January 27, 2020

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5 Reasons Your Body Love Carbs

Would it be sweet to enjoy carbs and be lean 365 days a year?

This doesn’t have to be such an unusual concept.

Activity + nutrients + recovery = fit body.

Most active people can thrive on a balanced diet that includes plenty of fats, proteins, and yes, CARBS!

I’m here to give you a brief list of the benefits of various food known for containing high carbohydrates.

1. Some of the best fiber in the world comes from foods high in carbohydrates.

Various types of beans, lentils, and peas are very high in fiber. Berries like raspberries contain significant amounts of fiber. These foods also provide most of their calories from carbohydrate sources and that isn’t a bad thing. Keep reading for more.

2. Fiber is an extremely important energy source for anti-aging purposes.

I just wrote, “anti-aging,” in the title for more effect.

The truth is that all cells benefit from the energy extracted from fiber. It’s true that our human cells are unable to extract and absorb energy from fiber, but that is actually a good thing because it allows the gut microbiota to break down and utilize the fiber.

As a result, beneficial bacteria in the gut can convert fiber into short-chain fatty acids that can be used as energy directly within the human cells.

I believe that fiber is one of the key elements for fat loss because it’s a nutrient that provides no calories in the traditional sense, yet it gives valuable cellular energy provided through bacterial fermentation that occurs inside the gut. Furthermore, this energy is particularly beneficial in the organs and brain so that the systems in the body can operate functionally.

3. Genetic expression is altered through nutrition.

Fiber impacts your genes, yes.

Components of dietary fiber may influence gene expression indirectly through changes in hormonal signaling, mechanical stimuli, and metabolites produced by the intestinal microflora. In addition, consumption of water-soluble fibers may lead to changes in gene expression mediated through indirect mechanisms that influence transcription rates. In the large intestine, short-chain fatty acids, including butyric acid, are produced by microflora. Butyric acid can indirectly influence gene expression.

Let’s look at cranberries for more:

Cranberries possess a distinctive composition of phenolic compounds, including three classes of flavonoids (flavonoids, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanidins), catechins and an assortment of phenolic acids that induce various biological effects, such as antioxidant, enzyme activity modulation, and gene expression regulating effect.

4. Carbs before a workout can make your workout better and help you feel improved mood afterwards.

It makes sense that if you fuel a high intensity workout with something that includes carbohydrates, you’ll have more energy to be productive during the workout. You might be able to do something you’ve never done before. Then after the workout, you feel great. You go have a nutrient dense meal with balanced carbs, fats, and protein and you recover your body.

You burn fat while you sleep.

5. Carbohydrates are delicious.

I read a story about a tribe of people who would go hunting for animal meat and they were very serious about it. They would be stalking some animal in the jungle, forest, or plains and then somebody would notice the buzzing of a bee. All of a sudden, they forget about the animal and go hunt for the honey because that was more valuable to them.

Honey: The O.G. Carb. Don’t let refined sugar replace this nutritional badass.

There are obvious survival reasons for why humans have developed a taste for the sweet. Truthfully, not many experiences in life are more enjoyable than having the flavors and sweetness of foods dancing in your mouth. I acknowledge that.

I would never expect somebody to stop enjoying food just to get lean and ripped abs. I’m here to tell you that there is a balance that can be achieved and that healthy food can be delicious with a little bit of planning and creativity. The more practice you get at preparing healthy food, the more you can look forward to eating that which actually nourishes you.

In Carbclusion,

Carbohydrate containing foods support health of the gut microbiome, promote healthy inflammatory response, provide nourishment of the cells, and may even promote anti-aging.

Quality is everything when it comes to carbs, and portions are also important. The best part of carbohydrates for people looking to burn fat is definitely fiber. The fiber helps to make you feel more satiated while still giving the cells plenty of energy via bacterial metabolites.

Antioxidants are the next best component of foods containing carbs. It’s important to maintain healthy levels of inflammation (not too much, not too little) because if the inflammation is too high, then disease is more likely. For disease to exist in your body, there must be inflammation. Consuming antioxidant-rich carbohydrates is beneficial for managing inflammation.

