If you think back to your parent’s diet a few decades ago, do you remember that people in the process of losing weight mostly had in mind calorie restriction as the method of choice to lose the fat they wanted to shed? The mindset was, if you had a diet with super low-calorie intake (the lower the better!), you could shed those pounds fast (please-like yesterday!)! It was common to believe back then that dramatically reducing your caloric intake would surely put fat loss on a fast track.

But was that true?

Or could it be that taking in fewer calories than you actually need to every day could be completely sabotaging your efforts and making you ultimately gain weight in the long run? 

According to this article, Kimberly Lummus, MS, RD, Texas Dietetic Association media representative and public relations coordinator at the Austin Dietetic Association in Austin, says, "[Seems like] It would make sense to stop eating [when you are trying to lose weight], but it actually works in the opposite way.”

So, which is it?

The answer to the question in our title is, yes. Eating an extremely low-calorie diet on a long term basis COULD have a boomerang effect and keep you from losing the weight that you desire.

And here is why...

What is a Calorie and Why Do We Need a Certain Amount Daily?

Calories are necessary to your body’s basic functioning and not just for weight control. Here’s why (brace yourself, we’re getting nerdy):

A calorie is a measurement, really; a unit of measure of energy that your body gets from the food and drink that you ingest each day. Basically, your body requires a certain amount in calories (based on your height, weight, gender, and age) in order to sustain three important processes in your body:

1. Digestion-a body needs calories to do what is known as the Thermic Effect of digestion. Calories are required to digest and metabolize your food.
2. Physical Activity-calories give the fuel to perform all of your daily physical demands.
3. Basal Metabolic Rate(BMR)-a certain number of calories are needed to keep all of the major organs and systems of your body running efficiently.

What is the Risk of Insufficient Calories on a Consistent Basis?

If you’re not eating enough calories every day, there are many health problems that can result, but for the sake of this article, we are focusing only on how it can affect fat loss. You can read more about other risks here.

Here are some of the things that make eating low-calorie diets on the regular counter-productive in achieving weight loss goals:

It lowers metabolism rate. 

Some studies show that metabolism, which is how effectively your body burns the calories it takes in as energy, is lowered by as much as 23%. And, ultimately, the effects of a lowered metabolism have been found to continue even after the calorie-impoverished diet has been stopped, causing as much as 80% of people to put weight back on - and then some. Muscle loss can be the culprit here. Especially if the calories that are consumed are not found in protein.

To prevent muscle loss and a lowered metabolism rate, make sure that you are taking in enough calories to cover the minimum needs for your own personal BMR. Find out what your personal BMR should be, here on our Macro Calculator. Make sure that the calories that you take in, are balanced, and you are calculating your macros properly. See MPOF’s macro calculator here. Throwing in some good resistance exercise for good measure can’t hurt either. (wink, wink)

Calorie-restricted diets can put your body into starvation mode. 

As your metabolism slows to a crawl, your body is trying to conserve it’s energy by burning calories as slowly as possible and storing them as fat. When you see that you are storing fat like crazy and see that all your dieting is not paying off at all, what do you (and most people in this same situation) typically do? You get discouraged and frustrated, which then leads to bingeing and overeating. It’s a vicious cycle that we’re trying to help you avoid!

It is so hard to sustain cutting calories and eating too little. What typically happens is that the person will go in the opposite direction; they will just become too hungry and go into a bingeing mode," says Lummus. "Because you are getting frustrated by not seeing any weight loss, you just sort of throw in the towel."    

Making Peace With Calories

Calories are not your enemy. In fact, they are a requisite part of leading a healthy and energetic life. "Your body needs a certain amount of calories just to sustain proper function," says Lummus. Read more about this here.

Novelty diets that cut out too many calories will leave you ready to give up and feeling drowsy. You won’t have enough energy to make it through the day. Chances are, you’re probably feeling that way already. =( It’s time to take back control of your food choices.

Instead of opting for this old, tired, and “yo-yo” way of eating, think of it as a permanent lifestyle change with tasty food and adequate calories that allows you to lose fat slowly at a few pounds per week. There is more evidence that those who do not diet, but make a lifestyle change instead, have the best chance of keeping and maintaining their ideal weight. Lose consistently by making protein rich nutrition choices, by not overeating, and exercising. Make a plan to merge these healthful habits that you will be able to stick to indefinitely. And always, always, allow yourself a little wiggle room for special occasions. 

