How did you sleep last night? A question that is more often than not answered with not that great or not as long as I should have. People underestimate the value of getting a good night’s sleep to their weight loss goals, yet alone their health. If you’re feeling sleepy at work, you may be tempted to reach for a cup of coffee and a doughnut or sugary treat for a quick shot of energy. Later you may skip the gym, too tired to get your workout in. Then, you pick up takeout on your way home to your family -- no time to cook. When you finally find yourself back in your bed, you are too wound up to sleep. It’s a vicious cycle, and eventually this sleep deprivation can sabotage your waistline and your health. It starts out innocently enough. When you have sleep deprivation and are running on low energy, you automatically go for comfort foods. The immediate result? You may be able to fight off sleepiness. The ultimate result? Unwanted pounds as poor food choices coupled with lack of exercise set the stage for weight gain and further sleep loss. Let me clear something up first, it’s not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight. It’s more the consequences of being sleep-deprived. This means that you are not getting enough minutes of sleep or not enough good quality sleep, your metabolism will not function properly. Cutting back your calories? Studies show that a reduction of sleep by 3 hours is associated with more weight loss come from muscle rather than fat compared to a rested people. Not only is it linked to our hunger or activity level, but the bodily functions and hormonal responses leading to a higher body fat percentage. Not interested in weight loss? Trying to bulk up? This applies to you too! Sleep appears to be somewhat associated with hormone levels that are responsible for building muscle. Yep, slacking on getting those precious hours are going to greatly impact your gains in the gym. Now we know how important getting good quality sleep is to reaching your goals regardless of what they are, how do we fix it you ask? Well here are some top tips to get you sleeping better by tonight: 1. Stick to a sleep schedule - Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. This applies to weekends, holidays and days off too. Being consistent creates a sleep-wake cycle and helps you ultimately sleep better at night. If you don't fall asleep within about 15 minutes, get up and do something relaxing. Go back to bed when you're tired, don’t stress it! 2. Pay attention to what you eat and drink - Don't go to bed either hungry or stuffed as your discomfort might keep you up. Also limit how much you drink before bed. Nothing worse than those middle-of-the-night trips to the toilet. 3. Create a bedtime ritual - Do the same things each night to tell your body it's time to wind down. This might include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or listening to soothing music. Choose a ritual that doesn’t involve bright screens of any kind as they will make you more awake even if you don’t realize it. Make bedtime your time. 4. Get comfortable - Create a space that is perfect for sleeping, meaning keeping it cool, dark, and quiet, with optimal bedding that includes a comfy pillow and mattress that is right for your body. 5. Limit naps – Yes that afternoon or noontime nap. We all love them, but long daytime naps can screw with nighttime sleep. If absolutely have to nap, limit yourself to maximum of 30 minutes and make it during the midmorning or midafternoon. 6. Include physical activity in your daily routine – Activity promotes better quality overall sleep from falling asleep to staying asleep. Make sure you don’t exercise too close to bedtime however, as this will spike those happy hormones keeping you wired. 7. Manage stress – Probably the hardest thing to do out of this entire list. When you have too much to think about or do your sleep is likely to suffer. Consider healthy ways to manage stress like getting organized, setting priorities and delegating tasks. Before bed, jot down what's on your mind and then set it aside for tomorrow. Sources:
Writer: Alysha Coughler (Sports Dietitian - Personal Training Specialist - Health Coach) https://www.instagram.com/barbellblonde/
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DNF: an abbreviation for the three words that can shatter an athlete’s world; Did Not Finish. For the first time in my life I received a DNF for MY event of the year, the Muskoka Half Ironman. For many of you, you may be thinking that a DNF is a sigh of relief to make it so that you don’t have to swim 1.9km, bike 90km and run 21.1 km all back to back, but it’s soul crushing for a triathlete.
