Menu

Blog

leslie

abs
In Healthy Eatingby

What to Eat During the Holidays to Keep Your Body Composition

What to Eat During the Holidays to Keep Your Body Composition

Three steps to maintaining your body composition during the holidays

 

The holidays are upon us. Between the frequent gatherings and endless shopping trips, it’s hard to keep a consistent gym schedule, much less a healthy eating schedule. One study found that people gain an average of 500% more weight per week during the holiday compared to non-holiday weeks!

No worries. Nutrition Nation is here to help you maintain your body composition and provide support to avoid holiday weight gain.

Body Composition

First, come get an InBody scan at the store. You can test your body composition to get your biometric data like percent body fat, muscle mass, and fat mass. Use the InBody to set a baseline to see how much fat you lose, or how much stronger you’ve become over the next few months.

In less than 60 seconds, an InBody scan can provide you with additional information like:

Segmental Analysis: Learn how much muscle and fat is in each of your body segments (right arm, left arm, torso, right leg, left leg) to identify areas of weakness.

Visceral Fat Analysis: Learn how much fat is surrounding your major organs. Visceral fat is associated with risks of developing diseases like cancer, diabetes, and stroke.

Basal Metabolic Rate: Find out how many calories your body burns while at rest so you can calculate how much food you should be eating per day.

Read more about body composition. 

plate with fork and knife icon

Eat Healthy

Second, watch what you eat for the next few months. You’re going to be tempted to indulge in all the salty, sweet, and carboliscious foods associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, but you have to be strong!

Here are a few nutrition tips to stay on track during the holidays:

Eat 1 plate of food. Fill it with lean protein (like turkey), vegetables (greens are best), and healthy carbs (like sweet potatoes). Have small servings of guilty pleasures. 

Limit alcohol and sugary beverages. This may be a hard one. Have seltzer with a lime, or if you absolutely have to, have a glass of wine. Sip it and savor it. 

Drink a ton of water. This will keep you full and dilute the sodium found in many holiday foods.

Have dessert. Make it something REALLY worth it. Have a half serving. Or, make your own healthy dessert and bring some to share. 

Protein up. Drink a protein shake 60 minutes before mealtime. This will bring you in to the meal already satiated and not ravenous.

Stop before you’re full. Eat slow, chew slow, enjoy the heck out of your food. This will allow your brain to catch up to your stomach and keep from over-eating.

Learn how to count macros. 

man doing workout at home

Work Out

Third, make time to work out. Holiday foods are high in calories, so you need to do something to work them off. Even if you can’t make it to the gym, go for a walk or jog, do some isometric exercises when nobody’s looking, pack some resistance bands in your suitcase when headed to the relatives – hey, something is better than nothing! 

Here are some core exercises you can do without equipment. 

Happy Holidays

Enjoy your time with your family, just pay attention to what you’re eating and make time to work out. Then head back to Nutrition Nation to get your body composition to see how well you did!

By Leslie Radford
Fat word on fire
In Supplementsby

Important Ingredients Found In Fat Burners And How They Work

Important Ingredients Found In Fat Burners And How They Work

 

L-Carnitine 

L-Tyrosine 

Sinetrol

HMB

Coleus Forskohlii

Not all fat burners contain the same ingredients. That’s why it’s important to read the label when you’re trying a new supplement to achieve the results you want and also when finding what works with your body. 

We mentioned in a previous article that you should choose fat burners that are able to promote fat loss while protecting your muscle mass. Here are some standard ingredients you will find in fat burners and what they can do for you.

Shredabull 2.0 Fat Burner

 

L-Carnitine 

Carnitine plays a key role in the mobilization of body fat for fuel in the body. L-Carnitine transports the fatty acids to the mitochondria where the fatty acids are oxidized for fuel. This allows you to burn fat during workouts, and at the same time, it will prevent muscle failure, fatigue, and that sluggish feeling many people experience, especially during a dieting phase.

