Nutrition

Does Nutrition Influence Hormones?

Published by superadmin on June 25, 2023 | Leave a response

You need messengers in the body for it to function correctly. That requires many things, including healthy nutrition. The messengers are your hormones. They’re chemicals created by the body that are vital to all functions. Each hormone has one that opposes it to return the body to homeostasis. Ghrelin is the hunger hormone, while leptin is the hormone that makes you feel full. Insulin lowers blood glucose, but if it gets too low, the body releases glucagon, which tells the liver to release more glucose.

Balancing sex hormones can be tricky.

Whether menopause or your menstrual cycle is causing problems balancing your estrogen, the food you eat can make a difference. Estrogen does more than regulate your cycle and the reproductive system. It also affects the heart, blood vessels, skin, hair, bones, and the brain. Consuming phytoestrogens from plant-based food can mimic estrogen by producing a small response when eaten. Phytoestrogen is in nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, vegetables, soy, and whole grain. If you have too much estrogen, consuming cruciferous vegetables like broccoli can help.

If your balance between glucagon and insulin is off, it may be about what you eat.

As mentioned earlier, there’s a yin-yang balance between glucagon and insulin. Insulin resistance causes the body to produce too much insulin. Insulin tells the cells to open to receive the glucose from the blood. If they don’t open, the blood glucose level stays high and the body sends more insulin. This can cause diabetes. If you want to rebalance and help insulin function properly, avoid simple carbohydrates, like food with added sugar. Consume fewer calories and include whole grains, fruits, and vegetables in your diet.

Fat around your belly can come from too much cortisol.

Cortisol is released by the adrenal gland during the fight-or-flight response. It’s triggered by stress. Besides making changes during stress, it also helps regulate how the body uses protein, fat, and carbs for energy. It also is important for blood pressure regulation, limiting inflammation, aiding in blood sugar regulation, and maintaining the wake-sleep cycle. Eat a diet packed with nutritious whole foods, including healthy fat, whole grain, fruits, and vegetables. Good gut health is important, so include probiotic and prebiotic food. Avoid caffeine and alcohol which can increase cortisol.

Increasing omega-3 fatty acids in your diet can reduce your cortisol levels, reduce insulin resistance, and help balance sex hormones. Besides fatty fish like salmon, omega-3 is in walnuts, flaxseed, and chia seed.
Green tea has compounds that help all parts of the body. It’s filled with antioxidants. It can help improve insulin levels. Use marjoram liberally to influence insulin, estradiol, and cortisol.
A healthy diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and good hydration can help your body get back to normal, without hormonal imbalances. Changing your lifestyle helps the entire body function at its best.
Discuss your concerns with your healthcare professional if you believe you have a hormone imbalance and follow their instructions. Always check with your healthcare professional before beginning any program of exercise.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

What Are The Advantages Of Fat In My Diet?

Published by superadmin on June 10, 2023 | Leave a response

This last trip to the grocery in Stamford, CT, convinced me there needs to be more education about the advantages of healthy fat in the diet. I watched as people spent time searching for no-fat or low-fat food, without realizing those options had sugar added to replace the flavor lost when they removed the fat. Fat isn’t always bad. Your body needs it. On the other hand, added sugar has no redeeming qualities. You’ll get many benefits when you add fat to your diet, but it must be healthy fat. Foods containing healthy fat include nuts, avocados, olives and olive oils, fatty fish, and yogurt.

Some fats are necessary for survival, while others cut your survival short.

Trans fats are the enemies of a healthy body. They are partially hydrogenated oil. Hydrogenation is a process that makes the shelf-life of liquid oil longer. Fully hydrogenated oil is solid, but trans-fat—partially hydrogenated oil—is soft and easy to spread. Trans fats are hard for the body to process. They can create problems controlling blood sugar levels and increase inflammation leading to diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. They increase the risk of stroke and heart attack and boost the bad cholesterol levels.

You need healthy fats, which include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids—PUFAs—and monounsaturated fatty acids—MUFAs—are the healthiest fats. They provide the most benefits for the body. They improve your body’s ability to absorb fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin E. PUFAs include fatty acids the body can’t make, such as omega-3 fatty acid and Omega-6. Unsaturated fat is beneficial for all the cells in the body. If you took all the water out of the brain, 60% of what remained would be fat. It’s necessary for all functions.

To determine whether saturated fats are healthy, you have to go to the source.