Many of you have seen ‘Ben the Sports Dietitian’’ write before but this is the first time you’ll see ‘Ben the Triathlete’ write and that’s because this post so personal. It was an extremely personal experience; it brought me to tears on the bike course. I was cussing my voice dry and desperately trying to figure out how I could finish the race. But when the downward force put down on my pedal going up a steep hill snaps your chain and the bracket for the derailleur at the 13km mark, there’s just no way to recover. I was so desperate to recover that I even started running with my bike in my clip on bike shoes for at least 1.5km, causing a mild injury. Why was I so upset? Why did I just fold up and start crying up on the side of the road? Well aside from the fact that I love this sport, I had invested 6 full months of 5am runs and swims followed by nighttime runs and bike rides and sacrificed countless social events to maintain a full 6-month training schedule. All those kilometers I racked up in training suddenly didn’t mean anything at all if I couldn’t finish. I was hopeless and helpless as I watched all the other athletes pass me asking “everything ok?” with the best intentions to see if I needed an extra inner tubing or a small wrench to fine tune something. All I saw was my only Triathlon pass me by. The race officials finally got to me an hour after I just decided to sit next to my broken bike crying. There was nothing the race officials or I could do. My triathlon season had ended. Why did I end up crying? Why did I have this crazy f*cking emotional reaction? Well aside from everything that I wrote in the above paragraph, this was the first time in my life that I couldn’t find the silver lining. You see, I have the same philosophy as one of my favourite musicians, Maynard James Kennan; “I never lose, I either win or I learn.” But there was nothing to learn here. It’s not like I could have gone “Ok, your running pace started to slow down after the 8km marker so we need to look at carbohydrate timing” Or “I need to focus more on Hill training.” My f*cking derailleur snapped off my bike! There’s no lesson in that. It’s just a shitty thing that happened. And now I’m ashamed that those three letters, DNF, will forever taint my race record. Why am I feeling this shame? After all, objectively this is not my fault that a part of my bike decided to fail on me. At one point I laughed because I could take it as a compliment that my quads are strong enough to put enough force to break a solid metal bracket. And then I realized that I’m feeling this shame because I expect perfection from myself. I expect myself to be the best version of myself. Each day I need to know that I’m growing and getting better at literally anything in order to sleep at night. Then I felt more shame because this is one of those things that I counsel, unrealistic expectations. You see, many athletes and people walk into my office daily and expect perfection, which is unrealistic. This unrealistic expectation only leads to disappointment and excess stress (which kind of explains why I burned out 3 times this year before the end of March!) As soon as I realized this, I almost had a follow up assessment with myself on the side of the road (If I had a mirror or my phone I actually would have counseled myself and tried to read my own body language!). This was my turning point. I was happy again because I could spin this now; I could find the silver lining. I’m not going to lose. I’m not letting myself lose. Another one of my heroes, Bruce Lee, had always said “Defeat is a state of mind; No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.” For that brief 45 minutes crying on the side of the road with a broken bike I had temporarily forgotten the words of my heroes and accepted the defeat. But the moment I had that revelation, I was no longer defeated. I quickly shot up and said “F*ck you, I’m not losing. I’m going to learn and find that silver lining” and started cheering on my fellow triathletes to send all my good vibes onto them. After all they had at least 77km left in one of the most difficult bike courses in the Triathlon world followed by a half marathon run, they needed all the love and support they could get. I had learned and at that point I began to smile again and the tears started to go away. Now knowing that I expect this level of perfection of myself I can head into next season stronger than ever. Being a bit easier on myself for the things that I cannot control is the lesson here. We all want control in our lives but sometimes it just isn’t up to us. Sometimes pure stupid luck happens no matter how we try to gain control. And we still can have control, but that control is over how we react to these unfortunate events rather than the event itself. Triathlons are less about the physical endurance but more about mental endurance. Only the toughest and strongest willpower out there can survive a Triathlon. And the beauty of this DNF is that it’s lit a fire under my ass to motivate me for the 2018 season. This fire burns, always. As long as the silver lining is found, I’ll never lose, I’ll always win or learn. So watch out next season because I’m coming back with a vengeance! Ben
Before getting into the argument of whether or not greasy burgers and fries can have a place in a healthy, balanced lifestyle, I need to say this: I have a problem with cheat meals. It’s not the greasy, salty, high fat, high sugar foods typically associated with cheat meals that I have a problem with, it’s the term itself.