Sleep, Wonderful, Sleep!

Why is sleep so awesome and how do I get more of it?

Isn't sleep amazing? It is the time of day that anyone over 15 generally looks forward to. It is obvious that we feel better when we do it. We inherently know that it has a restorative quality to it that we all need. There is nothing like falling into bed after a busy day and then waking up refreshed; not tired anymore. When you have had a good night's sleep it is as if your brain works better and you are ready to focus on the tasks at hand.

Studies show that sleep actively helps memory. It is controversial as to whether it really helps to pull that “all-nighter” before the college final. Did it really help to go to that 8:00 AM exam exhausted? I don’t think so! It seems that the data shows that you can focus easier and facts will be recalled better if you get a good night’s rest.

Likewise, overall health can be affected for better or for worse by sleep. 

Bad news first. There are more, but here are some reasons:

• Greater risk for Type 2 Diabetes - Sleeping less than 6 hours a night has repeatedly been shown to put people at greater risk of insulin resistance and developing type 2 diabetes.
• Mental Health - Mental health issues are strongly related to poor sleep, especially if there is a sleep disorder like insomnia or sleep apnea involved. Did you know that 90% of people that struggle with depression also complain of difficulty with their sleep?
• Immune deficiency - It might be no surprise that a person is 3x more susceptible to becoming ill by not sleeping well. There is evidence that during those times the immune system is weakened making one a prime target during cold and flu season.
• Obesity - There are strong links found between short sleep duration and poor success in weight loss. In fact, not getting enough sleep is one of the biggest risk factors for obesity. There seem to be numerous links from lack of motivation for exercise, to hormone interference.
• Increased inflammation - Poor sleep has been linked to increased inflammation in the digestive tract and inflammatory bowel diseases. For those that suffer from chronic digestive diseases (for example, Crohn’s disease) sleep loss has been linked to more frequent relapses.  Here are 10 foods that fight inflammation

There is good news too:

One of the most important jobs of sleep is to help us sort out and consolidate memories. All throughout our day, our brains take in mega amounts of information. We don’t always conscientiously even realize all that we are taking in; there is way too much! Facts we learned and the things we experience in the daytime need to be processed and stored in the correct parts of our brains. Much of this is done at night while we sleep. 

We don’t even realize it, but our sleep allows the bits and pieces of information that we have collected throughout our waking hours to be transferred from our short-term memories to our more permanent long-term memory banks. This is a process called “consolidation”. Consolidation is one of the main reasons why after a good sleep that people are more likely to retain information. 

We can not underestimate the incredible restorative effects of sleep. They are so obvious; you can tell that you feel good, focus better, and you aren’t tired all the time. Long, restful, uninterrupted sleep allows our bodies to rejuvenate, synthesize hormones, repair tissue, and even grow muscle. No wonder sleep is so awesome!!

Want to achieve 100% sleep quality, like we did? Keep reading!

What is a perfect night's sleep?

You may be asking yourself this very question. We know that sleep is awesome, but what constitutes that perfect night of sleep? Is it the time of day when your body and brain just shuts down? Well, no, as we have already said, your brain is actually very active and proactive in getting you ready for the next day. It is actually working and overseeing all the functions of your resting body. So you need to give yourself enough hours of sleep in order to give the time your brain needs to do its amazing work. 

Imagine your sleep for yourself like the maintenance you do for your car. You know if you skimp on regular oil changes on your car (if you can follow my analogy here), you will be headed for a mechanical breakdown in the near future. So it is with sleep. It surely is not something that you want to cut corners on.

So while the number of hours you spend sleeping are important, so is the quality of those hours. It is possible to get enough sleep timewise, but somehow the time doesn’t follow through the stages of the sleep cycle so that you are still waking up tired and not refreshed. If you find you are sleeping a good 8 hours, but are not waking up feeling well, it might be time to consult your physician as to why that might be.

As we go nighty-night, we differ in the number of different stages of sleep and each one is important in its own right. NREM is important for restoring and repairing our bodies and building up energy for the day ahead. REM sleep, which stands for Rapid Eye Movement, is during our dreaming phase where most of the work on our minds and memory categorizing takes place. To ensure that you get more and better sleep, you should avoid getting woken up in the middle of the night by noise or light. That’s right, don’t bring your cell phone to bed with you!! Alcohol consumption and also nicotine has been known to be sleep stealers as well. To learn more about the science of sleep, see here.

