healthy vs. unhealthy foods can differ.

Each pair below has the same amount of calories, but provides much different volumes and nutrients.

Less volume, fewer nutrients vs More volume, more nutrients

2 oz chocolate bar vs ~40 cups of spinach
2 tbsp butter vs 2.5 cups blueberries
1 bagel vs 1.5 cups of quinoa
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese vs 4 cups of vegetable soup
6 donut holes vs 4 medium apples

Summary and recommendations


Are you eating 90 percent nutritious, unprocessed food and 10 percent treats — or vice versa? Are you displacing healthy foods with unhealthy alternatives?

How’s that working for you?

If we focus on first eating the nutritious foods that our bodies need to feel energized, fight disease, be lean and be healthy, followed by simply enjoying a treat here and there, we’d be much better off.

However, many people don’t eat any of the nutritious stuff. They go right for the treat foods.

If we skip breakfast, get really hungry, and then pick up candy, chips and soda at the gas station – we’ll have a candy, chip and soda body to show for it. However, if we first ate real, nutritious food and then enjoyed a treat, we’d be able to regulate our appetite and make smart decisions.

It’s time to start displacing the poorer food selections from your menu with better ones — instead of the opposite. Eat enough nutritious stuff first. And if you desire a less-than-nutritious food option, have the nutritious one beforehand, and then see how you feel.

If you still need help


The health and fitness world can sometimes be a confusing place. But it doesn’t have to be. I'm here to help.

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Workout Nutrition to the MAX!

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Beachbody has done it again!

Not only did they create Shakeology, the tastiest, most nutrient dense shake mix I've ever had, but they are coming out with an entire line of sports performance nutrition products.

Sometimes your nutrition needs go beyond the typical, especially when you're exercising at a more intense level (like with P90X, 21 Day Fix Extreme, or INSANITY MAX:30).

Knowing this I'd often have to send my clients to several different places to find the supplements they need, but pretty soon they'll be able to get it all in one place, with Performance™

Performance™ is a breakthrough addition to the nutrition catalogue. Designed by Harvard-trained scientists and rooted in cutting-edge exercise physiology and performance nutrition research, this premium supplement system offers your customers a way to supercharge their performance—and their results—safely and effectively.

Watch this video to learn more about the Performance line




What is Performance?

An easy-to-use, complete supplement system that's guaranteed to boost your workout performance and help accelerate the results from any fitness program.

It's designed by Harvard-trained scientists and combines the latest cutting-edge science with the most effective performance-boosting ingredients from nature.
Every ingredient is thoroughly tested and scientifically shown to enhance performance and recovery.

There are 5 unique formulas—Energize, Hydrate, Recover, Recharge, and Creatine—that can be used alone or easily customized depending on your fitness goals or needs.
It will help you overcome any obstacle—from low energy to muscle soreness—so you can push yourself harder in every workout.

What's included in the Performance line?


The system has four powder drinks formulated with key ingredients scientifically shown to be effective.

  • ENERGIZE PRE-WORKOUT (Lemon Spark Flavor) - Improves intense exercise performance, increases energy and endurance, and sharpens focus, and reaction time.
  • HYDRATE DURING-WORKOUT (Citrus Cooler Flavor) - Supports hydration during exercise, replaces electrolytes lost during exercise, fuels working muscles, and improves endurance.
  • RECOVER POST-WORKOUT (Chocolate Chill Flavor) - Speeds muscle recovery, promotes lean muscle synthesis, combats exercise-induced muscle soreness, and improves muscle strength recovery.
  • RECHARGE NIGHTTIME (Vanilla Dream Flavor) - Supports overnight muscle recovery, improves overnight adaptation to exercise, promotes lean muscle synthesis, and reduces muscle breakdown.

PLUS: CREATINE - This add-on has no flavor and mixes well with the Post-Workout formula to improve high intensity exercise performance, increase muscle strength and power, and enhance the effects of resistance training.


This line won't be available until July, but you can be one of the first to know about it by signing up for email notifications here


I personally am really excited about the Recovery and Recharge products, I can't wait to learn more about them at Coach Summit!
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Planning Healthy Meals

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Do you struggle when it comes to planning meals?

I always struggled in this area in the past, even though I had good intentions of cooking healthy dinners, time would get away from me. Work and other excuses would take over, and BAM I’d be ordering out for dinner. Not that I’m against ordering out, but it’s better for our lifestyles (and our wallets) to not be ordering food out, but rather cooking healthy food at home. Besides, I LOVE to cook, and I love to come up with recipes are healthy AND tasty!

Honestly, until I found the 21 Day Fix I never really payed as much attention to it as I thought...I mean I ate veggies at most meals, but I wasn't eating enough protein and oddly enough, I wasn't eating enough carbs either!

So, I figured out some tricks that work for me, and hopefully they can help you too!

Focusing on one day a week (Sundays for me), I realized I could get more done than I thought I could. I could plan, shop, AND prep, and be set for the upcoming week! Sundays may not work for you depending on your schedule but any day off could be used.

HOW TO CREATE A HEALTHY MEAL PLAN

I start with the dinner menu for the week. As a typical busy working couple, we decide what we want for dinners based around the protein, how long it needs to cook or heat up, AND what other activities we have that day. Then we decide what kinds of veggies and side dishes would go well with the protein.