As I’m sure many of you have learned throughout your life, cheating is bad. If you cheat on a test at school, punishments can range from detention to expulsion. If you cheat in sports, you can be disqualified. For most of us, doing something “bad” elicits feelings of guilt. If you have ever cheated on anything, I would be willing to bet that you experienced at least a small amount of guilt. Using the term “cheat meal” implies that your meal is bad and may make you feel guilty for eating it. I am a firm believer that food should be enjoyed. If food is meant to be enjoyed, why do we attach a word with such a negative connotation to it? Now that I’ve ranted to you about cheat meals (thanks for sticking with me), we can get back to our original question. At this point, I’m sure you won’t be surprised when I say that I wouldn’t call a burger and fries a cheat meal. However, you may be surprised when I say that I would consider it part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Let me explain. A healthy lifestyle is more than just physical health. In fact, there are 7 dimensions of wellness that contribute to an overall healthy lifestyle:
Having a burger and fries may not contribute much to your physical health, but it may positively impact your social wellness by allowing you to eat out with friends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you consume these foods frequently, but I do believe they have a place in a healthy lifestyle. Some people follow the 80/20 rule where 80% of the time they eat healthy, and 20% of the time they choose foods that are considered less healthy. However, this is just a guideline and you will find what works best for you. Maybe you are more comfortable with a 90/10 split, or maybe you would prefer 70/30. Regardless, it is important to remember that taking care of your social and emotional health is arguably just as important as your physical health. For more information on Cheat Meals/Cheat Days, watch this ESN video with Ben and Alysha!
Remember: ENJOY your burgers and fries, just not to the extreme like Patrick over here:
Three Stages of Chronic Stress Everyone goes through stress at some point in their life, whether it be monetary, family or job stress. However, most of us can deal with the stressor in a timely manner so that it does not substantially affect our health. But how do you know if you are under acute stress or chronic stress? What are the signs? According to the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) there are three stages to stress. Stage 1: The “Pepto Bismol” stage in which you are repeatedly exposed to situations that trigger a stress response such as racing heart, rapid breathing, increase in blood sugar and blood pressure and decrease in digestion (remember our good friend cortisol). Stage 2: The “Rhum and Coke” stage. This is when things are starting to get out of control in your life. Stressor after stressor is thrown at you and your cortisol levels remain high. You may feel energized but not in a good way (nervous energy). You continue to take on more and more, feeling overwhelmed, overworked and unable to get anything done. Your mood may change – increased anxiousness, short temperedness. Your mind is always going, trying to figure out how to get through everything. Your sleep may be poor. Digestion decreased. Immune system weakened. For some, cortisol may increase hunger and bingeing on food. Poor coping skills may lead to use of alcohol or other substances. Stage 3: The “Glass of Water” stage – the full out chronic stress stage. This is when the never-ending stress and our inability to cope with it has wreaked havoc with our personality and our health. You may experience depression, insomnia, burnout, heart disease, weight gain (or loss depending on your intake). Your judgement of situations,people and even your behaviour may be skewed. This is not where we want to end up. Personally, I can tell you I have been through all of them at some point in my life. But the question is, when looking at your life, do you find yourself falling into any of these stages? Do you feel like things are getting out of control? Do you know how to effectively combat your stress in a healthy way? If any of this sounds familiar to you, then stay tuned for my next blog on “How to Combat Stress” Catherine Rose-Loveless, RD, Sports Dietitian Sports Dietitian with Evolved Sport and Nutrition Complete Lifestyle Management We all know what it is like. We have a stressful event or day and the first thing we want is that favorite food, a glass of wine or maybe it’s whatever food we have in our sight. Have you ever wondered why we immediately turn to food when things are not going as planned? The culprit, surprisingly enough, is our hormones. These hormones, usually termed “Stress hormones” play havoc on our bodies natural ability to regulate hunger and blood sugar levels. These hormones make us crave