Healthy Eating Tips - Foods to Avoid

Read food labels carefully and eliminate all food items that contain the following ingredients:
1) High fructose corn syrup
2) Sugar in top five ingredients
3) Bleached and/or enriched flour
4) Hydrogenated (partially) oils
5) Foods that contain > 4 grams of sugar
6) Foods that contain > 4 grams of saturated fat
7) Transfat

Rationale: The hypothalmus is the comman center of our brain and contains important satiety(feeling of being full or satisfied) regulating hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin creates the desire to crave food and leptin promotes satiety. If our brain doesn't tell us that we are full, we continue to eat, which leads to overeating and weight gain.

Simple Sugars
Simple sugars, ending in "ose", example high fructose corn syrup is not recognized as food and therefore inhibits leptin and leaves us feeling unsatisfied and craving more food. Also avoid foods that end in "ol", example: mannitol, sorbitol, these are sugar alcohols and are quickly converted to simple sugars.

Bleached/Unriched Flour
Bleached flours or unriched means that the food item is stripped from all nutrients.

Saturated Fats/Transfats
Saturated fats and transfats are added to foods to increase shelf life. These foods are usually solid at room temperature and have been reported to produce lower leptin levels. These fats increase LDL (bad cholesterol) and lower HDL (good cholesterol), which leads to arterial clogging and increases the risk of heart disease.

Hydrogenated (partially) Fats
The healthy fats Omega 3 and Omega 6 are removed.

Get Some Workout of Her "12-week Fitness Challenge"

Angela’s Calorie and Fitness Plan

Nutrition Plan (Calorie Recommendations)
Angela’s daily caloric intake was calculated first using the Katch-McArdle formula to determine her basal metabolic rate (BMR).This formula takes into account an individuals lean body mass and applies equally to both men and women. Angela’s calculated basal metabolic rate (calories expended at rest) is 1402 kcal. We estimated Angela’s total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) by multiplying her BMR (1402) by an activity level multiplier for moderate activity (1.55). Angela’s TDEE equals 2,173 kcal, the amount of calories Angela needs to maintain her weight given her current level of activity. We established a caloric deficit of 500 kcal/day or 3500 kcal/week, the equivalent to one pound of fat loss per week. Angela is projected to lose ~12 pounds by decreasing her caloric intake by 500 kcal/day. Also, Angela is encouraged to further reduce her calories on non-exercise days. Angela will track her intake using a food journal and we will be reviewed at the end of each week

Fitness Plan (Resistance Training and Cardiovascular Recommendations)
For healthy weight loss and long-term success, it is important to incorporate both cardiovascular endurance and strength training into her weight loss plan. Angela will be participating in three (3) 60-minute resistance training sessions per week and five (5) days of cardiovascular activities. The goal of the fitness plan is to create an additional 3500 kcal expenditure to yield an additional one pound of fat loss per week. Angela will be participating in a moderate-intensity circuit training regimen, equivalent to 5.5 METs (ACSM Compendium of Metabolic Intensities) and is estimated to expend ~452 kcal/day or 1357 kcal/week. Angela will also participate in five (5) days of cardiovascular activity that includes treadmill walking and Cybex Arc Trainer. Angela’s training intensity was calculated using The American College of Sports Medicine’s metabolic equations for treadmill walking. We estimated Angela will expend ~181kcal/day or ~905 kcal/week equivalent to ~3.17 pounds for her treadmill walking program and ~247kcal/day or ~1233 kcal/week while exercising on the Arc Trainer. The total caloric expenditure for Angela’s fitness plan is estimated to yield ~12.24 pounds of fat loss. See below for Angela’s cardiovascular program:

Mode: Treadmill Walking
Speed: 3.5 mph
Grade: 1.5% Incline
Duration:30 min.
METs: 4.40
Frequency: 5d/wk
Distance: 1.75 mi.
Pace: 17.14 min/mi

Mode:Arc Trainer
METs: 9
Duration: 20 min.
Frequency:5d/wk

*Please note the values for calories are approximations and may be adjusted throughout the duration of the program.

Corrective Stretching
Angela’s fitness plan will also include corrective stretching exercises to help improve her posture (excessive anterior pelvic tilt). Excessive anterior pelvic tilt is caused by tight erector spinae, hip flexors, and hamstring muscles. Corrective stretching exercises will include: cat stretch, supine trunk rotation, curl up on the ball, kneeling hip flexor stretch, and kneeling rectus femoris stretch.



Angela’s Resistance Training Plan

Warm-up 5 minutes on treadmill. Break a light sweat. Proceed to corrective stretching exercises

Mode: Circuit Training
Frequency: 3d/wk
Sets: 2 – 3 sets
Reps: 12 to 15 reps
Rest: <30 seconds between exercises
Movement Speed: Slow and Controlled Movements
Objective: Volitional Fatigue of the Targeted Muscle
Safety: Exhale on Exertion


Exercises
DB Push Press
Squat w/Back Row on Core Board
DB Chest Press on Stability Ball
Lat Pull Down on Stability Ball
Hamstring Curl with Stability Ball
Squat Thrust with Medicine Ball
Traveling Lunge w/Arm Curl
Triceps Bench Dips
Forearm Plank, Side Plank, Bird Dog, Medicine Ball Core Rotation, Back Extension

Cool-down with a total body static stretch