Are there different types of sleep?

There are only 2 different types of sleep, but at least 4 different stages. A cycle of these stages lasts typically 90-120 minutes. Three of those stages are NREM (non-rapid eye movement) with one stage of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in each cycle. 

Most people start a sleep cycle with a short period of stage one (NREM-1) which is generally characterized by slower eye movements at the beginning and the body is beginning to relax. This is obviously the easiest stage in which to rouse a person.

Stage two, (NREM-2) comes next and is usually the longest stage of sleep, compromising approximately 40-60% of a good night's sleep. As we progress further into the night, stage three (NREM-3) resumes. Although it is a longer stage in children and adolescents, it compromises only 5-15% in most adults. 

The final stage in the cycle is REM sleep. Our eyes dart back and forth very quickly. We dream the most during this stage while the brain is reviewing the day and consolidating and compartmentalizing all the memories. Interestingly, paralysis of muscles frequently comes with the REM stage and it is believed that it occurs as protection from a person acting out their dreams.

As the night continues, there should be about 4-5 of these cycles with intermittent lengths and stages. As night turns into dawn, there will usually be a lengthening of NREM and a shortening of REM stages. Generally, REM sleep is shorter earlier on in the night lengthening with the longest REM stage being shortly before wakening. 

How can you get better sleep?

Structuring a great sleep routine and following a few helpful suggestions should help in getting you that better night’s sleep if you have struggled in the past. It might seem almost impossible when you are staring at the ceiling at 2:30 AM in frustration. Maybe you could try a few of these ideas:

1. This should be the first thing that you do when thinking about how to get better sleep. Evaluate your sleeping props. Do you have a comfortable mattress? Is your pillow decent? Do you have sheets with a high enough thread count that make you just want crawl right in? If not, these are the first things to remedy before anything else. None of the following suggestions will mean anything if you don’t have a comfy bed to sleep in.
2. Don’t drink alcohol (or caffeine) right before bedtime. While this may seem contradictory (because everyone knows that drinking a beer or glass of wine can help make a person drowsy), drinking alcohol right before bed can actually cause you to have poor quality sleep. It may get you to sleep faster, but the sleep you get will not be as good, had you not imbibed. Alcohol is a depressant and many use it to fall asleep but it can actually block REM sleep which is the most restorative type of sleep. You will not wake up refreshed and focused if you get less REM sleep. Similarly, but opposite, caffeine is a stimulant and will have you staring at the ceiling not able to fall asleep. Both these things, alcohol and caffeine are definite avoiders.
3. Exercise Earlier in the day. Exercise also makes a person tired and so it seems logical that if you exercise vigorously before bedtime, that is a great way to fall asleep. Again, this seems counter intuitive, but exercising stimulates your body to secrete the hormone, cortisol, which actually makes you more alert. Best to do this early in the morning or definitely no less than three hours before planning to crawl into bed. Try reading a little in bed to relax instead.
4. Take a nice shower or bath before sleep. Here’s one that you’ve certainly heard before!? The warmth of the water gives a slight rise to your body temperature and puts you in a relaxed state. Some studies have shown that if you don’t want a full shower, even a relaxing foot soak and hour before bed will have similar effects.
5. Give some thought to what is your perfect sleep environment and arrange your bedroom to be this place. Think about the perfect temperature, darkness, and noise level. Think about what wakes you in the middle of the night and try to eliminate that possibility. Do you have a pet that constantly wakes you in the middle of the night? Think about crate training the animal at night. Maybe white noise machines help you? Light blocking curtains? Whatever it is, make sure your boudoir is equipped with all these sleep inducing props.
6. Reduce light at night. Get all the light you can in the daytime, but when it is time to put the lights out, make sure you do. Don’t use your cellphone in bed. This is tempting for many of us, but it is sleep stealer. The light tricks us into thinking that it is not time to rest. Put your phone in a nightstand drawer or at least screen side down so notifications don’t disrupt you.
7. Don’t eat a heavy meal late at night. This should be a no-brainer, but sometimes we need to be reminded. Eat dinner several (at least 3) hours before turning in. Definitely avoid fried or heavy meals that will require a lot of digestion and cause indigestion! If you are truly hungry and must eat, try a light snack. 
8. Don’t drink a lot of water before going to bed. It is best to have hydration balanced throughout the day. You will appreciate this when your bladder doesn’t wake you up way before your alarm.
9. Set your internal clock by having a sleep/wake schedule that your body can get used to. Think of what time of day you truly get tired at and what time you need to wake up. Stick with these times as regularly as you can. Your body will get used to these consistent times and thank you!
10. Tool: Download the Sleep Cycle App so you can start to monitor your sleep patterns and get a baseline. Make small adjustments in small increments and track if they are helping or not.
11. Enlist the help of the ChiliPad! This should really be a PRO TIP! All of those other tips are free, which is great, but THIS right here has been the biggest game change. It's almost like going from dial up internet to high-speed... there is no going back