high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” to help sooth us. So what is this nasty hormone? Cortisol. Released by the adrenal gland, cortisol controls appetite. In times of stress the levels of cortisol increase in the bloodstream and motivates us to eat. When the event is over the levels decrease and our hunger subsides. However, if the stress continues the cortisol levels remain elevated. When combined with high insulin levels (created by the excess intake of sugar and carbohydrates – but that is another story), the body enters a state of chaos – decreased focus, increased hunger, increased blood sugar levels/increased risk for diabetes, weight gain, increased blood pressure – and the list goes on. Chronic stress is increasing with today’s busy society. We are constantly, what I like to call “ON”. From the moment we rise, until we finally enter sleep – our bodies are dealing with the stresses of the world around us. Driving, work, money, relationships, kids and all that comes with social media in and of itself. It is no wonder we naturally turn to food to help us self-sooth. Food has been the comfort we have received since childhood for our upsets, physical pain and stress. Media tells us to eat ice cream and cake when we have relationship problems or have a glass of wine to unwind after a stressful day. This plays into our bodies natural response created by the cortisol. The solution? How do we stop turning to food to reduce and deal with our everyday stresses. Tune in to part 2 in 2 weeks as we explore the stages of chronic stress, how to recognize them and how to deal with it a healthier way. Catherine Rose-Loveless Sports Dietitian at Evolved Sport and Nutrition - Niagara/ Hamilton Health and Wellness through Healthy Eating With a New Year upon us, there’s one thing that foodies and Dietitians have in common, the excitement for new food trends. Dietitians make it our business to know what’s trending and what our clients, patients, family, and friends will be asking us about in the coming year. Remember kale, quinoa, and cauliflower-everything where last years’ business? So what’s happening in 2017? As a Dietitian, these are food trends I can get behind. Digestive Health: Fermented foods Gut health has become the spotlight as a trending topic in the food and nutrition world. Taking a look at your supermarket shelves reveals a new type or brand of kefir, kimchi and yogurt on the shelf each week. And remember Kombucha? Look out for the new formulations with added probiotic cultures that you drink. These live active cultures are your gut’s closest friends. Digestive Health: FODMAPs Like fermented foods above, ridding that gas and bloating that impacts many people is now an openly discussed topic. A low FODMAP diet requires a little background to fully understand and appreciate. FODMAP is short for “fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols.”. These foods are type of carbs and sugars found in commonly consumed foods that are difficult to digest and can cause some serious distress in your gut. The low-FODMAP diet is a fairly new regimen that can be followed to help people manage irritable bowel syndrome or unexplained digestive distress. Seeing a dietitian to lead you through an elimination and reintroduction diet can help you get to the cause of your digestive distress. Plant based foods Chickpeas, corn, legumes and fungi are standing in for steaks in new emerging products designed to appeal to vegans and carnivores alike. Exploring your meat-free options has never been so easy. Vegan “meats” and vegetables of all kinds are being subbed in to create alternatives to traditionally meat-based meals. Vegetarian meat substitutes will not be the only thing on the rise. The presence of vegetables will continue to increase incorporated into snacks, lunch and onto the dinner plate. New cooking methods and ways to pump up the roughage in dishes is an ideal way to maximize nutrition. Bowls In the beginning there were Chipotle burrito bowls. Then, there was the smoothie bowl. Now there is poké. This year we are moving away from handheld food items to serving dishes in a bowl. Many of these types of bowls allow you to custom tailor what goes into it to your preferences and dietary habits. it’s also easier and faster to assemble a bowl than plated upscale entrees. From a mindful eating perspective, eating from a bowl could likely make you slow down and enjoy your food more than a burrito that is leaking and falling apart in your hands. You’ll feel a full a lot faster, and be able to savor all the flavors and textures with every bite. Sustainability Food waste might be a thing of the past. Consumers and producers alike are finding creative way to repurpose typically tossed-out stems, skins and rinds. Items that would usually find their way to the garbage bin (fruit rinds, vegetable stems, etc.) are getting new life breathed into them and coming out as stocks, pickles