Follow the blog for more on fitness, nutrition, and more.

I’ll keep writing, you keep coming.

January 20, 2020

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Transformation and 5 Big Reasons Body Composition Matters

I quit dieting in 2010.

Have you realized that some things were just so temporary, ill-fated and too futile to continue doing?

For me, the thought going on a diet is rarer than the thought of me eating candy or drinking soda. You would really have to search and dig deep to find any reason for me to go on a diet. Maybe, you could pay me to go on a diet.

Lifestyle & Environment are keys to unlocking meaningful health.

No longer is it, “You are what you eat,” because now the phrase is, “You are what you absorb.”

Even more, components of our intake that we do not absorb either needs to be processed by the digestive system and detoxified otherwise undigested nutrients could become a serious harm. In truth, you’ll never get the results you want without supporting the gut and digestive process in some way.

Reasons to Care about Body Composition.

I wanted to provide some background motivation for people who are interested in transformation, especially as it relates to body composition, muscle hypertrophy, and the slimming of adipose cells.

1. Adipose tissue, otherwise known as body fat, can disrupt the hormonal system and cause inflammation.

Body fat is not simply a caloric storage unit. Body fat is much more complex than that. Body fat is part of the endocrine system and is contributes to inflammatory and metabolic diseases due to the inflammatory hormones it releases.

Excess adipose tissue = excess inflammation = onset of metabolic diseases = painful pathway to death.

2. Muscles are essential to quality of life.

Strong, balanced muscles are a blessing to all those who wish to enjoy quality movement and an upright posture. We don’t often appreciate our muscles until we get injured or lose function somehow. Becoming older does not mean you have to suffer from a bad back, hips, knees, or shoulders.

Muscles support the body and can take a lot of the stress off of your joints. Muscles can store carbohydrates in addition to the plethora of amino acids in muscles. Muscles can be broken down into essential nutrients to support brain function in times of need.

Furthermore, muscles can atrophy and muscles can hypertrophy in hours or days. Because our bodies can regenerate muscle cells so quickly, they are greatly affected by the nutrients we ingest on a daily basis.

3. More muscle = more bone mineral density.

Along with strenuous physical activity, bones are encouraged to store valuable minerals which not only makes the bone stronger, but also regulates crucial features of human metabolism.

For example, the minerals in bone regulate human pH so that if you consume something highly acidic like soda, your body will actually pull calcium from the bones in order to balance the acidity of the soda.

People who drink a lot of soda or consume a lot of sugar are more likely to get osteoporosis.

Other foods may be acidic and contains acids, but due to the minerals are actually more alkaline forming in the body. For example, lemon juice contains minerals that nourish the body, while soda contains ingredients that deplete the body.

4. You get to make choices in how you will eventually perish and what your end of days will look like.

We will all die, that’s a fact. Knowing that I will die one day gives me courage to love today. However, there is a big difference between dying from preventable diseases in your 60’s and 70’s vs living an active lifestyle into your 90’s.

People who are in their 20’s and 30’s are trending to experience diseases earlier and more frequently than the baby boomers did during their 40’s and 50’s. If you consume the standard, mainstream food products and eat food mostly for coping… well let’s just say be glad you are reading this now, because transformation is on the horizon.

By caring about your body composition, you will be able to stand tall and proud, and you will be able to set an example for your grandchildren and your great grandchildren.

5. Confidence and physical appeal.

In my experience, true confidence does not come from having a nice body. True confidence comes from accomplishments and overcoming challenges.

How can you turn your challenges into opportunities to help yourself and others?

Barriers are a gift. Barriers and obstacles are what you wash away or transform into something more meaningful and productive for you. We generally need some sort of suffering or misery in order to transcend quickly. All thoughts can be reframed and all questions can be asked in different ways.

Are you willing to transform yourself from deep within?

