You can’t Out-Train a Bad Diet

Bruce Gilbert, a trainer I share clients with uses the above statement with his clients.

“I’m working out, so I can eat what I want, right?”

NOT.

I often hear:  “I’ve been exercising much more than before so why am I not losing weight?”

Let’s crunch the numbers.

You work out 4-5 days per week at a pretty rigorous clip – maybe burning 300-500 calories per session.  Let’s say the average amount of calories per day utilized is equal to 450 or about 2000 additional calories per week which is a credit in your health account.  Sounds pretty good so far, right?

Your metabolism calls for about 1800 calories per day.  You eat fairly reasonably – after all – you consulted with an R.D.- with 500 calories per meal and a reasonable snack.  However, a few times a week you spurge on the cookies lying around the office and usually have 2 glasses of wine a few times per week.

Although these splurges sound reasonable they can add up to equaling the extra calories you utilized from working out.  In other words, a debit to your health account.

2 medium cookies 3x per week equals 1200 calories and 2 glasses of wine 3x per week equals 720 calories or close to 2000 calories per week.

If you add in anything extra you are now officially over the amount of extra calories you so diligently burned during your exercise sessions.  And, now you’ve overdrawn your account.

What drives weight loss?

Research shows diet drives the weight loss and exercise maintains it.  Exercise keeps your metabolism strong while you cut back on food so your weight will not rebound.  It maintains muscle integrity besides contributing to improved sleep, mood and sense of well-being.

But….it can’t make up for eating more than your metabolism calls for.  Although working out is critical to good health it cannot blanket additional calories or a plethora of food.

So enjoy your holidays and the best gift you can give yourself is to eat mindfully…and maintain credit in your nutritional health account.

Ode to Peanut Butter!

Peanut butter is my all time favorite food so I thought it appropriate to start my first blog with peanut butter talk. Many think of peanut butter as the usual kind in the grocery store, but many natural peanut butters or other nut butters now exist which taste amazing and have a much better flavor and consistency than in times past.

Peanut butter is a great snack to have on apples, bananas, or celery in the afternoon or evening. I think it gives you feeling you have had something decadent and healthy at the same time. Natural nut butters are packed with monounsaturated fat, which is the healthy fat that decreases incidence of heart disease by increasing your HDL or happy cholesterol. HDL is the cholesterol level you want to be high since it gets rids the body of bad cholesterol!

Two of my current favorite peanut butters are "Cream-Nut" which is a natural peanut butter by Koeze Company, a family run business in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Several of the Whole Foods in West Los Angeles sell this brand but you can also find it online.

My other current favorite peanut butter is a new one available at Trader Joe's called "Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds." The flaxseeds make it like you are eating a great peanut butter with toffee bits in it. Trader Joe's also sells a natural cashew nut butter and a cashew macadamian nut butter. One of my clients calls the cashew nut butter "dessert on a stick."

So the new blog is now launched. Stay tuned for postings on my favorite new foods products and the most recent studies on food and health. Feel free to ask questions on topics that are of interest to you.

Bon Appetit!