and anything else eco-conscious consumers and companies can comprehend. Many food companies are taking this further, doing their part to help the environment. Think plastic-free oatmeal-to-go product with a built-in paper bowl, lower packaging on products or reusable containers. Alysha Coughler, RD, MHSc, Sports Dietitian Sports Dietitian with Evolved Sport and Nutrition Complete Lifesty;e Management Well if you’re reading this then you’ve done the impossible; you survived 2016. Despite George RR Martin pulling the strings behind the scenes of 2016 like the Wizard of Oz, the beginning months of January means Triathlon training starts! There are many things that we should take a look at the beginning of this season to make sure you have a good season and today we’re talking about Testosterone. Now Testosterone’s role in athletics is primarily thought of as being associated primarily with weight lifting and muscle gain but this is far from the truth. Testosterone is heavily involved with endurance sports too, especially with male triathletes! Symptoms Having worked with many triathletes (and being one myself) this often gets overlooked in male endurance athletes. There’s a good reason for this; the symptoms are very vague. The most common symptoms for low testosterone are fatigue and a lowered libido, often attributed to the high physical demands and training schedules with triathlons. Putting 20+ hours a week into a training program with early morning swims, bike rides and runs is often seen as the root cause of fatigue, especially when someone is working or going to school full time and if there are children involved. This also applies to the decreased libido, I mean it’s hard to feel sexy or get in the mood when you’ve spent a 6-hour chunk of the day doing a brick workout but this can be a good indicator of low testosterone! What does low testosterone do? Well aside from the simplest answer of fatigue and a low sex drive, maintaining muscle mass and bone density becomes a major issue! Which is why many triathletes start to get a lot of injuries close to the race day because they’re more prone to shin splints and stress fractures! Causes One of the contributing causes of low testosterone could be that triathletes tend to be a bit older, which sees a gradual decline in testosterone levels with age. Some medications that are commonly used as men get older have side effects that can decrease testosterone. These drugs could be statins for high blood cholesterol, antihistamines for allergies and some painkillers. Sound familiar? An older male athlete with elevated blood cholesterol and some allergies during the spring outdoor riding months that feels some pain after an intense training session? Bingo, we have an at risk group. Another overlooked cause of low testosterone is intense training without adequate nutritional interventions for refueling, rehydrating and rebuilding. The list just keeps going on because not getting enough sleep could reduce your testosterone levels as well as weight/ body fat. From a competitive advantage, yes we can get you to move faster through all 70.3 or 140.3 miles of the race if you’re lighter but if your body fat is too low your hormone balance is thrown off, especially testosterone. You might also notice that if the body fat drops too low those symptoms of depression and mental health start to kick in as well as irritability! This might be sounding familiar to some of you; yes this is synonymous with Relative energy deficiency in sport or RED-S for men and the female athlete triad for women, which has been discussed in previous blog posts here at ESN. Prevention and Treatment One of the best things to do at the beginning of the training season is to go see your doctor and get a baseline level of testosterone measured. This should be considered especially if you’re an older athlete, already feeling fatigue and decreased energy levels, previous stress fractures or bone density issues or if you’re very lean. There are many options that your doctor can talk to you about to address the low testosterone but if they recommend supplementation or medication then make sure you get a medical note as taking those meds could disqualify you from a race! Also remember that low testosterone levels can take months to develop and months to correct! If you are dealing with this then there are a few things that you can do at home. The first is to look at reducing your training load until the levels normalize. This means training at a lower intensity for shorter periods of time and getting more quality sleep. There are also a ton of nutritional things that need to be done; an increase in calories, proper hydration and looking at a few supplements may be a good place to start but my best advice here is go see a Sports Dietitian that specializes in Endurance sports. I could sit here and write the rest of this post on which vitamins and minerals you’ll