If you get saturated fat from fried products, baked goods high in sugar, processed meat, or fast food, it may not be the fat that’s causing the problem, but the delivery system. If you get saturated fat from full-fat dairy, coconut, or pastured animal products, you’ll have different results. The saturated fats in whole milk from pastured cows help protect the heart. Studies also show coconut oil can improve cholesterol panels. It’s all about the food that contains saturated fat and the rest of the diet.

MUFAs are important for blood clotting, nerve functioning, muscle strength, and brain health. PUFAs aid blood clotting, nerve functioning, muscle strength, and brain health.
Consuming food with saturated fat is healthy for the brain. Much of the fat in the brain is saturated fat. Saturated fat is also important for immune health, and bone health. It boosts the immune system and builds insulation for the nerves.
Eating food with healthy fat, like avocados, can improve your blood pressure. Fat is necessary for cell growth, hormone production, nutrient absorption, joint lubrication, body insulation, cell growth, and organ protection.
Healthy fat can even help you lose weight. Fat makes you feel fuller, so you’ll eat less. It helps stabilize blood sugar levels, which can reduce insulin levels. Too much insulin causes insulin resistance and fat around your middle.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Nutrition

Best Fat-Burning Foods For Women

Published by superadmin on May 10, 2023 | Leave a response

I tell clients in Stamford, CT, that eating a healthy diet helps them lose fat. That’s true, but including fat-burning foods can also help, particularly for women/ The fat burners contain certain nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, and phytochemicals that either increase metabolism, provide the necessary nutrients to burn fat, or reduce the body’s ability to produce fat.

Boost your metabolism with a little caffeine.

Drinking coffee or tea can increase your metabolism due to the caffeine it contains. Several studies show that caffeine increases metabolism and helps burn fat. Some studies show that consuming caffeine within an hour of working out allowed the subjects to increase exercise time and caused the body to burn more fat. If you’re sensitive to the caffeine in coffee, try tea, especially green tea. The EGCG in green tea helps take off belly fat.

Eat foods that are high in protein.

Whether you consume whey protein or eggs, you’ll get the fat-fighting help you need. The protein in both fills you up and keeps you feeling full longer, so you eat less. Protein also requires more processes to digest, so it burns extra calories and boosts your metabolism by approximately 25% while digesting. Protein can help build muscle mass and preserve it when you’re losing weight. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism is and the easier it is to shed those extra pounds. Whey protein accomplishes those goals better than any other protein source.

Healthy fat is essential for weight loss.

Food with healthy fat includes full-fat yogurt, fatty fish such as salmon, and olive oil. Fat makes you full, no matter what form. It is harder to digest. Fatty fish has omega-3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation, which can cause fat accumulation and weight gain. It also may help burn fat. Full-fat yogurt keeps you feeling full longer. The CLA—conjugated linoleic acid—in yogurt burns fat and increases weight loss.

Manufacturers often replace the fat in low-fat yogurt with sugar to improve taste. Extra sugar means extra body fat. The fat removed contains the CLA fatty acids that make yogurt an effective fat burner.
Add beets to your diet for an additional boost of fat burning. The amino acid, betaine that’s found in beets, increases fat burning and reduces insulin resistance which can increase belly fat.
Choose food with pectin like tomatoes, green beans, strawberries, apples, and oranges. The pectin helps prevent fat accumulation. Its gel-like fiber blocks the absorption of fat.
Increase your metabolic rate by adding spice to your food. Chili peppers create a fire in your mouth when you eat them, then help torch calories by boosting metabolism. The capsaicin in chili peppers helps burn body fat.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Nutrition

Foods That Will Help Boost Your Memory

Published by superadmin on April 10, 2023 | Leave a response

As people age, they become far more aware of what they forget but forgetting happens to everyone. If you can’t remember what to buy at the grocery store, the name of your favorite book, or even the name of the boss’s wife, even though you know it well, you might need to change your diet. The food you eat can make a difference in how well memory is retrieved. Changing your diet can boost your memory and avoid the embarrassment of forgetting a name.

Increasing omega-3 fatty acids in your diet improves brain health.

There’s a beneficial ratio of omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids, which is 4:1 with four parts omega-6 to one part omega-3. The average diet in the US is far from ideal. It’s closer to having a 25:1 ratio, with almost six times as much omega-6. Many things occur when there’s an imbalance and too little omega-3 in the diet. It can cause mental decline, depression, poor memory, and aggression. Fat is necessary for the brain to function. The brain is 60% fat, of which half is omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is a building block of the brain. There’s a correlation between Alzheimer’s or age-related decline and the intake of Omega-3. Include fatty fish, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, or eggs in your diet to boost omega-3.

