Introducing Your New Fitness Friend: MyFitnessPal

Do you know what starts on March 1?  National Nutrition Month®!  This is an annual event sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  The goal of this campaign is to make us more aware of the importance of knowing what we eat, making informed food choices and developing lifelong nutrition and physical activity habits that will support our efforts to be fit for life.

So, let me ask you a question.  How aware are you of what you eat every day?  Do you know how many calories per day you eat?  How many grams of protein, fat, carbohydrate or sodium?  Ok, many of you don't give a hoot about the numbers.  Bottom line is do you have a healthy nutrition plan? If not, why not?

In my opinion, you can't make meaningful assessments without the right tools. Over the years I have tried as many Fitness and Nutrition apps (Windows based and iOS) as time and money would allow, hoping to find that one app that would transform my ability to track my own health and one that my clients can use.  I found this in MyFitnessPal.

Many of you may already be familiar with MyFitnessPal.  It is a free app that runs on Window, iOS and Android platforms. It is highly mobile and incredibly user friendly.  No, I'm not sponsored by MyFitnessPal :-)  I just recognize the value of a good tool and want to encourage you to learn more about your own fitness and nutrition by using the tracking tool in MFP.  The other wonderful feature about MyFitnessPal is that once you have created your profile you can invite friends to follow you or submit requests to "friend" other MyFitnessPal users.  This will allow you to use this platform to leave encouraging messages for those you friend or to follow their diary (or have them follow yours).  You may soon feel that you have a crowd of virtual cheerleaders helping keep you motivated to get fit, eat well and develop habits that you will sustain for the long term.  MFP also integrates with a variety of activity tracking devices, has an integrated bar code scanning tool that smartphone users can leverage and lots of other "perks"!  It's 100% mobile so there is no excuse not to maintain your log, even when you're on the road.  I've created a 20 slide presentation on MFP Basics that I'm happy to share if you send me your email address.   

What's my ask with this post?  If you have never kept a nutrition and fitness journal find a new fitness friend and give MyFitnessPal a try. If you're already using MyFitnessPal or another app, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.  

References
MyFitnessPal: www.myfitnesspal.com
Reviews of Popular Nutrition Apps: http://www.eatright.org/Media/content.aspx?id=6442467041#.US6_ejCcfTQ
National Nutrition Month: http://www.eatright.org/NNM/#

Flourless Chocolate Shakeology Cake

First disclaimer.  I am not a cook.  I like to take recipes and find ways to make them healthier.  Oh, and another disclaimer, I am not a photographer.  This cake looks much nicer than my photo depicts.  I had asked my challenge team for some suggestions re: what they were going to cook their honey on Valentine's Day.  I wanted to offer this up to the team as an option that should fit into their healthy lifestyle.  

Ingredients

½ cup pureed sweet potato                
3 eggs, beaten

2 packets chocolate Shakeology
1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Prepare Sweet Potatoes the same day or several days prior

Cook sweet potatoes in oven until soft

Puree entire potato in blender until smooth (this is why I love my Vitamix)

Portion into small containers and freeze unless you will be using to cook/eat same day

 Cooking time and prep time depends on size and number of sweet potatoes.  Use standard cooking instructions.

Cake Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease an 8" round pan and dust with cocoa powder.

Beat the eggs in a bowl.  Add the vanilla and continue beating

Stir in 2 packets of chocolate Shakeology.  Mix well.

Add sweet potato puree and mix until all ingredients thoroughly moistened and no lumps.

Pour into prepared pan.

 Cook for 30 min, remove and cool for 10 minutes.

Remove from pan onto serving plate and let cool completely.

You can serve this warm or cold.  Top with fresh fruit.  You can also whip some cream and add a packet of Tropical Strawberry Shakeology and drizzle over the top for a creamy and fruity flavor.

Number of Servings: 8

Nutritional Information (MyFitnessPal): 

Ingredients	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fiber	Sodium
Shakeology Chocolate Vegan Meal Replacement Packet - Meal Replacement Shake, 2 packet	340	32	44	6	10	430
Eggland's Best - Extra Large Eggs, 3 egg	240	21	0	14	0	225
Generic - Sweet Potato Puree, 1/2 cup	130	3	30	0	0	0
Kirkland Signature - Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp (5ml)	6	0	0	0	0	0
Spices - Cinnamon, ground, 1 tsp	6	0	2	0	1	1

	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fiber	Sodium
Total:	722	56	76	20	11	656
Per Serving:	90	7	10	3	1	82

Fiber Challenge

Do you know how much fiber you eat a day?  Do you know the daily recommended fiber intake for your age and gender?  I was a little shocked to see that I was not meeting my daily target on a consistent basis.  So, I decided to incorporate eating more fiber into one of the Wellness Challenges I am sponsoring in February.