likely need but if you’re not fully evaluated then it can make matters worse, which is why I recommend seeing a Sports Dietitian so they can give you a completely holistic assessment to help you with your issues and get you training again. But once you’re testosterone levels come back to normal then it’s a good idea to keep working with that Sports Dietitian to make sure you are meeting your nutritional requirements to fuel you to ensure you have the best race season ever! I can’t stress how important this is because many triathletes will have no issue dropping over $5000 on a new bike that shaves off 1-2lbs and is a bit more aerodynamic but not even consider how their current nutrition is impacting the weight on the bike as well as how aerodynamic your own body is. Seriously, the cost of some carbon fibre disk wheels is over 2 times what you could spend on a good Sports Dietitian in one season. You’re also in luck because ESN has a January New Years special with our pricing! Check out our store to find out more! So do yourself a favour this triathlon season and go get your testosterone levels checked and consider working with a sports dietitian to not only make sure you have the best race season of your life but also for your long term health and wellness! For my fellow triathletes, I’ll be seeing you in the Muskoka Half Ironman this year! So if you see me make sure you say hi and maybe get a little bit of last minute advice on nutrition before the race! Ben Sit, RD, Sports Dietitian President of Evolved Sport and Nutrition Complete Lifestyle Management A few weekends ago at a cocktail party, I bumped into an acquaintance who attends one of my Powerpump classes. As I’m about to chow down on a bite-sized pastry wrapped hot dog, she remarks “OMG you’re eating THAT?” I replied “Hell ya!, of course I’m eating that, it’s delicious.” Excited and surprised by my response, she seemed to have a newfound perspective that you can be healthy and eat a treat. As a Dietitian and Personal Trainer there’s a lot of pressure to look a certain way and be healthy on all fronts. The role comes with assumptions of perfectly planned meals and workouts, including: drinking 8-10 glasses of water everyday, loving Kale, eating only sprouted whole grain bread, effortlessly getting in 6 servings of veggies a day, and the list goes on. As a Sports Dietitian, it’s also assumed that my pre and post workout fuel is planned to a tee. Right… So, I’m a busy mom of two crazy little boys, I’m trying to run my own private nutrition and fitness practice, and all the while I’m desperately trying to get my pre pregnancy body back. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on. While I pride myself on practicing what I preach, I am not always perfect when it comes to my diet and my fitness regimen, and I’m ok with admitting that. Here’s the truth… 1.It’s 4 pm and I realize I’ve only consumed two glasses of fluids; this includes my morning coffee…Essentially I’m a desert and likely dehydrated at all times. 2.It’s dinnertime and I realize I’ve had no vegetables until now. Yikes. 3.I don’t have much time to eat before training, so lunch ends up being a pre-fab protein bar or a measly serving of Greek yogurt. This is insufficient and I admit is a big cop out. 4.By the time I get my post workout fuel into my belly, it’s been hours. Pretty hard to see results with poor fuelling practices. 5.I often get less than six hours of sleep. This is simply a reality right now with two small kids, but surely its not helping performance, recovery, or weight loss. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Maybe you have your own daily pitfalls. Being aware of them is the first step. The question is what are you going to do about it!?! I’ll be honest, things haven’t always been this dire, and it certainly could be worse, but the thing is, I have a goal and I haven’t been able to attain it. I wanted my clothes to fit like they used to and hit my previous records in the gym. Reaching seven months postpartum, I start getting frustrated. I was training regularly, and not eating that much, so what gives?! I was trying to be patient, as everyone told me to be, but I was stagnant in my weight, and my training goals, and was beginning to get pissed. Realistically, as a Sports Dietitian working with clients just like me all the time, when I analyzed my intake, and all the factors contributing to my stagnation, I kinda knew my short comings, (see list above). Regardless, there’s always a nagging feeling that you’re missing something, or that it’s your fault and needed to just work harder. After beating myself up for a few weeks, I decided it was time to ask for help. I called a trusted colleague who’s amongst the best in field of sport nutrition (You guessed it, It’s Ben). Surely he could figure out why my body comp is at a halt. When he posed the question back to me, “describe what you think the problems are?” He basically