Transformation is about your relationship to nature, the planet, and the universe.

Do you dare to consume the freshest foods?

Are you able to stay hydrated instead of reaching for the depleting can of diet soda?

Can you fathom enjoying the temporary feeling of hunger?

Would you be willing to accept that you need to develop a new, greater awareness of yourself in order to move forward?

Everything is connected.

You, me, the air and the trees.

There is no nothing, there is always something.

All things happen for a reason.

BE THE REASON!

Thanks for reading and make sure to hit the follow button for new updates.

Body Composition disease prevention Fitness Nutrition, Immunity, and Digestion Orangetheory Seattle

September 7, 2019September 7, 2019

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WARNING: Don’t Go Blind with THIS Eating Strategy

A heartbreaking headline crossed the screens recently.

“Teenager goes blind from years-long diet of french fries, potato chips and white bread!”

I am sorry!

Science Says: Eating nothing but fries, potato chips, and white bread can make you go blind.

Apparently the doctors and people around him said that he looked healthy and no visual factors indicated that he was in serious condition.

You Can’t Judge a person’s health by their appearance alone!

Behavior is another important way to understand the potential health consequences occurring within a body. The behavior of selectively avoiding anything fresh or colorful in an eating habit could lead to dire consequences, such as blindness!

I have seen people in larger bodies do amazing things in a fitness setting and my experiences in fitness have led me to believe that you can be healthy and fit in so many different shapes and sizes.

That being said, you can also be unhealthy and unfit in so many ways too. Therefore, we should all strive to attain regular consumption of fresh greens and also veggies of the colorful variety because doing so can possibly lead to healthy normal function in all systems of the body.

Essential nutrients may be essential to living, while non-essential nutrients may be essential to well-being.

Personally, I love the feeling after I eat the Red Chard vegetable leaves, for example. Lately, I have been placing a layer of pico de gallo sauerkraut on top of the boiled red chard and the taste is quite palatable.

To me, these are beautiful red chard leaves and I would probably boil them at home in my own comfort.

One reason I love red chard is because it provides many of the benefits of beets without the sugars. The red antioxidant can be strongly present in the veins of the chard leaves (if rainbow chard, you get more variety of antioxidant). The nutrients found within the green leaves also help to promote healthy blood sugar so that my body has the incentive to keep overall fat-mass on the healthy side.

Key Takeaway: Blindness is Caused by a Junk Food Diet.

Seriously, eat your damn vegetables. I have to tell myself this over and over. Trust me, I don’t want to eat vegetables every day.

Unfortunately for me, I have been in settings where I have seen the consequences of poor eating and I have witnessed a quality of life that I never wish for anybody.

Food literally interacts with our DNA and genetic expression. This processed environment that we often ingest is too over-stimulating for our bodies to handle, and may be strongly related to obesity, heart disease, cancer and more.

You may be able to change your life with nutritionally motivated eating

I will have more articles about how to use food for disease prevention coming up. Of course, I am still very interested in using nutrition for keeping body fat at healthy levels so there will be more content related to that as well.

News & Current Events Nutrition, Immunity, and Digestion

June 10, 2019

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Five Things Trainers are thinking while coaching your group fitness workout.

Coaches are thinking a lot of things during a session.

Here are five to share with you today.

1. What is that smell?

Actually, this is not the case much of the time. Probably because I get used to it and don’t notice it much anymore. I know most people would prefer not to pass gas during a class but sometimes it’s accidental or they need release badly. Bless everybody, I’m sure we all have a story!

2. Safety is priority.

My priority is to execute the workout in a safe, highly effective and fun way. That means keeping an eye out for neutral spines and opportunity to improve the upper back mobility of an individual.

3. I am impressed by people’s efforts and also need to know who needs some love.

I try to think about how every person has had a different day so far coming into this workout. For some people, we’re working out at 5 AM. For other people, we’re at 5:30 PM. I want people to know that I am amazed by their efforts and I want to validate all of your accomplishments.

