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If you have started your fitness journey, then you probably understand how big of a role nutrition plays. Caloric consumption is important to monitor; the most efficient way to monitor intake is but keep a food journal (online app or handwritten). I see many people making an effort to track their food, but there are several mistakes people make when tracking that can halt progress. Research shows the average person under-reports their calorie intake by up to 50%. That is a huge discrepancy. The number one mistake I see is not weighing your food. If you aren’t weighing your food, you do not know how much to log. If you are not entering the correct portions, your food journal and actual calories consumed are going to be very different. And most people, especially beginners, are not very good at guessing their portion sizes. Do yourself a favor and take two minutes to weigh your food. This brings me to the second most common error… weighing incorrectly. You want to be sure to weigh all solid foods on a food scale and only use measure cups for liquids. When you weigh out your food, it should be weighed dry/raw/as packaged. For example, if you are cooking pasta or rice, weigh before cooking while they are dry. Once you cook them, the calories remain the same but it will weigh more due to added water. Also meats, vegetables, etc. should be weighed raw. Meats will lose water as they cook so if you weigh afterwards, you will be unknowingly consuming excess calories. Now, if you have packaged foods like pre-cooked chicken, then you weigh as it comes. The nutrition labels for foods are for as packaged.  Another common issue, whether intentional or not, is not tracking everything you eat. Snacks and nibbles here and there add up. You should be tracking everything you consume. This includes drinks, condiments, oils, etc. Oftentimes people get frustrated because according to their food journal, they are meeting their calorie goals; however, your body tracks everything, even if you don’t. Eating a few Hershey Nuggets of your bosses desk (50 calories each!), taking several bites of food while cooking, eating a spoonful of peanut butter (100-200 calories, yikes!)…. throughout the day, you could easily be adding hundreds of calories. So track every bite.
Something else that can cause errors in your food log is incorrect entries if you are using an app. Users can add foods; this means there is more room for entries to be wrong. I recommend scanning the barcode directly from your package into your app and verifying entries match the nutrition label. Track your food. Weigh everything and log it all. Verify entries are correct. By logging correctly, it is easier to decide if adjustments are necessary. Accuracy can make your fitness journey much smoother and keep your progress moving!
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 Oftentimes when people want to take steps to get in shape, they'll hire a coach to guide and hold them accountable- which is smart, especially for beginners.
 Let's talk about self-care. Yes, proper nutrition and exercise are at the top of that list!
But don't forget about stress management as well. Stress causes all kinds of mayhem and is something you should minimize for your overall well-being. Too much stress can contribute to psychological and physical health issues. I definitely have the propensity to easily become stressed and overwhelmed, but I take precautions to remain stress free. Here are some of the things I do that for my well-being to keep me focused, stress free, and generally happy. Maybe you can implement some of these things if you often find yourself stressed! 1. Wake up early. I am very busy, like most people. If I get a late start to my day, I automatically feel rushed, frantic, and overwhelmed. By waking early, I give myself time to get things out the way and do it without panic. 2. Schedule everything. Routine = Simplicity. I am a total planner. I like knowing exactly what I need to do and when I need to do it. I have times blocked off for everything and it's scheduled in my calendar. I also keep a to do list of things I need to complete within my time blocks. Knowing what to do ahead of time prevents procrastination and decision fatigue. I also plan my meal and exercise routine ahead of time. 3. Meditation (or prayer) Having a few moments of silence to reflect and relax has been beneficial for me. I meditate 10 minutes every morning and it definitely helps me feel more peaceful. 4. "Me Time" and Quality Time I make it a point to schedule time for me to do things for myself and things I enjoy with the important people in my life. I schedule regular spa days for myself to rejuvenate. I visit my family often, travel, go on dates with my boyfriend, etc. There are ton of free/cheap things to do also- beach, park, rent a movie, etc. 5. Exercise! Lifting weights, running, yoga- all these things are excellent stress relievers and release endorphins to improve mood. I lift 3x per week, cardio 5x per week, and my rest days are active as well. You'd be amazed what consistent exercise can do for you. Again, these are things that help me to minimize stress. Hope this can be helpful to someone who needs to relieve stress 😌  Nowadays, it is trendy to do keto for fat loss. All the magazines, fitness “gurus”, and celebrities are all about it so you may be wondering if you should give it a go. Let’s first discuss what keto is and how it works.