concluded that I already had all the answers. Ok, so there was no magic answer. Damn…But, in a way knowing this was validation and while that alone doesn’t change anything per se, this validation was crucial to setting me up for action and success. On a positive note, think of the possibilities if I was to actually start implementing proper nutrition practices! Professionally, I find that when clients ask for help it signifies they’re ready and motivated to make change. This was the case for me, and having someone help monitor that is fundamental for me. Ben gave me a clear plan and specific goals to attain within a specific span of time. For some reason, him working with me worked far better than me wroking by myself. Go figure. And, so, while I already knew what my problems were, and how to solve them, I simply wasn’t doing it until I bit the bullet, reached out, and asked for help. Once I made the commitment and was accountable to someone including myself, things started to happen. We made a few small changes and before I knew it I started losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time! And the best part? They were all things that were realistic and fit with my current, busy lifestyle! Within two weeks of changing my breakfast, planning out my pre and post workout plan to meet my nutrition needs and stimulate Muscle Protein Synthesis, (since I clearly wasn’t finding time to eat a meal), and adding small snack before bed, (Yippee, who doesn’t like snacking before bed), I was feeling more energized, lost two pounds of body fat and was starting to changes in my strength and body composition. It may seem strange that one Sports Dietitian would ask another Sports Dietitian for help but it gave me the push to implement the small changes that were holding me back. The moral of the story here is that Dietitians aren’t perfect. We are human, and so are you. DON’T waste your time beating yourself up for falling off track. And that many of us will try to do things for ourselves, but at the end of the day it’s always beneficial to look at what you have available to you and to get help from the people around you. Do find a plan and partner to help you get back on track. Asking for help, even when you think you know the problem, provides a source of support, clarity and encouragement. It can also give you an objective outlook on your challenges. It may also provide you with easy strategies you hadn’t thought of before. Getting the right professional to help guide you in making small, positive and realistic changes as well as setting realistic goals is key. They can help keep you accountable and provide perspective that facilitates healthy changes. Debora Sloan, RD, Sports Dietitian, CPT Sports Dietitian with Evolved Sport and Nutrition Complete Lifestyle Management This blog is an extension to the recent video posted by ESN featuring Ben and Emilie. If you haven’t seen it – check it out here! November is prostate cancer awareness month. Prostate cancer is the number one cancer risk for men, and the number two cancer killer second to lung cancer. Prostate cancer often occurs without any symptoms which is why many people don’t discover it until much further along the disease process. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that almost 3 million deaths from both cancer and other diseases are linked to low fruit and vegetable intake. Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants. Our body’s cells have a natural defense strategy against free radicals (which can cause cell damage and may play a role in the development of cancer). Free radicals can be caused by things like pollution, cigarette smoke, or even the natural process of aging. Our body has its own defense mechanism to help repair some the damage caused by these free radicals. Antioxidants can help reinforce this protective mechanism. There are many different kinds of antioxidants that can be found in many different foods. Below are some antioxidants and where you can find them: Vitamin C Red and yellow peppers, oranges, papaya, kiwis Vitamin E Almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ Selenium Brazil nuts, tuna, eggs, oysters Flavonoids: Dark berries and eggplant contain anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid found in dark red/purple coloured fruits and vegetables Green tea and cocoa contain catechins, another type of flavonoid found in various foods and drink derived from pants Carotenoids: Guava, watermelon, cooked tomato, and grapefruit contain a caretonoid called lycopene giving food that vibrant red pigment Sweet potato, orange, and carrot contain a carotenoid called beta-carotene, giving food their bright orange colour As you can see, there are a ton of food sources of antioxidants. If at this point you are thinking about taking an antioxidant supplement to really boost your protection against cancer, be cautious. Some antioxidant supplements