Parents, skip weight talk and focus on eating advice, study suggests !

 Melissa Healy gives us some great advice on how to talk to children about healthy eating and weight!

There's a growing list of things that clearly do NOT work in helping someone who's carrying too much weight trim down. Shaming, teasing and hectoring stand a good chance of backfiring, and it remains to be seen whether treating obesity as a disease -- as the American Medical Assn. voted to do last week -- will induce obese patients to lose weight. But a new study finds that when it comes to adolescents, especially those who are overweight or obese, even talking about diets and weight loss is a counterproductive strategy.

The study, published online first on Monday by the journal JAMA Pediatrics, asked parents of 2,348 adolescents, roughly half of whom were overweight, how they talked to their kids about the issue and food, intake and weight. The kids were drawn from high schools and middle schools around St. Paul, Minn., and were roughly equally divided among different races and ethnicities.

Not being overweight was no assurance that a kid would not get "diet and weight" talk from mom or dad: About 1 in 3 such kids heard suggestions to lose weight and how to do it. Among the parents of overweight adolescents, 60% of mothers and 59% of fathers reported having conversations about dieting and weight loss and the child's need to do it. Only 15% of mothers and 16% of fathers with overweight kids, by contrast, kept the focus on healthful eating. About 20% of the parents kept their mouths closed on the subject.

The overweight kids who got a good dose of healthful eating advice from parents were significantly less likely than those who heard diet-and-weight talk to engage in dieting and unhealthful weight-control behaviors such as fasting or laxative use. Among the 15% of those overweight kids whose parents focused on healthful eating, about 4 in 10 reported dieting or unhealthful weight-control behaviors. But that figure rose to 64% among overweight kids whose parents urged them to diet and lose weight.

Binge-eating, at least, did not appear to be more common among adolescents whose parents urged diet and weight loss than among those with parents that focused on healthful eating.

Fathers' voices on the diets versus healthful eating issue carried particular weight. While most of the parents and caregivers who reported conversations with their child were women, researchers were able to survey fathers of roughly half of the kids to see how they spoke to their kids on the subject. Compared with kids whose fathers were silent on the subject or who championed healthful eating, adolescents whose dads talked about weight loss and diets showed an even greater likelihood of engaging in unhealthful weight-loss behaviors.

These findings suggest that parents should avoid conversations that focus on weight or losing weight and instead engage in conversations that focus on healthful eating, without reference to weight issues, the authors write. This approach may be particularly important to parents of overweight or obese adolescents.

And dads? Whether or not their kids are overweight, the researchers suggested, they should probably just shut up.

"It may be important to educate fathers to avoid any form of weight-related conversation with their adolescents," the authors added.

As always be sure to stop by and speak with our highly trained and certified staff of sports nutritionist if you have any questions about healthy eating for you or your little one!

Til next time,

Mikie 

Women and Protein: The Truth!

Seeing as today is Valentines day we wanted to drop a little info just for the ladies. Fellas, you can keep your ears open too as this might help you understand your body and it's protein needs a little better!

Shannon Clark holds a degree in Exercise Science and Sport Performance from the University of Alberta in Edmonton and gives us a great break down on just what the big deal is about protein for ladies.

We've all experienced it. After a week of rigorous exercise and dieting—and Tupperware containers full of broccoli, brown rice, and chicken—you feel an uncontrollable urge to stray from your carefully planned meal plan. You measured and weighed all your meals but, alas, you hear ice cream and pasta calling your name. As it turns out, that voice could be especially loud if you're a woman.

According to a study published in the "International Journal of Eating Disorders,"1 women tend to crave sugary snacks like chocolate, ice cream, and donuts. Men, on the other hand, prefer to sink their teeth into a well-marbled porterhouse. Women seem to lack protein in their diets, even when it comes to cheat meals! A lack of protein can be problematic for anyone, but it's especially troubling for women in the gym!

While your body needs carbs and healthy fats for energy, protein is essential for tissue growth and repair. If you're in the gym knocking out tough sets of squats and Romanian deadlifts, a lack of protein in your diet can hinder your body's ability to recover and grow!

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTEIN

The reasons for adding more protein to your diet plan are numerous. Of the 20 amino acids that make up protein, nine are essential. "Essential" means that your body can't manufacture these aminos on its own. The only way they can be consumed is through food. Dietary protein supplies the building blocks of muscle tissue. It also supplies the materials needed for neurotransmitters and hormones.

WOMEN TEND TO CRAVE SUGARY SNACKS LIKE CHOCOLATE, ICE CREAM, AND DONUTS. MEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, PREFER TO SINK THEIR TEETH INTO A WELL-MARBLED PORTERHOUSE.

Each time you hit the gym for a workout, you break your muscle tissues down. You actually build them outside the gym. To do that, however, you need enough fuel. With proper protein intake, amino acids come to the rescue of your damaged muscle, repairing those tissues so they grow back even stronger.

Protein provides other key benefits to the hard-working, fit female.

PROTEIN: STABILIZES YOUR ENERGY LEVELS AND APPETITE

If you're constantly ravenous throughout the day, you're probably not eating enough protein at every meal. Compared to carbohydrates, protein takes longer to break down and digest.

This slow digestion time means you'll stay fuller longer and keep hunger at bay, making it easier to hit your caloric intake and macros for body weight maintenance.

PROTEIN: HELPS YOU BURN CALORIES MORE EFFECTIVELY

IF YOU'RE CONSTANTLY RAVENOUS THROUGHOUT THE DAY, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN AT EVERY MEAL.

Protein has the highest thermic effect of food (TEF), which is the amount of calories it takes your body to process and utilize a nutrient. At 20-35 percent, protein has the highest TEF.

This means that your body actually uses 20-35 percent of the energy from protein consumed just to digest and absorb it!

Out of every 100 calories you get from protein, 25-30 are burned in the digestion process.

Since your body expends more energy to process proteins than it does to digest carbohydrates and fats, people who consume more protein throughout the day might see faster fat-loss results than people on a lower-protein diet plan.

PROTEIN: SAFEGUARDS AGAINST THE LOSS OF MUSCLE

As your caloric intake drops, and carbohydrates and fats become scarce on a strict diet, there's a greater chance that your body will turn to incoming protein for energy. This leaves less protein for various bodily functions.

If insufficient amino acids are present, your body will start breaking down muscle tissue to get individual aminos. For you, this could mean a loss in muscle and a slower resting metabolism. Protect against this by prioritizing protein!

PROTEIN: BOOSTS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Oh, the wonders of whey. If you choose to add whey protein powder to your diet, you'll be taking in more than muscle-building strength gains. You get an immune boost, as well. Whey protein contains glutathione, a tripeptide that helps strengthen immune function.2

2. MYTHS ABOUT PROTEIN

One of the reasons that some women shy away from protein is because they believe the myths. Don't let false rumors cost you gains. Clear up confusion by separating fact from fiction.

MYTH: PROTEIN WILL CAUSE YOU TOO LOOK BULKY

PROTEIN WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER. IT WON'T TURN YOU INTO AN "OVERLY RIPPED" VERSION OF YOURSELF.

Protein will make you stronger. Associate it with powerful, lean muscle gains, not a masculine physique. Choosing chicken over chocolate and hitting the weights hard won't turn you into an "overly ripped" version of yourself. Put your mind at ease and know that this simply won't occur.

Ladies, remember that your body contains just a fraction of the testosterone needed to build up lean muscle tissue. Even with the addition of protein, you're not going to pack on muscle the same way your male counterpart might.

Your body can also only make so much lean muscle per day. Excess protein won't necessarily increase your muscular development. Excess protein gets broken into amino acids to be used as fuel or excreted, so don't worry too much about this myth.

MYTH: A HIGHER-PROTEIN DIET IS HARD ON YOUR KIDNEYS

If you have pre-existing kidney problems, then you definitely want to be a little more careful about adding protein to your diet plan. But, provided you're an active woman in good health, you can safely increase your protein intake.

Just remember that increased protein can be dehydrating, so you'll want to increase your water consumption at the same time.

MYTH: HIGHER-PROTEIN DIETS COMPROMISE BONE HEALTH

There's no definitive proof that high-protein diets cause the excess acid load that's been linked to bone loss and poor health.

In fact, according to the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," studies found that high-protein diets had a small but significant benefit to the lumbar spine.3

3. YOUR ESSENTIAL PROTEIN INTAKE

So, how much protein do you need? The suggested number differs depending on the source.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the standard food guide recommendation for the average individual is set around 46 grams per day for women and 65 grams per day for men.4

Keep in mind, however, that this is the recommendation for the average, semi-sedentary individual. If you're constantly exercising and breaking down lean muscle tissue, your required protein intake needs to increase. Likewise, if you diet and consume fewer calories from carbs and fats, the macros you consume from protein will need to increase.

PEOPLE WHO JUST EXERCISE AND DO NOT DIET SHOULD AIM TO CONSUME SOMEWHERE AROUND 0.8-1 GRAMS OF PROTEIN PER POUND OF BODY WEIGHT DAILY.

People who just exercise and do not diet should aim to consume somewhere around 0.8-1 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily.

If you're dieting and exercising, aim higher—between 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of your body weight per day. As your caloric intake decreases, your protein needs will actually increase, so keep that in mind as you plan out your diet.

Focus on eating high-quality protein sources such as chicken, fish, lean red meat, eggs, low-fat dairy products, and quality whey protein powder.

As always, feel free to stop by and speak with our staff of certified nutrition specialist if you have any questions about how much protein YOUR taking in and if its the right amount for your goals!

Til next time,
Mikie

Do Night-Time Fat Burners Really Work?

We get this question a lot in the store.  We sell many great night time or overnight fat burners that claim to reduce fat while you sleep, is that possible?


First, what's the point?
You spend between 30 and 50% of your time sleeping, why not try and make use of that time to achieve your goals.  Also, these products usually include sleep aids, which is a big problem in our current world...getting  enough sleep.  If you are deprived of sleep many things happen, you are more stressed and you release more cortisol which causes you to collect fat easier.  More sleeps means more energy the next day and more opportunity to train and lead an active and healthful life where you will burn more calories so don't discount the need to improve sleep.


Second, what's in them?
Obviously these PM fat burner products cannot rely on energy or thermogenics to do their work so they must be creative in the design of the ingredients in order to improve your metabolism or burn fat.  Most of these fat burners work with controlling your appetite (to curb late night craving or fridge runs at 3am) with ingredients like hoodia, white kidney bean and or chromium (to curb sugar cravings).  


Then after that they rely exclusively on ingredients trying to improve lipolysis.  Lipolysis is the process of using fat for energy...so you will see supplements with CLA, L-Carnitine (or some derivative), Carnosine, and Guggelsterones to name a few.  All these are plant based and they try to soak up stored fat and make it available to burn as fuel over night.


Finally, the sleep aid usually comes in the natural forms of melatonin, 5-HTP (trytophan) and relaxants like chamomile and valerian root.  These are all safe, but the first time you take products with sleep-aids should always be on a night when you can sleep in the next day to gauge your body's own response to the ingredients/compounds.


Well, do they work?
Simply put, YES, but they do not work as fast as daytime fat burners and certainly not as well as daytime burners combined with proper diet and exercise regimens.  But they do work, so be patient.  IN addition, these products are great for people who are trying to lose that last few inches or pounds of fat without sacrificing any of that hard earn lean muscle or lean tissue you have created in the gym and through proper protein supplementation.


In the store we have:
Noxitropin PM
Nite-Burn
and a few other night-time supplements designed to help you get leaner!


Come see us or email today and we will help figure out the best plan and use of supplements for you!

Til next time,
Mikie