Justin G. Walls, Certified Personal Athletic Trainer

One of the challenges of weight loss is managing your calorie intake during the day. It's not feasible to go without snacking all day long, so the best bet is to find satisfying foods with low calorie contents. Here's five suggestions you can make at home. M L XL S ​ ​ 1. Bananas - Th ese are a great snack anytime, especially first thing in the morning. During the day, you can make your own frozen bananas dipped in chocolate to help you get through the day M L XL S ​ ​   2. Avocado Wrap- take a small corn tortilla, some avocado or guacamole, a little bit of Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt, and some shredded cheddar for a quick nutrient boost M L XL S ​ ​   3. Small Chicken Salad - grab a handful of chopped romaine or mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and a few slices of grilled boneless chicken breast with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil for some midday protein infusion and a low-sodium option M L XL S ​ ​   4. Hard Boiled Egg - simpl...

A common issue facing many exercisers is that, even after having committed to a regimen of nutrition and exercise, the goals of weight loss and muscle gain just aren't lining up. You'll ask "why am I not losing weight?" and the answers seem elusive. If you have a wellness coach or a trainer whom can coach you, then talk to him or her about the issue. Just remember that this process is challenging and it's not your fault if its not working immediately. Here's a few possible things to consider: Talk to your coach or trainer. Share your concerns. Adjust the meal planning - your meals may be leaving you hungry, and that's a recipe for disaster. Review your meal plan with your coach to see if there's adequate protein, fat, or hydration in your plan Exercising too often or too hard - completing a challenging routine may make you feel accomplished, but if your metabolic rate is getting too high, then your body will signal the need to consume more foo...

Enjoy the foods you already like to eat! It's about taking things you would normally have and use them more effectively 1 Start using butter again! Butter has gotten a bad reputation for over a generation as being a leading cause of heart disease related to its saturated fat content. Studies and books have been recently published challenging the idea that saturated fat only has a downside. When properly incorporated into your diet, foods like butter, cream, sour cream and cheese can contribute to a greater feeling of satiety than low fat foods full of fillers and sugar 2 Try to have fish, meat, or chicken with your meals.  Animal proteins have the highest amount of protein per serving, and that helps you feel more full when eating a meal. You'll want to eat about a fist size of food to get enough protein for your body to build lean muscle, and that can help manage your metabolism and burn calories all day long.  Photo courtesy: Guard your Health ...

Studies have shown that, after following participants from ages 70 - 85 for 2.7 years, walking can reverse many of the limitations associated with aging. The study suggests 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, coupled with two weight strength sessions each week. http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/26/495477531/walking-fends-off-disability-and-its-not-too-late-to-start

A Calorie May Not Be Just A Calorie Recent Studies Show That Genes or Bacteria May Affect Matabolism A recent article in the Economist gives a synopsis of four very fascinating studies into how different people may metabolize glucose in different fashions. The metabolic pathways could change based on either certain genetic features of the person (or mouse in the study) or the presence of certain types of bacteria. Fat Mouse, Healthy Diet! There is another more extensive article in the New York Times looking more closely at how diets higher in fruits and vegetables but lower in saturated fat would not only result in weight loss, but also correlated in a change in the types of bacteria present in the mice that were losing weight in the study: the fat mice started to have similar bacterial compositions as the lean mice.  Eating healthy is an important part of changing the stomach flora, and we have discussed on this blog about some important dietary changes that you...

In an excellent social experiment,  TCU scientists  discovered that people were less likely to overeat when confronted with how long it would take to "walk off" the food they were eating. The study comes in the wake of the Affordable Care Act requiring calories be displayed on the food. The journal article can be found  here This image is from Scientific American's article on the subject. You can see how the calories "jump off the page" when confronted with the prospect of having to walk off everything you just ate. You can use this  exercise calorie calculator  to see how long it can take you to burn off breakfast lunch or dinner with a large variety of exercises

Normally, people think of exercisers as those who work hard, train hard, and eat like there won't be food tomorrow. Take for example, the Michael Phelps breakfast of champions: So that's what gold medal swimmers eat The NY Times Health Blog referenced a recent study from some University of Wyoming professors that demonstrates the opposite. Apparently, running would cause both men and women to reduce the calorie intake of their next meal by almost 100 more than someone who had just exercised by walking, and way more than someone who was totally sedentary. You can read the full study here . The study looked at some of the hormone and peptide production resulting after the two types of workouts. The result of running left the volunteers consuming fewer overall calories and making their calorie consumption much better regulated. The article quotes Prof. Catia Martins as saying: Exercise “improves the body’s ability to judge the amount of calories consumed and to adjust fo...

Are you tired of hearing about portion sizes to control or lose weight? You can actually eat MORE and still lose pounds or maintain your weight more easily. We have been entertained by the prospects of a  Twinkie diet  to convince us that calorie control may be the only necessary component to proper health. Unfortunately, these tests usually are post hoc  or "correlation not causation" arguments and are not valid. His short term gains may have been significant, but perhaps he should have been compared to someone who was malnourished, etc. in order to better prove causation. There is an important causation, but it depends on the type of calories you consume. Calories come from carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Carbs burn first, then fat, and finally protein. If the body needs energy quickly and you do not have enough carbs for energy, and the fat is taking too long to break down, then your body can turn to protein, and this can lead to inhibition of lean body mass gain...

No, the question is not absurd! Some of issues related to waist size cannot be solved by dieting or even regular "exercise" such as running, hiking, or biking. Let's discuss the "belly" problem, frankly: 1. Large and flabby - if the abdomen protrudes beyond the bottom if the ribs AND it jiggles quite a bit as you move, then you may have a water and mineral retention issue. Usually this is the result of too much salt and plain flour in the diet. Sodium is stored in the abdomen until it passes through the kidneys and excreted. Until that time, it surrounds itself with water near the suprailiac (a.k.a. "love handles"). Solut ion: Drink more water, sweat more, and limit salt intake from 500-1000 mg per day. 2. Large and firm- If the abdomen is protruding but doesn't jiggle, then most of the fat is sticking to organs and not skin. Jiggly fat is subcutaneous fat, which is just below the skin and burns up faster. Hard fat is viscer al fat , which s...