may have higher amounts than you need, which means you could cause pro-oxidative damage (ironically exactly what you were trying to prevent!). And besides, antioxidants are best ingested through food rather than supplements. If you have any questions about cancer prevent or other nutrition-related inquiries, connect with ESN today to get started with one of our fabulous Sports Dietitians! Emilie Trottier, BASc, RD, Sports Dietitian Sports Dietitian with Evolved Sport and Nutrition Complete Lifestyle Management Halloween is fast approaching! Other than the costumes and scary movies, one essential thing most people talk about during this time of year is the TREAT! I believe there is nothing wrong with having some treats to put you in the Halloween spirit. However, as for everything else, balance is key. Here are some tips to help you have a healthier Halloween: a) DIY Chocolate Bars! Do-it-yourself chocolate bars are perfect treats to bring to your Halloween get-togethers or to make for trick-or-treating (if you decide to give out candies). These recipes are easy to make. They do not contain any processed and random, hard to pronounce ingredients typically found in store-bought chocolate bars. Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Ingredients: 300 g Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips Peanut Butter - I chose the low-fat version. Additional: cupcake baking cups and a cupcake muffin pan Directions: 1) Place each baking cup on the cupcake muffin pan. This will help create the unique circumference seen in the original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. 2) Melt the chocolate chips. 3) In each cup, add 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate and spread equally and evenly. This will be the bottom layer. Put in the freezer for 10 minutes. 4) Remove from the freezer. Add one teaspoon of peanut butter on each cup. Make sure not to spread it too much because you don’t want it to be visible from the outside. Freeze again for 10 minutes. 5) Remove from the freezer. Add two teaspoons of melted chocolate on top. Make sure to even out this last layer by spreading it to the edges. This will be your top layer. Freeze for 20 minutes and you’re done! Enjoy! Homemade Bounty Bars Ingredients: 2 cups of Unsweetened Medium Desiccated Coconut ½ cup of Melted Coconut Oil 3 tablespoons of Maple Syrup or Honey 250 g Dark Chocolate Chips Additional: parchment paper and a baking pan Directions: 1) Using a mixer or a food processor, blend the desiccated coconut, coconut oil, and maple syrup for 5-7 minutes on a medium or high speed. Final product is good if it sticks together when squeezed. 2) Line a pan with parchment paper. Place the coconut mixture on the baking pan. I suggest making the layer thick so it won’t break easily after. Freeze for 30 minutes. 3) Melt the dark chocolate chips. 4) Remove the coconut layer from the freezer and cut them into your preferred size. 5) Line another baking pan with parchment paper. Coat the sliced coconut layers by dipping them into the dark chocolate mixture. Place the final product on the parchment paper. Freeze for an hour (or until the chocolate hardens) and you’re done! Enjoy! b) Make a Snack Mix with your Leftover Candies Aside from the tricks Ben talked about in ESN’s new Halloween Youtube video, making a snack mix is another way to use leftover Halloween candies. For my snack mix I combined pumpkin seeds, raw almonds, dried banana slices, dried cranberries, stovetop popcorn and Halloween candies (candy corn, M&Ms, and Nibs Twizzlers) together. Aside from the candies, my favourite ingredient in this mix is the stovetop popcorn! The media loves to showcase popcorn as this “unhealthy” and “buttery” movie snack. This makes most people think of popcorn as junk food — convenient and soaked in butter. However, in its natural form popcorn is a whole grain. It is high in insoluble fibre which helps digestion. I like to cook my popcorn with canola oil or coconut oil because they are perfect for high temperature cooking. Stovetop popcorn is about 55 calories for 1 cup. This is a healthy alternative to microwavable popcorn which contains artificial flavour and colour, and preservatives. Oil-popped popcorn is a nutritious snack as long as it contains a moderate amount of butter and other toppings. Mixing your leftover Halloween candies with healthy ingredients will help control how much candy you’re eating. Furthermore, leftover candies add fun and variety to your favourite trail mix ingredients. I hope these tips are helpful! As always, be aware of portion sizes and take a moderate approach when eating your Halloween candies! If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure to watch ESN’s Halloween Video Thanks for reading. Have safe and happy Halloween! Gelaine Trinidad, BASc Social Media Coordinator for Evolved Sport and Nutrition |
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