Fiber is present in plant foods and legumes.  There are two types of fiber:  soluble fiber partially dissolves in water and insoluble fiber does not. 

Insoluble fiber is what my grandma used to call roughage.  I think of my salads and greens.  Other foods include cucumber, green beans and nuts.  You can find lists of foods and their fiber sources in some of the references below. 

Fiber is known to have many positive health benefits which include (but not limited to): 

• Lowering the levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL or bad cholesterol)
• Helping to regulate blood sugar
• Lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease
• Decreasing the risk of type II diabetes

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends that adults consume approximately 14 grams of fiber per 1000 calories consumed per day.  Using one of many online calculators, you can calculate your recommended fiber intake using formulas that adjust for your age, gender, activity level and estimated caloric requirement.

Foods higher in fiber tend to make you feel full.  Adding fiber to your snack(s) can help your weight management efforts.  Another benefit of dietary fiber is that it is associated with lowering the risk of some cancers, including colorectal cancer and possibly other gastrointestinal cancers. 

On average the recommendation is that women should consume 25 grams of fiber a day and men 38 grams per day.  So why does the average American adult only eat 15 grams of dietary fiber daily?  I don’t have the answer to that.  Even looking at my own diary in MyFitnessPal (www.myfitnesspal.com) there are days when I do not meet the 25 gram threshold.  Hence, the step/fiber challenge. 

If you read this post and decide to try to increase your fiber, do so slowly.  Consuming too much too fast may cause you discomfort (gas, bloating) and some of the effects might not be socially acceptable.  Try to eat foods higher in fiber at each meal and increase your intake about 5 grams per day until you meet your target. 

I'd be interested in hearing from you, especially if you have great tips on how to boost your daily fiber intake using whole foods.

References
Image Reference: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fiber-facts.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber

http://www.nationalfibercouncil.org/index.shtml

http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-fiber-meter

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/fiber-how-much-do-you-need

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fiber-table/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/high-fiber-foods_n_1543165.html#slide=1019360

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/cardiovascular/cholesterol/foods-that-lower-cholesterol2.htm

Positives and Negatives

Positives:  1) I have been blessed this week to have several wonderful things happen.  I’ve relocated my Dad to be closer to me.  We’re still in the adjustment period but being close means the world to me and I’m excited to have him here.  2) I’m finishing up  a month long push-up challenge with a great group of people who I hope have exceeded their own expectations (more in another post) and 3) I’m helping kick off a step challenge with my colleagues that I think will be a great way to get us all thinking about our health.

Negatives:  So, what’s the negative?  I was using this as an introduction to a question that was posed to me earlier today re: negative calorie foods.  I think the negative is that I have no magic bullet for any of us when it comes to weight management.

A negative calorie food is a food product that is deemed to produce a negative caloric balance in that the thermic effect of the food is greater than its food energy content.  In English?  Negative calories foods are believed to take more energy to digest than exist in the food product itself.  Sounds great!  You might think that basing your nutrition plan around the many lists of negative calorie foods that one can find online will help spur your weight loss.  Most of these foods SHOULD be in your nutrition plan anyways:  grapefruit, lemon (in your water), lime, apple, lettuce, celery, broccoli.  These dietary staples have good fiber, low carbohydrates, vitamins, antioxidant properties and can help you feel full.  However, there is no scientific evidence that I am aware of that any of these foods are true “negative calorie foods”.  Moreover, basing your nutrition plan (I don’t like the word “diet”) on this food list alone will not provide you with a balanced plan nor will it be something that you can sustain long-term.  Your goal should be to develop habits and behaviors that contribute to your wellness and are sustainable.  Fad diets aren’t the answer.  They may kick start your weight loss but you need to have a PLAN for sustaining and managing your weight and your health.

I wish weight management were a simple mathematical equation of negatives (energy expenditure) being greater than the positives (nutritional intake).  That is part of it, yes, don’t get me wrong.  However, there are many of you who have been at this for some time know that it is a complex equation.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_calorie_food

http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/expert-insight-article/3/695/do-negative-calorie-foods-really-exist/

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1896439_1896359_1896346,00.html

http://calorie-count.us/negative-calorie-diet/

http://www.naturalnews.com/030912_negative-calorie_foods_burn_fat.html

http://my.dietpower.com/features/negative_calorie_diet.php

Image Credit: http://www.barbellsandbeakers.com/2012/07/04/negative-calorie-and-zero-calorie-foods-dont-exist/

Coca - Buff??