L-Tyrosine 

L-Tyrosine is an amino acid that the body uses for the creation of the neurotransmitters adrenaline and noradrenaline. Tyrosine is also used in the body to create dopamine and is used by the body to make the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, both essential to metabolism.

When adrenaline and noradrenaline go up, so do your heart rate and body temperature. It works thermogenically by burning more calories and decreasing appetite.

Sinetrol 

Sinetrol+ does not contain stimulants like synephrine or octopamine. It’s made from the peel of citrus fruits and is rich in polyphenols. 

In a controlled study, subjects took 450-mg capsules at breakfast and lunch every day. So in total, they consumed 900 mg Sinetrol a day. The trial lasted 12 weeks. The subjects in the Sinetrol group lost more weight and more fat than the subjects in the placebo group. The Sinetrol users lost about 3.7 kg of fat and the placebo takers only 1.4 kg.

Sinetrol contains polyphenols that are said to inhibit the working of the enzyme phosphodiesterase [PDE] in fat cells. PDE is the enzyme that converts cAMP into AMP. cAMP makes sure that their signal is transferred to the enzymes that are responsible for getting the fatty acids out of the fat cells.

HMB (ß-Hydroxy ß-Methylbutyrate)

HMB can protect against muscle breakdown, aid recovery, and add energy during fasted training. Research suggests supplementing with HMB1 can preserve muscle protein during fasted training.

Coleus Forskohlii

Coleus Forskohlii is an herb with roots in Ayurvedic medicine known for its active ingredient, forskolin. This naturally occurring enzyme stimulates the production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate or cAMP. Cyclic AMP2 helps regulate both lipid and glucose metabolism, promoting calorie burn.

Research suggests that forskolin supplementation limits hunger, thereby supporting calorie restriction and fat loss. It’s also been shown to raise natural testosterone levels slightly, which contributes to muscle maintenance during a fat loss phase.

By Leslie Radford
woman exercising
In Fitness, Healthy Eating, Your Communityby

Tips for Women’s Health: National Women’s Health & Fitness Day

Tips for Women’s Health: National Women’s Health & Fitness Day

Key Points

Eat healthily

Exercise

Self-Care

Women’s Health & Fitness Day is the nation’s largest annual health promotion event for women of all ages and is celebrated the last Wednesday in September. It focuses attention on the importance of regular physical activity and health awareness for women.

Here are a few simple things that women can do regularly to ensure good health:

Health Tip #1: Eat healthily

woman eating healthy food

Eat more natural foods like a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods. Whole grains and high-fiber foods are great to add to your diet. Choose leaner cuts of meat, fish, and poultry. Avoid foods and beverages that are high in calories, sugar, salt, and fat.

If you’re not getting enough vitamins and nutrients in your diet, you might want to take a multivitamin and a calcium supplement to make sure you’re maintaining good health.

Additional diet tips:

  • Limit foods that are high in sugar
  • Eat smaller portions spread out over the day
  • Watch your carbohydrate intake
  • Eat a variety of whole-grain foods, fruits, and vegetables every day
  • Consume less fat
  • Avoid alcohol
  • Use less salt

Health Tip #2: Exercise 

woman exercising

 

Exercise at least 30 minutes per day. This will lessen your risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death among women in America. Aerobic exercises (walking, swimming, jogging, bicycling, dancing) are good for women’s health in general and especially for your heart. Adding weights will increase not only the strength of your muscles but your bones. You don’t have to lift heavy and you shouldn’t be concerned with bulking up unless that is your ultimate goal.

Regular physical activity helps:

  • Keep bones strong
  • Prevent hip fracture (breaking your hip)
  • Decrease pain from arthritis
  • Prevent dementia
  • Maintain the independence to do basic everyday activities, like getting dressed, going to the bathroom, bathing, and eating

Health Tip #3: Self-Care

woman meditating

Self-care is something that many women struggle with. It’s their nature to take care of others first. But taking care of yourself is vital to your health. When you practice self-care techniques, you can manage stress more easily, boost your confidence and your immune system, and lower your risk for many diseases. 