Feed your brain health benefits with a little spice.

Studies show that reducing inflammation improves brain functioning. One spice that does that is turmeric. Curcumin in turmeric is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that directly affects the brain cells. It reduces inflammation and may benefit the brain by clearing amyloid plaque associated with Alzheimer’s or preventing it from forming. If you want to maximize the benefits of turmeric, pair it with black pepper. Cinnamon can help you become more alert and improve brain functioning.

It’s not always what you eat, but what you don’t eat that boosts memory.

You’ll not only lose weight and feel better, but you’ll also boost your brain power when you quit foods with added sugar. Sugar increases inflammation. Foods that help you lose weight can also improve your brain power. Studies show that obesity can increase the risk of mental decline dramatically. Obese individuals show a reduced amount of gray matter, the location of neurons, and an increased amount of harmful proteins responsible for memory loss in the hippocampus, the area of the brain for memory. Not only will healthy eating boost your memory, but it will also make your whole body healthier.

Blueberries contain phytonutrients that boost memory. Walnuts and other tree nuts provide vitamin E, healthy fats, and plant compounds that are memory-boosters.
Include red and orange peppers or citrus for added vitamin C. It’s an antioxidant that also protects the brain. Broccoli also contains antioxidants, plus has vitamin K that prevents inflammation.
Coffee or tea contain caffeine and antioxidants to boost memory power. Green tea also contains L-theanine, which helps you relax yet still remain alert. Green tea also contains polyphenols that protect memory.
Eating organ meats, egg yolks, and cheese can boost vitamin D. Vitamin D improves memory. Safe sunning is another way to increase vitamin D intake.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Exercises You Should Start Doing Regularly

Published by superadmin on March 25, 2023 | Leave a response

Regular exercise can help optimize health. You should do some form of exercise daily, even if it’s just going for a walk. There are so many different exercises, it’s hard to decide which ones to do. Our trainers can help you, but if you’re working out on your own, here are some exercises you should start doing regularly. To get an adequate workout, you need to add other exercises to your workout, so these are just a baseline to follow.

Work the large muscles of your body to boost your nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels, which lowers your blood pressure. You can increase it in your body with exercise, particularly from large muscle groups. Squats and lunges work large muscles. Squats also improve core and lower body strength, while building flexibility in the hips. Lunges help improve your balance and improve glute and leg muscles. Both burn tons of calories.

Do planks, push-ups, or both.

Push-ups are planks in motion, and also a lot harder to do since you’re slowly lowering and lifting your body, using both push and pull actions. Both push-ups and planks help build core muscles, particularly abdominal muscles. They both strengthen the entire body. Planks don’t put stress on the back but do help increase core muscle strength. You can modify both planks and push-ups to make them more suitable for your fitness level, such as bent knee push-ups or forearm planks.

Do a bridge or thoracic rotation to loosen your back and prevent future back issues.

The bridge helps build core muscles and doing them regularly can help prevent back pain and tighten your tummy. Thoracic rotations are stretches and also good exercises to help relax and strengthen muscles in the back, but focus more on the upper back. Both can help counter the effect that slouching has on your posture by stretching the muscles that have been trained to remain in a permanent slump through years of sitting and bad posture.

A stretch that will make everyone feel good is the knee or knees-to-chest exercise. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet on the mat. Pull one or both knees to your chest by interlacing fingers around the lower leg or legs and pulling it toward you.
A wall slide will help your posture, which helps relieve the pain that comes from sitting too long slumped over. Stand against a wall with your hips and shoulders touching. Raise your arms in a V and then slowly lower them to a goal post without lifting your back off the wall.
Walking is a good type of exercise to do every day and it doesn’t require special equipment or much planning. You have to have good posture for it to be the most effective and can find easy ways to add to the amount of time you walk every day.
A four-minute nitric oxide dump combines four exercises performed ten times each per set, squats, alternating arm raises, non-jumping jumping jacks, and military presses. Do three sets of each three or four times throughout the day.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset, Nutrition

Is An Apple A Day Really A Good Idea?

Published by superadmin on March 10, 2023 | Leave a response

A lot of knowledge is passed to the next generation through proverbs. For example, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” has been a popular saying since the 1800s and the reason is that it’s true. We rely on facts and scientifically based knowledge at Revolution Training in Stamford, CT, and the facts are, apples are very healthy. There is a caveat. If you live a sedentary lifestyle and consume junk food for most of your diet, eating one or more apples each day may help, but may not keep you healthy. That doesn’t take away from its health benefits.