Once dinner is decided, the rest of the meals and snacks are fairly simple. Often we will have leftovers for lunch, and we always have plenty of fruits, veggies and other easy to grab (but still healthy) options for breakfast and snacks.

I check the pantry, fridge, and freezer to see what we have and what we need at the store based on our menu, and food shopping is next. Many things I buy in bulk, especially foods that can easily be frozen and thawed for future meals. This helps keep the budget on track, too.

After shopping, it’s prep time. For me, this typically means baking some chicken breasts, washing and chopping fruits and veggies, and portioning them in easy to grab plastic baggies or containers. I also make home made salad dressings. Meal prep could be different for you depending on your family size and what you eat, but portioning the food items is the biggest help to me regardless. That way there are “grab and go” items, or if we need a quick dinner, it’s all ready to be heated up!

Even though it took some trial and error to see what worked in my house, I now LOVE meal planning, and I’ve become really good at it! Don’t think we don’t order Thai food now and again, but for the most part, we are now able to eat healthy and delicious food at home most nights.

Try some different things to find what works for you, and make it fun! Happy Planning!

P.S. Make sure you're signed up for my newsletter so you can get all the updates on my health & fitness related stuff directly to your inbox! 

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No time for breakfast? Check out this great FREE guide to 101 Health Shake Recipes 


(originally found on http://www.gettingfittogether.com/how-to-create-a-healthy-meal-plan/#!328)
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Shaun T does it again with a new DANCE Workout program

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I seriously LOVE Shaun T and his workouts...he's so down to earth and real, but also seriously kicks your butt.

I've done his Hip Hop Abs (from the 90's...totally amazing) so I can only imagine how awesome this new program is going to be.

Get into great shape at home with Shaun T's newest, intense dance fitness program. You'll have so much fun challenging yourself to master the dance choreography during this 4 week program that you won't even realize you are getting a great cardio workout. CIZE truly is "The end of exercise."

In each routine, Shaun breaks down challenging moves step-by-step, and builds them into a full dance sequence in just 35-40 minutes. So, while you are mastering the dance moves, you'll also be burning fat and calories.


Watch this video to learn more about CIZE


Want to win a FREE CIZE base kit?


One winner will be randomly selected from the folks who enter their name in the drawing. Winner gets a CIZE base kit.


I'm thinking it will be "Hip Hop Abs meets Insanity in 2015 and has a baby"
This dance workout program will come with everything that BeachBody always puts together with their programs, a complete package of Fitness, Nutrition, and Support.

Check out this interview where Shaun T answered questions about his new program


What inspired you to create this program, Shaun?

I wanted people to understand why I love dance. It’s my passion. I post videos on my Facebook page where I’m doing choreographed dance routines and they get thousands of views and comments. The amazing responses inspired me to show people that they can dance. I also wanted guys to know that dance isn’t just for women!

Give us an overview of CIZE™

It’s called CIZE because you don’t even realize you’re exercising. Then by the end of the routine you’re completely drenched. I like to call it power cardio. This isn’t for muscle gain, but your muscles are getting in shape from all the different movements and isolations. It’s really a weight-loss sculpting routine that you get just by dancing.

What’s your ’30-second elevator pitch’ for CIZE?

I would start by asking someone if they’ve ever danced before. If they say no, I would say, ‘Every move that you do, every second of the day, can be turned into a dance move—even if you’re just typing at your computer or shrugging your shoulders. Don’t think you can’t dance; all you need is a beat.’

What if someone isn’t a good dancer, can they still do the program?

It’s in the privacy of your own home so you don’t have to worry about people watching you. It’s your time to be free! Each time you finish a routine, you get to judge where you’re at before you move on. There’s no time frame, but if you keep at it, you’ll master it.

Talk a little bit about the music tracks…

The music changes throughout the routines. I picked out every single track and kept the beats similar. Some of my favorites are Chandelier by Sia, Pass that Dutch by Missy Elliot and Lose my Breath by Destiny’s Child. These are songs you probably didn’t even know you could dance to, but now you know what to do with them!

How is CIZE different from Hip Hop Abs® and Rockin’ Body®?

Hip Hop Abs and Rockin’ Body are very watered-down movements and fitness-oriented dancing, where CIZE is more like you’re dancing in a music video. It’s a different range of motion you don’t normally get. It will increase flexibility, make your legs stronger and help in every single exercise you do.

Is there a nutrition aspect to this program?

People will definitely get a well-constructed plan with the nutrition guide. Make sure you have enough good calories and carbs to last throughout the workout, and enough protein for the strength you’ll need.

If you could have a dance-off with one person, who would it be and why?

Janet Jackson. She has so many different styles. When I was 21, I got tickets to see her concert in Philadelphia. I was in the second row and she picked me to come on stage to dance with her. People thought I was one of her back-up dancers!

Any final thoughts to share, Shaun?

I’ll be teaching a CIZE dance class at Summit. I want people to look as fly as possible and be ready to dance their tails off. Believe it or not, your outfit determines how you’re going to dance that day and helps you feel the music. When you step in the room with me, you’d better be ready to go for it!
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