Ways to practice self-care:

  • Meditate
  • Exercise
  • Eat healthily
  • Get plenty of sound sleep
  • Sit in the sun
  • Read for pleasure
  • Journaling
  • Getting recommended screenings

Recommended Screenings: 

  • Cholesterol and Blood Pressure: Women ages 20 and up 
  • Pelvic Exams and Pap Smears: Women ages 21-65 should have annual pelvic exams and a Pap smear at least every three years. 
  • Breast Exams and Mammograms: All women should receive a breast exam every year beginning at age 20, even if it’s just a self-exam. Get mammograms from age 40-50, and every other-year mammograms after that. 
  • Osteoporosis Screenings: Women 65 and older 
  • Colorectal Screenings: Start at age 50
  • Skin Cancer: Women of all ages should develop the habit of paying attention to changes in the skin or changes in moles and birthmarks
  • Diabetes: Get regular screenings from age 40 onward
By Leslie Radford
body fat pinch
In Supplementsby

Fat Burners and Bodybuilding: What You Should Know

Fat Burners and Bodybuilding: What You Should Know

By Leslie Radford

What are Fat Burners?

How Fat Burners Can Help Bodybuilders

What to Look For in a Fat Burner

 

When it comes to metabolisms, it’s safe to say no two are alike. The same can be said about fat burners. Different ingredients are going to work for different people in different ways. What works for your gym buddy may not work for you. You’ll have to find what works for you by trial and error. 

Luckily, Nutrition Nation has trained staff that can point you in the right direction when it comes to choosing which fat burner to add to your stack.

body fat pinch

What are Fat Burners?

Fat burners are supplements that may help increase metabolism, burn fat, and promote weight loss. They’re classified according to their intended “fat-burning” action:

THERMOGENESIS  

Thermogenesis is the dissipation of energy through the production of heat. While this is a natural metabolic process, this type of fat burner can increase that production. 

LIPOLYSIS 

Lipolysis breaks down lipids, aka fat. Excess energy is stored as fat and when glucose stores run low, that’s what we burn.

APPETITE SUPPRESSION 

Appetite-suppressant supplements work in different ways including blocking the absorption of macronutrients that contain calories, make our stomach feel full, and/or impact hunger hormones.

lean body builder

How Fat Burners Can Help Bodybuilders

You put a lot of work into your bodybuilding regime. You are pushing your body to its limit with self-restraint and work ethic. A fat burner could give you an extra push in your efforts.

Bodybuilding relies heavily on nutrient timing, weight room stimulus, sleep, and clean supplements to get the look you’re going for.

We all know that carbs give you energy, but they also can be stored as fat. During a cut, you’ll need to pay extra attention to diet and training, and this typically means adjusting your carb/caloric intake to lose body fat. When you remove carbs from the equation, your body will be able to dip into fat storage for the energy you need.

While losing stubborn fat is its own struggle, a bodybuilder’s biggest concern tends to be muscle protein preservation. Bodybuilders should look for the best fat burner and muscle builder supplement that mobilizes whatever body fat they have left and increases metabolism while protecting muscle.

What to Look For in a Fat Burner

Lots of fat burners on the market are loaded with stimulants and substandard ingredients.

Stimulants might sound good, however, they’re not necessarily effective at the cellular level. Look for a supplement that can:

  • Accelerate metabolism
  • Increase mobilization of adipose tissue
  • Combat hunger
  • Decrease muscle breakdown
  • Improve lean body mass

Taking Fat Burners for Better Results

Next month, we’ll dive into the ingredients in fat burners and the benefits of each. In the meantime, come see the staff at Nutrition Nation — we will get you started.

Lipodrene
Nutrition Nation

At Nutrition Nation, our experts are available to help you reach your fitness goals faster by offering products that really work. We try all products before selling them, and if we don’t like them, we don’t sell them.

Information

Connect With US

subscribe us

Copyright © Nutrition Nation. All rights reserved. Web Design by advent trinity marketing agency logo

Call Now
Shopping cart close
Skip to content