Did you know that obesity is now a larger global health crisis than hunger?

I was traveling this week and I am a little behind on some of the drama in the news.  I first saw the Coca-Cola add earlier this week while I was sitting in the airport.  Now, I generally tend to be a very positive person and try not to question the motivations of others (thinking we're all good, honest people) but this "commercial" in the "interests" of people around the world?  Hmmmmm.   I think I was further irritated after seeing the super-size Coca-Cola water bottles on the judges table on American Idol (it was on while I was in the gym).  I'm a little late to the game with this blog post, but writing is my way of processing information and hopefully to make you think about the issues too.

I applaud Coca-Cola for recognizing that their products help contribute to global obesity and the resulting co-morbid disease that may occur as a result.  However, I interpreted this ad as a bit of shameless advertising to not only protect the flagship name brand (Coca-Cola), but also to encourage us to consume their other products.  I grew up with Coca-Cola but I was fortunate to have parents who did not allow us to indulge excessively.  Coca-Cola was an expense, a nice-to-have and hence it was a treat.  It is sad that today there are places where I can pay less for a can of Coca-Cola than for 12 oz. of milk.  I won't get on my bandwagon about misaligned incentives, but honestly, why does it cost more to make healthy eating choices than to make choices that in the long-term will cost us all more?

While Coca-Cola is part of the problem (and they are not the only company that has stepped forward in the past year), they are positioning themselves as wanting to be part of the solution.....I think.  I just keep asking myself, what's in it for them?

I also need to comment on some of the subtle messaging at the end of the video: "All calories count, no matter where they come from. ... And if you eat and drink more calories than you burn off, you'll gain weight." It is true, calories count, but the negative health impact of Coca-Cola (and other sodas) is from more than just the empty calories.  

Finally, I haven't seen many writers mention the issue of individual accountability, a topic which should be discussed more often as it relates to health and wellness.  No one forces us to drink Coca-Cola; it is a choice.  We have a choice to be responsible for our health and fitness.  You're not going to get "buff" drinking Coca-Cola and I would submit that you won't get buff drinking some of their other "low calorie, low/no-sugar" beverages.  Your Health is a Choice YOU make.  Despite all that Coke, Pepsi and other manufacturers are doing, the bottom line is that as a nation, if we want different outcomes, we have to provide people with the opportunity to make different choices.  


References:
Global Obesity Crisis
Coca-Cola Obesity Add
Huffington Post Article
"Honest" Coca-Cola Obesity Video
The Real Bears
Image:  deserthealthnews.com

Supplement Update: XTEND INTRA-WORKOUT CATALYST

Some of you have wondered about the extra "stuff" you see on my nutrition log on MyFitnessPal.  I can tell you that I have tried many, many supplements over the past 6 years.  What I am taking now I feel is a worthwhile investment in my health and fitness goals and is affordable on my budget.  I can't say it will work for you.  I can't tell you that it's a magic bullet.  I can attest that they are safe, don't cause GI side effects and seem to have helped me gain lean mass (i.e. some muscle) over the years. 

I drink.  I drink ALOT.  Believe it or not though, I don't like plain water.  XTEND was the greatest find for me ever.  It is advertised as an intra-workout catalyst with actual studies to support its efficacy.  Some years ago I contacted Scivation to inquire if it was safe to drink XTEND with all my water and the answer was "yes".  Now, I don't drink without it!!!  Wish I owned some stock :-0  I carry a stash in my computer bag, my food bag, my suitcase, my car......everywhere.  My favorite is Grape Escape but there are many wonderful flavors that you can try.  XTEND is sugar-free and has a blend of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine ang glutamine to help support muscle recovery and protein synthesis (muscle growth).  If you want to give it a try you can purchase a variety pack from the Scivation website (http://www.scivation.com/XTEND.aspx) or from my go-to online nutrition store, Netrition (http://www4.netrition.com/scivation_xtend_new_formula.html).  

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

XTEND Formulation 
• 7000 mg of BCAAs in a research-proven ratio
• 3500 mg of Leucine
• 2500 mg of Glutamine
• 1000 mg of Citrulline Malate
• 1171 mg of Electrolytes
• 640 mcg of Vitamin B6
• Zero Carbohydrates or Sugar