by Ashley | Nov 25, 2015 | Nutrition
So you’re thinking to yourself… How the heck can stuffing my face on a holiday help me lose weight!? Lets take a look at whats going on with your body’s hormones when your dieting, and what happens when you overeat. Binge eating or more specifically refeeding, as most bodybuilders and fitness fanatics refer to it is a technique that is used to boost leptin levels in the body. When we’re constantly eating less than we need to maintain our weight (dieting), our body responds by producing ghrelin which makes us hungrier. Leptin is produced in our fat and travels to the brain to tell it that we’re not hungry. The more fat you have, the more leptin you produce generally. But you may be thinking, “how come I have a lot of fat and I’m still hungry, shouldn’t all my leptin make me not hungry?” To an extent, your thinking is right, but you can become “leptin resistant”. “In leptin resistance, your leptin is high, which means you’re fat, but your brain can’t see it. In other words, your brain is starved, while your body is obese. And that’s what obesity is: it’s brain starvation.” – WebMD So if you’re looking to lose weight, the more leptin you produce, the better. A typical refeed meal consists of eating copious amount of carbs! These carbs will boost leptin levels which will decrease your hunger, and help boost dopamine and testosterone. Dopamine is one of the hornomes responsible for feeling happy. Notice when your dieting or someone you know is dieting, you or they tend to be “hangry”. Hungry and anrgy!...
by Ashley | May 21, 2015 | Nutrition
“At first, it was easy to lose weight. The fat was melting away! But after a few months that came to an abrupt halt – I hit a wall.” What is “The Wall?” “The Wall”, the obstacle standing in the way of you getting leaner, is your body fat set point. Your set point is your body fat percentage that your body has become adapted to overtime. If you have been carrying around significantly more weight than you are used to than your set point has increased. Your weight gain, like most individuals, can be attributed to chronic overeating and a lack of physical activity. You have decided that it is finally time to lose the extra weight and get back to a happy and healthy lifestyle. You decided to give CrossFit Good Life a try (and loved it!) several times a week. You are determined to keep calories low by eating “clean” and avoid all processed foods. In the first few months you are trilled at the weight loss and you are fitter then ever! Unfortunately, the weight loss has come to an abrupt halt and you have now hit a wall. How Do I Break The Wall? Your wall is in response to chronic under eating and excessive physical activity. If you have been on a caloric deficit for months or even years while undergoing extensive physical activity your body had created adaptations that will prevent you from losing fat. When this happens the majority of people will further reduce their caloric intake and increase their physical activity – most by increasing cardio – which actually increases...
by Ashley | May 1, 2015 | Nutrition
Why Nutrition Is your SECRET weapon! Food along with water and sleep are essential to life. Food is a critical component for fueling activities, recovery, and all of the chemical processes that occur in our body. Simply put, if you didn’t eat and drink water, you would die! Now that doesn’t mean all you need to do is eat and drink water and you’ll live a long and healthy life. Proper nutrition can reduce the risk of chronic diseases and is just as important for someone who isn’t “overweight” as it is for someone who is “overweight”. You can find millions of articles, opinions, and studies on nutrition, but I’m about to give you the basics you need to understand nutrition. Nutrition and Your Health Poor nutrition leads to increased chronic disease risk factors for adults and children. Often children learn their eating habits from their parents and carry them into adulthood. Have you ever heard someone say, “I’ve always been this size, it runs in the family.” That’s because that person learned to eat from their parents/family. Mom and dad fed them certain foods in copious quantities or didn’t restrict their eating. Some parents truly don’t have a clue about nutrition so they instill these bad habits without thinking about it. Developing proper eating habits is a life long process that starts with the basics done consistently. It’s never too late to start and it doesn’t mean you have to eat chicken and broccoli for every meal. Nutrition is highly individualized, but one of the best ways to start is to start keeping a journal of everything you...