Apples are loaded with healthy fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.

A medium size apple is just 100 calories, but it contains 16 % of the RDI of fiber, 6% of the RDI for potassium, 14% of the RDI of vitamin C, and 5% of the RDI for vitamin D. It has copper, manganese and also smaller amounts of vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and E. Apples also contain powerful phytonutrients such as quercetin, catechin, and chloric acid. Quercetin is anti-inflammatory. Catechin is an antioxidant that’s also found in green tea. Chlorogenic acid, which is also in coffee, helps control weight and lower blood sugar levels.

Apples make your belly bugs happy.

You’ll feed the beneficial microbes in your gut when you eat apples. Apples contain soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol levels and provide prebiotic benefits. Prebiotics feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Having good gut health and a diverse collection of beneficial microbes affects everything from digestion to brain and emotional health. Apples are healthy when they’re raw, but stewed apples have additional benefits. The effects of the pectin in stewed apples are more pronounced, so the pectin provides more benefits for maintaining and repairing the intestinal mucosa lining, reducing inflammation, eliminating toxins, and modulating the bacteria in the gut.

Improve your heart health by eating apples.

The fiber in apples feeds the beneficial microbes that help lower cholesterol levels. Studies show eating apples is as effective as many cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, but without the side effects. One study compared apples to statins and found eating apples was similar in lowering death rates from heart disease. Apples also contain a flavonoid called epicatechin. It helps lower blood pressure, another heart-healthy benefit. The skin also contains anthocyanins and other polyphenols, which also help lower cholesterol levels.

Obesity is the leading cause of preventable deaths. Apples help promote weight loss. It does that by increasing the fiber, making you feel fuller. Apple juice or applesauce won’t provide the same benefit.
Apples can help people with osteoporosis. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds that apples contain help slow calcium loss.
Apples can provide dental benefits. Eating apples promotes saliva, which can help keep the teeth healthier and brighter. Apples also contain nutrients that help boost healthy gums.
Apples can help reduce the risk of asthma, cancer and diabetes if you eat them regularly. The antioxidants also help protect the immune system and lungs.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Why You Should Put Yourself First This Year

Published by superadmin on February 25, 2023 | Leave a response

Why is it important to put yourself first when it comes to fitness? If you’re not healthy, nobody will be there to do the important things you do for others. Taking care of your health is similar to putting on your oxygen mask before you attend to children. It helps you stay alert so you can ensure they get the mask fitted properly onto the child. Also, if you put the child’s mask on first, he or she can’t fit your mask on you if you pass out. Self-care isn’t being selfish. You have to do it for yourself since nobody else can do it for you.

While thinking of others first is considered noble, you deserve the same respect.

If you don’t value yourself, who will value you? People take a cue from you on how to treat you. If you’re last on the list of importance, others will also treat you that way. When you take care of your needs, you not only show the world you’re important, too, you also have a more even temperament. Feeling good about yourself allows you to feel good about others and help put an end to moody days.

You’ll prevent burdening others with your illness.

If you’re overworked, stressed out, and out of shape, it’s a perfect scenario for illness. When you’re sick, it can affect the lives of others. There’s nobody to take care of them and often they become responsible for taking care of you. If you truly care about the people you love, you’ll take care of your emotional and physical needs. Doing that ensures you have the good health, mindset and energy to be the best partner, mother or friend you can be.

Lack of self-care can lead to making mistakes.

Everyone has had brain drain at one time or another. It often happens when you’re not getting enough sleep and running on empty. Self-care includes not only eating healthily and getting exercise, but also getting adequate sleep. When you exercise, you boost your mental clarity, increase your energy and even sleep sounder. It can help you improve your overall performance, get things done faster and in a safer, more accurate manner.

Take time first to take care of yourself, even if you have a busy schedule. As with your auto, it’s better to do the maintenance work for a short time every day, than to spend hours at the doctor’s doing repairs.
When you’re mentally and physically exhausted, your outlook on life suffers. Be the best you possible, which means be your happiest self. You can’t do that unless you’re healthy and fit. It will make every day better.
Being fit can help you finish the day with energy to spare. It makes you a better partner, friend and parent. When you have energy, you’ll be more apt to have a smile on your face and do more for your family and friends.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money on making yourself first. Just carve out a time every day to workout and do something for yourself. Make that time an appointment with your future happiness.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset, Nutrition

Why Your Weight Doesn’t Really Matter?

