 I LOVE eating pasta, but all the calories in the creamy sauces can really add up. I decided to make my own creamy, thick, cheesy sauce that was macro friendly. It was so good, I had to share!
Here's what you need: 4 oz. fat free cream cheese 1/2 cup skim milk 15 g butter 5 g grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 tsp garlic salt 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning 1/8 tsp pepper Directions: Heat up cream cheese and butter in sauce pan on low to medium for approximately 3-5 minutes. Stir in skim milk and continue to heat until sauce is warm. Add Parmesan and other seasonings. Stir/whisk sauce until well blended. Macros: 22 g protein 9 g fat 22 g carbohydrates 257 calories These macros are for the entire recipe. Enjoy!
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 When trying to lose weight, you may come across a lot of information online or from friends telling you the "fastest and best" way to lose weight and get shredded. They'll say "x" method is better and burns more fat or that you must eat "x" to lose weight.
But which information is useful and which isn't? Sometimes having too much info can be confusing and overwhelming. Since it can be difficult to weed out unnecessary information, I'll tell you right here what you can ignore and why. 1. "Do fasted cardio. It burns more fat!" No. It. Does. Not. Fasted cardio does not burn more fat nor is it more advantageous than fed cardio. There is nothing wrong with performing fasted cardio; I like fasted cardio personally. However, there is no research that concludes it is better. Some people have better performance and a more intense workout when they are fed. If this is the case and you feel worse working out fasted, you may actually expend fewer calories by doing so. For this reason, it IS recommended to do cardio whichever way your prefer: fasted or fed. [1] 2. "You should cut out carbs because they make you fat." Cutting out carbs is completely unnecessary. Carbs do not make you fat, excess calories do [2]. If you are eating in a caloric deficit, you will lose fat whether your carbs are low or high. There is no possible way you will gain fat, in a caloric deficit. That would defy the Laws of Thermodynamics. Low carb will not cause any faster or additional fat loss [3]. If low carb is your preference, then by all means, go for it. But if the thought of giving up carbs makes you cringe, then don't. Stick to a caloric deficit, get enough protein, and you will progress. It's unnecessary to restrict specific foods. It's the quantity of food that matters. You can gain weight eating low carb, or even eating only "clean" foods if you're eating too much. A sustainable plan is best because adherence and consistency is what produces results. I prefer a flexible dieting approach. You can get your macros to start flexible dieting, or IIFYM, here. 3. "Try to keep your insulin low. If it spikes, you can't burn fat!" This is so false, it makes me cringe. Your body only stores fat in a caloric surplus. If you eat in a caloric deficit, you will lose fat regardless of insulin levels [4]. One can have low levels of insulin and gain fat or high levels of insulin and lose fat. Insulin does not inhibit fat burning. Your insulin will pretty much spike any time you eat. Most people know that carbs will spike insulin, but protein is actually responsible for higher insulin levels. People will recommend eating foods lower on the Glycemic Index [5], but it's really irrelevant. Deficit = weight loss. 4. "You should carb cycle, it'll really shred fat!" While you can effectively lose fat while carb cycling, it isn't a necessity. It won't speed up fat loss. Carb cycling may be beneficial for those who want to eat more on training days and don't mind eating less on rest days. For beginners, carb cycling may be confusing and frustrating. Some people may enjoy a more simplistic, yet effective approach, You can achieve the same results with consistent macros that don't cycle. How, you ask? Well if you keep macros the same, lets say you eat 200g daily, then at the end of the week you will have eaten 1400g of carbs. Now lets say you carb cycle and eat 300g three times a week, 100g three times a week, and 200g once a week. That's still 1400g carbs per week. This is why results will be the same. Either way works, so do what you prefer. 5. "Eat this, take this- it'll burn belly fat!" Sorry, no specific food or pill will target and burn fat. Also detoxes are scams (unless you don't have a functioning liver) and do not cause weight loss [6]. Not much else to say in regards to that... 6. "You should eat every 3 hours to speed up your metabolism." Your metabolism doesn't work that way. Meal timing or meal frequency over the course of a day isn't going to change your metabolism. It does not matter if you eat once a day or six times a day. Eating more often will not induce additional fat burning or faster metabolism. This is why people are able to lose weight while doing intermittent fasting. [7] To achieve weight loss, the following should be your primary focus: a. Eat less calories than you burn. About 20-25% below your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is sufficient. b. Exercise. Do you have to exercise to lose weight? No. But you should. Great for your health and will help achieve your physique goals. c. Move more often. Take the stairs, take your kids to the park, walk on your lunch break. This will help burn a few more calories through the day. There's really no other tricks or secrets to weight loss. Just have to be consistent in your efforts and the results will come. References 1. Schoenfeld, B. J., Aragon, A. A., Wilborn, C. D., Krieger, J. W., & Sonmez, G. T. (2014). Body composition changes associated with fasted versus non-fasted aerobic exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11, 54. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-014-0054-7 2. Strasser, B., Spreitzer, A., & Haber, P. (2007). Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 51(5), 428-432. 3. Sacks, F. M., Bray, G. A., Carey, V. J., Smith, S. R., Ryan, D. H., Anton, S. D., … Williamson, D. A. (2009). Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates. The New England Journal of Medicine, 360(9), 859–873. http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa0804748 4.http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-7-insulin-and-thinking-better/insulin-an-undeserved-bad-reputation/ 5. Raatz, S. K., Torkelson, C. J., Redmon, J. B., Reck, K. P., Kwong, C. A., Swanson, J. E., ... & Bantle, J. P. (2005). Reduced glycemic index and glycemic load diets do not increase the effects of energy restriction on weight loss and insulin sensitivity in obese men and women. The Journal of nutrition, 135(10), 2387-2391. 6. https://examine.com/nutrition/detoxes-an-undefined-scam/ 7. Bellisle, F., McDevitt, R. and Prentice, A.M. (1997) ‘Meal frequency and energy balance’, British Journal of Nutrition, 77(S1), pp. S57–S70. doi: 10.1079/BJN19970104.  Intermittent Fasting, or IF, is becoming more and more popular. IF is when you only eat within a 10 hour or less eating window through the day. During the other 14+ hours, you do not eat or drink any calories. You can choose whatever time frame and time of day that is convenient for you. Many choose to do at least 16:8 (16 fasting hour, 8 eating hours). Also commonly used is 14:10, 18:6, 20:4, and 23:1.