4. Put the group first, so that they can put their best selves first.

The nice thing about Orangetheory Fitness or group workouts is that even though you are in a group atmosphere, you can often work at your own pace and feel that you are truly getting our own workout. That’s why I am invested in how the group is working effectively towards success.

Scroll for another one.

5. Stay in the moment.

Even though it is tempting to think about what you are doing that Saturday night, it’s unfair to the other people if you’re not thinking about them. Staying focused on other people can truly be your gift or your passion because of the value that it provides.

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Blog & Personality Fitness Orangetheory Fitness Seattle Orangetheory Seattle

May 27, 2019May 27, 2019

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Top 10 Benefits of Having Low Body Fat

Here are some benefits of getting down to a lower body fat that might help you stay focused this year.

Benefits of Low Body Fat Percentage:

1. Exercises become less challenging and you become more capable.

When your body is functioning in a lean condition, every movement requires less power than before because now you have decreased excess body fat.

Everything from running, jumping, to burpees and even squatting become less challenging to perform. As a result, you will be able to do more volume, run faster, jump higher, and you will need to add additional resistance to exercises like squats because you have already overcome your bodyweight.

2. Clothes fit better.

I am assuming that you are also working out, not simply dieting to lose body fat. Due to your exercise, you should have some lean muscle to fill out the contours of your clothing while having a V-shape torso for the men and hourglass figure for the women.

3. More confidence in your appearance.

Even though having low body fat does not mean you will magically have more confidence, there is a good chance that you will gain confidence from all of the challenges that you had to overcome and also from being able to standing up tall due to your superior posture and presentation.

These benefits can definitely help with your dating life/marriage and your professional life as you have interactions that are no longer dragged down by issues of confidence and self-esteem.

4. You will probably live longer.

Unfortunately, most people will get diseases at some point. For you, the low-body fat individual, these diseases may be delayed much further than the average person. So while some people may be getting major illnesses in their 50’s and 60’s, the person with lower body fat has a better chance of sticking it out until the 80’s and 90’s and beyond before succumbing to some inevitable fate.

Basically, people with lower body fat are likely to have an additional 20-30 years of quality of life than people who eat the Standard American Diet every day.

5. Society treats you better.

Not something that is ideal, but something that is common. People who have a fitter appearance are perceived to be more attractive and of higher social status. With low body fat, people are likely to make positive assumptions about you such as ability to have discipline, a healthy social/dating life, and better career options.

6. Increased athleticism.

Being athletic is not reserved for people who play sports all of the time. You can become quite athletic through structured training regimens and also by decreasing your body fat at the same time.

With lower body fat, you will be able to move your body more efficiently and possibly have more impact for yourself or for your team.

7. You may have less inflammation in the body.

Body fat CAUSES inflammation. When a person has excessive body fat, it actually increases the release of inflammatory cytokines in the body and makes it even harder to burn fat.

The best way to manage inflammation is through healthy nutritional and lifestyle choices.

8. The older you get, the more rare and special you will be.

People in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, or beyond who have low body fat and healthy muscle tone are a rarity. Having low body fat into the middle and older ages is a sign of health, status, and overall discipline. If this is you, congratulations because you are seen as being more attractive and desirable for many social reasons.

9. You have more confidence in your body.

You can take your shirt off now. The beach? No problem. The pool? No problem. You might even start showing off subtlety or explicitly. Physical confidence can be fun, exciting, and alluring. And the best part is that you know that you earned it.

10. Your life is priceless.

If you are lean and fit, it is worth more than any sports car or any mansion or any material item. Having your health, physically and mentally, is something that should never be taken for granted. You could lose it today. So go out and do some good with your lean self.

You must NEVER fat-shame others.

My fit friends, fat shaming is unacceptable just as fit-shaming is. You never know a story of a person until they actually share it with you. I don’t think that having a lean body is the ultimate goal for everybody nor should it be. The pursuit of health is more important than having ripped abs — therefore we must support our fellow people no matter their shape, size, age, or any other criteria related to appearance.