Keto is a very low carb, high fat diet with a majority of calories coming from fat. Usually less than 20 to 30g of carbs will be consumed daily in order to put you in ketosis. Ketosis means that your body will use its secondary fuel source, fat, for energy. Oftentimes, you’ll hear people brag that because they’re doing keto, they are using fat for fuel and therefore have become a lean, mean, fat burning machine! What people fail to keep in mind is that on keto, you're consuming large amounts of fat so your body will be burning dietary fat- not necessarily body fat. In order to lose body fat, a calorie deficit is still required. Does keto work for fat loss? Absolutely. Does keto work better for fat loss? Absolutely not. Can you gain weight on keto? For sure. All depends on your calorie intake. So what do I think of keto? Personally, I am not a fan for several reasons. 1. Carbs are your body's preferred source of energy. Lack of carbs can cause many people to become fatigued and lethargic. Food is fuel. Eat to perform. 2. I enjoy eating carbs. If you can achieve your goals without being completely miserable, then why not? If you equate fat loss to needing to be miserable, you are doing it all wrong. 3. I believe having a balanced diet is the healthiest. By cutting out carbs, you're cutting out a large variety of foods including nutrient rich foods. Remember, fruits, veggies, and grains are all carbs. Many people think of chocolate, cakes, cookies, etc when talking about carbs; what most fail to realize is those things are also half fats, not just carbs. 4. For me personally, keto (yes, I tried it in the past) is not satiating at all. Many carbs like rice, starchy veggies, or pasta keep me nice and full because they're pretty high volume and only 4 calories per gram. Fatty foods are 9 calories per gram and tend to be low volume. For example, 100g of dry rice is 365 calories and 100g of butter is 717 calories. Big difference. You may be thinking, “well what if I have a medical condition?” Ketosis has been beneficial for some people with epilepsy. Other conditions such as PCOS, insulin resistance, hyperthyroid, etc. do not need to be accompanied by a keto diet to improve symptoms. Now, this is not to say that a diet lower in carbs is not more beneficial to these conditions, because it can be, but extremely low carb intake or keto is not at all necessary. The aforementioned conditions can be improved by caloric restriction and exercise. I have had many clients with hyperthyroid, PCOS, insulin resistance, or that were peri-menopausal. These clients all had weight loss success and improved health markers by increasing activity and lowering caloric consumption. Keto is not going to create any faster fat loss than other diet. You might initially drop more water weight, but that'll soon even out. Time and time again, it's been proven that keto is neither superior for fat loss nor health. If you like it, do it! But if you have a hard time adhering to it, don't do it. Go with your preference. References Low Fat vs Low Carb for Fat Loss https://examine.com/nu…/low-fat-vs-low-carb-for-weight-loss/ Low Fat vs Low Carb comparison with matched protein https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15601961 Comparison of weight loss diets https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763382/ Dangers of low carb https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14672862 Keto has no metabolic advantage http://m.ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/5/1055.full (Summary) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16685046 Fat loss depends on energy deficit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815 One of the things I love most about bodybuilding, is that you can work to sculpt your body the way you want and improve your body composition. Nowadays, more women (including myself!) are wanting to see growth and fullness in their backside. In order to get to that "Big Booty Judy" look, there's three important steps: eat in a calorie surplus, get adequate protein, and do some weight training. Let me expand...  So many women are afraid to eat in a surplus, but if you're looking for significant growth, you'll need to eat! If you are a chronic dieter, afraid to eat carbs, impatient/inconsistent, or afraid lifting heavy will make you look like a man, then you will struggle getting the desired results. To shape and grow your glutes, you're going to have to build muscle. Building muscle is a slow and tedious process. Many women often have the goal of "toning", or losing fat and gaining muscle, but it's best to choose one goal at a time. It's only likely to build muscle and lose fat simultaneously when you're new to lifting; after about 6 months, your ability to get those "newbie gains" will diminish. I recommend getting to a healthy weight with lower body fat (learn about fat loss here), then work on gaining. When you're ready to start building, that means eating in a calorie surplus. While in a calorie surplus, you want to be sure you're getting in enough protein to promote muscle growth. Typically, a good place to start your calories will be around 16 x body weight in pounds. This is just an estimate, but should be close for most; monitor progress for a few weeks and adjust as necessary; adjust calories up if you are losing weight and adjust down if you are gaining weight too fast. Approximately a 2 pound gain per month is what you should expect. Protein at around 1g per pound of LEAN body mass is sufficient. Once you have your nutrition worked out, you want to be sure you have a proper training program. You want to train glutes a minimum of twice a week. For optimal glute growth, weight training three to four times per week is best. I don't recommend training the same body part more than 4 times per week because your muscles need time to recover. Don't be afraid to lift heavy and challenge yourself. Be sure to follow a routine that includes progressive overload. Increasing volume and weight being lifted over time keeps your progress going. Doing endless amounts of donkey kicks isn't going to do much for you, so pick up those weights! Here are my top five personal favorite glute growing exercises to do: 1. Barbell Hip Thrust 2. Cable Pull Throughs 3. Sumo Squat 4. Romanian Deadlift 5. Lunges Be consistent, be patient, and you will see results. It will take time but it will happen. Bodybuilding is a continuous journey. I know I, myself, am still a work in progress!   Mango Shrimp Tacos 🌮🍤 This is a quick and easy dinner that the whole family will love and its packed with protein! Here is what you'll need per 3 tacos: 8 oz (226g) raw peeled and deveined shrimp 1/2 fresh lemon 1 clove of garlic 30g Mango Peach Salsa 30g sour cream 3 Hard taco shells Pam Seasonings  Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300°F 2. Coat pan with Pam Cooking Spray and cook shrimp on medium heat in pan. 3. Season shrimp with paprika, salt, and pepper. Add in 1 clove of diced garlic. Let cook until shrimp is pink and fully cooked. 4. Put taco shells in oven for 3-5 minutes until warm. 5. Once shrimp is done, turn off heat. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the shrimp and stir. 6. Add the shrimp inside the 3 hard taco shells. Add 10g of Mango Peach Salsa (purchased from Sam's Club, I've seen similar salsas at Walmart and Foodlion) and 10g of sour cream to each one. For less calories, you can use fat free sour cream. Enjoy! Total macros for all 3: 49p/16f/33c Total calories for all 3: 472 (You can use soft tortillas instead of hard shell, but macros will be different) Adjust portions as necessary to suit your macros needs!  IIFYM or "if it fits your macros" is a flexible dieting style that allows for eating the foods you enjoy and still progressing with your fitness goals, whether that's fat loss or muscle gain. Basically you can eat whatever you'd like- in moderation of course.
In order to meet your macro goals, you still will have to eat whole foods. More than likely, it would be difficult to meet your macros without eating whole foods. This is not a junk food diet, but it does allow for treats in your diet. The point of IIFYM is to avoid food restrictions. Restricting certain food groups is unnecessary and what often causes people to lose control and binge once their "diet" is over. IIFYM is more sustainable for most people. It is recommended that at least 80 percent of your consumption come from whole foods. Macros (short for macronutrients) are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; you track your intake of macros while following IIFYM. Eating enough protein preserves muscle mass, fat assists with hormonal health, and carbs are used for performance and energy. Macros makeup calories, so tracking your macros is just advanced calorie counting. You can achieve weight loss by caloric deficit alone, but tracking macros can help achieve better body composition and increased energy. Low carb is not necessary to achieve fat loss. Neither is avoiding certain foods. Yes, you can have bread, white rice, white potatoes. Just meet your macros. Using an app like MyFitness Pal will be very helpful. Weigh your food on a food scale (this is important) and enter your portions into MyFitness Pal. The app shows you exactly how many grams of each macro you have eaten. Make sure to look at the grams NOT percentages. Planning ahead is very important. Planning your meals ahead of time will help keep you on track and consistent. 🔹I created a meal planning guide to help macro newbies- if you want a copy, subscribe to my blog and I'll send it to you.🔹 Focus on the basics and remain consistent. Hit your macros and exercise. It does not matter how many times a day you eat. Doesn't really matter when you workout. Preference and adherence is what matters! Need your macros calculated? Get them here. Be sure to join my free Intermittent Fasting & Flexible Dieting Facebook Group! I often have people who are struggling to achieve the body they want ask how to lose fat. These are the five most important things you want to focus on when trying to lose fat: 1. Calorie Deficit. You will NOT lose weight without a calorie deficit. You must burn more calories than you consume. People often ask what they should eat to lose weight. Well it really doesn't matter too much. What people should be asking is how much they should be eating. Eat whatever fits your preferences, as long as it keeps you in a deficit. 2. Adequate Protein. Calorie deficit is the number one thing to focus on for weight loss. The thing is, weight includes water, fat, and muscle. To preserve as much muscle as possible and lose more fat, you need to consume sufficient protein. You want to be sure you eat enough protein, especially while in a calorie deficit. 3. Strength Training. Strength Training is important, even during the fat loss phase, because it helps maintain muscle mass. There's no such thing as "tone"; "tone" is muscle. Unless you want to achieve a skinny fat look, keep lifting those weights. 4. High NEAT or Some Cardio. What is NEAT? It stands for Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. To achieve high NEAT, you just need to keep moving: take the stairs instead of elevator, bike instead of drive, daily step goal, etc. This will keep you burning more calories through the day. Walking on the treadmill after lifting or doing some form of cardio will help increase calories out also. Is cardio necessary? No. However, in addition to increasing calorie burn, it's also good to do some cardio for general health. 5. Overall Consistency. You have to continue doing these things consistently to achieve results. Don't give up after a week. Progress takes time. Do you have to be perfect? Nope. But you want to stay on track a majority of the time and eventually the changes will come! Now, if you want to know some things that AREN'T necessary for fat loss, read this ➡ http://ariellecrumblefitness.com/…/weight-loss-advice-you-can…   If you're looking for a high protein low calorie meal, this may be it! I prefer eating my meals versus drinking a protein shake. This waffle is very macro friendly and easy to make. Here's what you need:
Waffle 40g Whey protein (unflavored or vanilla ) 12g Sugar free & Fat free cheesecake jello mix 1 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1 Whole egg 1-2 tbsp Water Toppings Strawberries Sugar free syrup Start by turning on your waffle maker so it can heat up. Take all dry ingredients and mix together in a bowl. Add in vanilla extract, egg, then stir in water until you have a batter consistency. Coat your waffle make with non-stick spray and pour in the batter. Cook until waffle is done. Top waffle with strawberries and sugar free syrup. I like lots of strawberries so I use about 100 to 150g and then pour over 45g of sugar free syrup. Macros for waffle without toppings: (may vary depending on brand of protein) 14g Carbs 7g Fat 36g Protein 263 Calories  Whether somewhere on the internet, at the gym, or in a supplement store, I'm sure you've heard someone raving about their BCAA supplement. But what does science say about the usefulness of BCAAs? Well first, lets talk briefly about what BCAAs are. Protein is made up of amino acids. BCAA stands for branched chain amino acids. There are 9 essential amino acids, but BCAA refers to the three amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Since your body cannot produce BCAAs on its own, yes, you do need to consume them; HOWEVER, that does not mean you need to purchase supplements. BCAAs are found in foods such as chicken, fish, eggs, lentils... pretty much most protein sources. As long as you're getting adequate protein, you're getting enough BCAAs. So you may be thinking, "what if I don't get adequate protein?" My suggestion for that is to supplement with whey protein. Whey protein provides all 9 essential amino acids, therefore, would be the more optimal choice [1.]. What about the other benefits of BCAA powders though? The other fabulous things you've heard that BCAA supplement powders can do are probably false or exaggerated.. 1. Some people think they are useful while fasted or while doing fasted training. Sorry, but they aren't. Many people who do Intermittent Fasting believe they are going to lose muscle if they don't take BCAAs. Skipping a meal isn't going to kill your gains. Again, get in your protein in your eating window and you will be fine- No BCAAs necessary. Whether you train fasted or not makes no difference in body composition; you still don't need the BCAAs. [2,3,6,7} 2. Oh, by the way, if you are supplementing with BCAAs, you aren't fasting. For some odd reason, it is believed that BCAAs are calorie free, which is NOT the case. So for those of who chug these gallon jugs with BCAAs while "fasted"... yea, you're not fasted. BCAAs actually have around 6 calories per gram [4]. So for one scoop of BCAA powder, you're consuming approximately 60 calories (even though your nutrition label most likely says 0, or negligible calories). Loopholes in the FDA regulations allow manufacturers to list BCAAs as zero calories [5].  3. Another reason some people take them is because they believe taking them while training is beneficial and can improve performance. There is no scientific evidence that supports this claim. BCAA supplementation does not increase performance, strength, or athletic ability in any way. [6,8,9]
4.. A lot of people take BCAAs thinking it will cause fat loss, while some think it will promote extra muscle growth. The only way to lose fat is with a caloric deficit. Ingesting additional calories isn't going to magically make you lose extra fat. To build muscle, yes protein plays a major role; but science does not support the claim that BCAAs increase or speed up muscle gain. [7,10,11] The Bottom Line To put it simply just consume adequate protein daily. If you need to supplement to get sufficient protein, use a complete source such as whey. Science says there is no added benefit to taking a BCAA supplement when you hit your protein goal. Save that money and use towards your grocery bill. References 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22451437 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27175106 3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25429252/ 4. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/52/5/770.abstract 5. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.36 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15930475 7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110810 8. http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/5/2/36 9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18974721 10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28444456 11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815 |
AuthorArielle is a certified fitness trainer, certified sports nutritionist, fitness enthusiast, and bikini competitor who has been involved in fitness since 2011. She also is studying for her Doctorate of Health Science in Nutrition and Exercise Science. Archives
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