Published by superadmin on February 10, 2023 | Leave a response

Your weight isn’t the only way to measure your progress. It often doesn’t matter, especially if you’re building muscles. At Revolution Training in Stamford, CT we focus on a well-rounded program that helps you build muscle, lose fat and become the best you can be. If you rely too heavily on the scales and weigh in several times a day, you may become discouraged. Weight fluctuates daily. It doesn’t steadily drop but drops and rises, having bigger dips and lower highs as you progress. Many things can affect weight loss, even when you’re making progress.

Are you building more muscles and burning fat?

When you build muscle tissue, you might not see the weight loss you’d have if you were just dieting. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, so the more you have, the heavier you’ll be. However, if you build muscle, but don’t shed a pound, you’ll also look thinner. You could compare fat tissue to feathers and muscle tissue to iron. The container holding a pound of feathers will be bigger than the one holding iron. Tracking your measurements can help prevent discouragement.

Changes don’t occur overnight and your memory blurs.

If you could see changes in just a few days from living a healthier lifestyle, everyone would do it. It would be motivating. Unfortunately, they don’t happen quickly and people often forget how they looked when they started. If you want to stay motivated, you can create your album of success by snapping a few pictures. You’ll need a full-length mirror or someone to help you. Stand at the same spot each time and wear the same clothing that reveals your body shape. Every two weeks to a month take a picture. You’ll be able to see a dramatic difference after a few months.

Your belly tells its own story.

If part of your fitness problem is belly fat, tracking your waist measurements will help you get a better idea of the progress you’re making. Belly fat is visceral fat, which crowds your organs. Not only is it the most dangerous, but it’s also the hardest to lose. If you take no other measurements, your waist circumference will give you a good idea of your progress.

Identify your reason for starting a fitness program and use that to measure your progress. For instance, if high blood pressure or health issues made you start, track your blood pressure.
Keep an eye on your productivity and your energy level. Are you getting more done in less time? When you’re fit, you not only move quicker, you have more mental clarity. Whether physical or mental, you’ll get tasks done better and quicker.
Can you pinch an inch of fat? Skinfold calipers are a way to judge the amount of subcutaneous fat. That’s the fat just below the skin. Measure the area on the hip bone, the triceps, the abdomen and the thighs.
Use clothing to measure progress. When you first start, find a piece of clothing that fits way too tight, like a pair of jeans. Use it to measure your progress. When they fit comfortably, not too tight, you’ve reached one goal.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset, Nutrition

Effective Workouts To Lose Back Fat Quickly

Published by superadmin on January 10, 2023 | Leave a response

Most of the articles on workouts focus on building big muscles, flattening your belly or tightening your booty. Just a few address the issue of back fat, which can be uncomfortably unsightly, especially in swimwear. If you want to get ready for the coming summer season, start now with these exercises and aids that can help you look fabulous in a swimsuit next summer.

Start with a healthy diet.

You can simply exercise away back fat without lowering your calorie intake. You have to lose weight or change the composition of your body. Reducing your caloric intake doesn’t have to be hard. You simply have to eat healthier. It will help you take weight off and keep it off permanently. Cut out highly processed food and food with added sugar and focus on eating more fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meat. As you lose weight, it will come off all over your body, including your back.

Tone your core muscles.

Your core muscles are your abs, mid and lower back, with some of the shoulders, hip and neck. Work on core muscles, but also focus mostly on the upper, mid and lower back. Exercises for the upper and mid back involve pushing and pulling. Pull ups, push-ups, planks and side twists are just a few of the exercises that will help strengthen and tone the back. When you do planks, there are a variety of modifications you can do to work all the muscles in the back. Try doing a side plank, forearm and full extension.

Lower back muscles can be toned with an exercise that also works the abs.

If you’ve spent much time in the gym, you’ve probably heard of the Superman. Lay on your stomach with your hands in front stretched out and feet slightly apart. You’ll look like Superman as he flies through the skies. Lift your hands and feet off the ground about five to six inches and hold the position. For advanced workouts, lift your entire upper and lower body off the floor, balancing on your belly.

Let circuit training help tone and strengthen back muscles. Combine several back exercises into a circuit and do one set of each with minimal rest between exercises. Rest slightly and repeat.
For faster results, use weights when you workout. Adding weight to your exercise helps sculpt and tone the muscles faster.
Try a chair dip. Sit with your hands on the sides of the chair and legs extended, feet touching the floor. Scoot your bottom forward and while holding the chair seat, slowly lower your bottom toward the floor and raise it again.
Traditional exercises that are perfect for tightening the back muscles and sculpting the body include push-ups, barbell and dumbbell lifts and air boxing.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition