Best Fitness Blog

... Karli Taylor

Maybe it’s bad business for me to make the statement that I’m about to make, but here I go. Regardless of how hard you work in the gym, you will never get the results you desire if you are not mindful about what you are eating. Though we could spend days discussing nutrition, let’s start with a few easily fixed mistakes that may interfere with getting the most out of your training time.

• Drinking a Protein Shake Before a Workout. Protein is digested much more slowly than carbohydrates, so too much pre-workout can give you stomach cramps and prevent the carbs you need for fuel from getting absorbed and becoming available to your working muscles. Instead of a high protein shake, reach for a meal replacement drink with more carbohydrates than protein before you hit the gym.
• Exercising on an Empty Stomach. It's physiologically impossible to burn pure body fat during exercise. No matter what you eat (or don’t eat), you burn a combo of carbs and fat. When carbs aren't readily available, your body is forced to break down its own muscle mass and convert it into blood sugar. That means by skipping a meal, you may end up eating away at your own muscle instead of building it! If you don’t like the feeling of exercising with food in your system, try that meal replacement shake next time.
• Overusing Energy Bars. Too many of these can cause you to consume all of the calories you burned exercising, preventing you from seeing results. Though someone competing at a pro-athlete intensity may be able to grab a bar post workout and eat a meal a few hours later, that may be overload for the average exerciser when you consider that many bars are the equivalent of a turkey sandwich — and most people wouldn't eat a turkey sandwich, then sit down to chicken stir fry a few hours later.
• Not Eating Enough Good Fat. Every cell in the human body is partially made out of fat, including muscle, so "good" fat, or unsaturated fat, is needed to heal and repair post workout. Without it you may not only stay sore and fail to see an improvement in strength and muscle tone, but you will have a hard time losing body fat. Try to include small portions of foods like extra virgin olive oil, avocado and almonds at every meal and you will see a difference very quickly.

Visit one of our Best Fitness Clubs to learn even more about this topic. We have locations in Albany,NY, Tonawanda, NY, Schenectady, NY, Erie, PA, Nashua, NH, Chelmsford, MA, and Drum Hill, MA.

... By Karli Taylor

In a recent study on memory loss, those who ate tuna and other types of fish at least three times per week had a significantly lower risk of age-related memory loss and stroke. That’s nothing new though, right? We have been told for decades that fish is brain food, but did you know that there are a few other foods that can boost your brain power?

Adding almonds to your daily menu will not only give you added protein for building lean muscle and good unsaturated fat to help burn off belly fat, it may also help prevent Alzheimer’s disease! A study done on a large group of elderly people found that those who regularly consumed nutrients such as unsaturated fats, vitamin E and folate from nuts were less likely to develop the disease compared to those who didn’t.

Are you starting a new job or thinking about learning a new skill? You may want to start eating your greens. The antioxidant cocktail contained in leafy greens (vitamin C, beta- and alpha-carotene and vitamin K), has been shown to boost memory and the ability to learn new tasks in older people. Who says you can’t teach on old dog new tricks!

Can’t remember your email passwords or your pin number at the ATM? Maybe you should add some red meat to your diet. Yes- I did recommend red meat. Research suggests that higher levels of creatine in the diet can increase brain capacity. Though creatine is found most readily in beef, vegetarians don’t have to lose out- you can supplement with creatine monohydrate to get the same brain boost!

If my giving you the ok to eat red meat wasn’t exciting enough, how about this one- chocolate!

Eating a bite sized piece of chocolate every day seems to boost alertness. According to a recent study if the impact of chocolate on brain function, the flavanoids found in cocoa are responsible for aiding mental acuity by boosting blood flow to certain areas of the brain for up to three hours after consumption.

So what will you be cooking tonight? Surf and turf with a green salad? Chocolate covered almonds for dessert? What time is dinner?

... By Karli Taylor

By now, everyone knows that acai berries, red wine and almonds are “superfoods”, but did you know that there are hundreds of other foods that offer many of the same benefits? Let’s look at a few that I’m willing to bet you have underestimated!

Mushrooms: When we think anti-oxidants, we tend to think berries right? Would you be surprised if I told you that not only do mushrooms rate very highly on the anti-oxidant meter, but they are also a great source of vitamin D? Throw some fungi into your next pasta sauce instead of meat- your family will get the texture they are used to without the fat and calories that comes with ground beef and will get an extra nutrient punch.

Cauliflower: You hear a lot about the value of brightly colored veggies, but what about cauliflower? One cup of broccoli's colorless cruciferous cousin supplies about three-quarters of your daily value of vitamin C. Cauliflower also contains anti-oxidants linked to the prevention of melanoma, but boiling or microwaving will diminishes the antioxidants so try roasting, steaming or grilling to reap the most benefits.

Beer: Beer drinkers rejoice. You no longer have to give up your brew for a glass of vino in the name of heart health. Studies show that people who consume one glass of red wine or one beer each night have a lower risk of developing high blood pressure than nondrinkers. Beer has also been linked to greater bone density in postmenopausal women because of the mineral silicon, an ingredient found most in india pale ales. Remember to limit yourself to one alcoholic drink a day, however, as research shows that more than that may have the opposite effect on your health.