There is also alternate day fasting, or ADF, which can consist of 5:2 (5 days of maintenance calories and 2 very low calories fasting days) or 4:3 (4 maintenance days and 3 very low calorie days). Generally, low calorie days consist of 500-600 calories. Ideally, you should stick to the same time of day so that you can adapt to fasting. Overtime, your ghrelin (hunger hormone) will adjust and you will not have as much of an appetite outside of your eating window. Choose the time frame that works best for you. I prefer to eat from noon to 8pm; I skip breakfast, eat lunch, and eat a big meal with lots of carbs prior to bed to fuel my workouts in the morning since I workout fasted. (No, it is not necessary or better to workout fasted (1) and carbs at night don't make you fat (2)). During your fasting hours, zero calories should be consumed. Calories break your fast. You can, however, have water and other zero calorie drinks such as black coffee (NOT bulletproof, as it contains hundreds of calories), diet soda (no, it won’t make you fat or sick (3,4), tea, and sparkling water. You can add zero calorie sweeteners to your beverages, if needed. Do not drink BCAAs during your fast. They are NOT calorie free. Yes, your label is wrong. BCAAs are approximately 6 calories per gram which can equate to about 55 to 65 calories per scoop. Not only do they break your fast, they are unnecessary. Eating adequate protein during your eating window will provide you all the BCAAs you need (5.6) IF does not work on its own for weight loss. There is no extra fat burning component. If you eat 1500 calories while IF, you will get the same results as if you ate 1500 without IF. It is simply a tool used for adherence to your calorie goals. If your goal is weight loss, you must eat in a caloric deficit (7). If you want to gain weight/muscle, you need to be in a caloric surplus. This is why I practice IIFYM in conjunction with IF. So what are the benefits of IF you ask? For me there are quite a few:
For those who are overweight, IF tends to help with staying in a caloric deficit; caloric restriction causes weight loss which improves health markers. Caloric deficit will result in autophagy, improved insulin sensitivity, and fat loss. Other than health benefits derived from caloric restriction, there are no other proven health benefits- at least none in humans yet. But is IF harmful? No (8). Unless you are consistently under eating for extended periods, there should be no adverse effects on health or hormones. You’re probably wondering if your metabolism will slow since you won’t be eating every 2 to 3 hours. No, it won’t. That is another myth. You don’t boost your metabolism by eating more often and it won’t slow down by eating less often. Meal timing/frequency does not affect metabolism (2). Some may be wondering about the effects IF may have on muscle retention or growth. You can build muscle with IF. As long as you get adequate protein and do some strength training, you can preserve or grow muscle. I get all of my protein in two meals. Don’t worry about protein being discarded if in excess of 30g in one sitting; this is another myth (9). IF is a great tool to have in your arsenal. Personally, I do 16:8 daily and believe it is great to use in combination with IIFYM. For more info or support, join the official IF & Flexible Dieting Facebook group --> https://www.facebook.com/groups/IFandIIFYM References 1. Schoenfeld, B. J., Aragon, A. A., Wilborn, C. D., Krieger, J. W., & Sonmez, G. T. (2014). Body composition changes associated with fasted versus non-fasted aerobic exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11, 54. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-014-0054-7 2. Bellisle, F., McDevitt, R. and Prentice, A.M. (1997) ‘Meal frequency and energy balance’, British Journal of Nutrition, 77(S1), pp. S57–S70. doi: 10.1079/BJN19970104. 3. Grotz VL and Munro IC (2009). An overview of the safety of sucralose. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19464334 4. Marjorie L McCullough,* Lauren R Teras, Roma Shah, W Ryan Diver, Mia M Gaudet, and Susan M Gapstur. Artificially and Sugar-Sweetened Carbonated Beverage Consumption Is Not Associated with Risk of Lymphoid Neoplasms in Older Men and Women 1–3. The Journal of Nutrition. October 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25342696 5. Dieter, B. P., Schoenfeld, B. J., & Aragon, A. A. (2016). The data do not seem to support a benefit to BCAA supplementation during periods of caloric restriction. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 13, 21. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0128-9 6. Balage M, and Dardevet D. (2010). Long-term effects of leucine supplementation on body composition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110810 7. Strasser, B., Spreitzer, A., & Haber, P. (2007). Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 51(5), 428-432. 8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26384657 9. https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-can-i-eat-in-one-sitting/ |
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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