P.S. I love this thing so much that I reached out to ChiliPad to setup discount codes so you could save big if you want to order one for yourself (or your parents...you'll be their favorite kid). Here you go:

MPM25 – 25% off chiliPAD

MPM15 – 15% off OOLER

How can you get more sleep?

The idea is that you want to be able to get more deep sleep. There may be a few ways to increase the amount that a person gets each night, but really, the most important thing that a person can do is to increase the amount of overall sleep. The more sleep that you get, the more cycles of deep sleep that can fit in for the entire night. So, if you can, and you are tired enough, fit in more sleep to your schedule. 

That might mean taking a vacation or a staycation (even better!) where you can tire yourself out early on some fun, fresh air, and exercise and then have all the time you want to rest, relax and sleep! Be sure to eat well, but watch your carbohydrate intake. If there is a spa or sauna available, take advantage of that and tuck yourself in early.

If you aren’t so fortunate to be in the running for a vacation just now, there are still a few things that you can do. There are some general healthful sleep habits that may also help promote better sleep overall, like:

1. Reducing night time light in your bedroom
2. Not eating  heavy foods late at night.
3. Not using cellphones in bed.
4. Reducing stressful conversations or activities before sleep

“Pink noise” is an interesting idea to consider using at night. Pink noise is thought by many to be better than white noise for a more restful sleep. So, what is Pink Noise? It is very similar to white noise, but pink noise has less higher frequencies than white noise. It has a sound more like a steady, heavy wind or rainfall. Some people swear by it and say that it can improve our memories and focus for the next day and possibly even long term. Who knows? It might be worth a try! For more information on pink noise click over here.

So, what about naps?

To nap, or not to nap? That is the question.

This is a common question amongst sleep connoisseurs. Is a nap helpful or harmful to getting in as much sleep as possible and getting a perfect night's sleep all night long.

Hard as it is to believe, there are actually some drawbacks to napping for some people. Napping can be the cause of:

• Excessive grogginess that makes you less alert and able to perform upon waking. This is called “sleep inertia”.
• Nighttime sleep problems can occur in some people. If you are finding that you deal with insomnia or lower quality sleep when you nap, that might be an indication that you need to abstain from napping.

If you do decide to give regular napping a whirl, review some of these tips and then really study your sleep habits at night ( you have to be honest though). You might find that for you, naps should be set aside altogether or that you should try to implement a regular schedule of them ASAP.

Think about these potential benefits for healthy adults:

• Increased alertness-Naps can make you feel more awake and alert for the tasks at hand. You might find that you perform better and have fewer mistakes and accidents on the job. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%.
• Improved mood-This one is not hard to see, is it? Works wonders on the attitudes of both babies and adults alike.
• Reduced fatigue-A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation. It can provide great psychological benefits and be an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation.

Are you convinced to try it yet? You're probably already thinking about ways to incorporate naps into your daily routine. Keep in mind that unless you are sleep deprived and catching up on sleep, naps should only be 20-30 minutes for a good energy boost. If you are really needing a good nap and have the time, 90 minutes is perfect to get in a whole sleep cycle. And remember, getting enough sleep on a regular basis is the best way to be at your best. But when fatigue sets in, a quick nap can do wonders for your mental and physical stamina.

How can you wake up better and other sleep hacks, tips, and tricks

So we’ve looked at how to sleep better and maximize the benefits of our times of rest. But what about the wake-up time? There are ways of preparing ahead so that you don’t have to rely on several cups of coffee to bring us to full-alert in the morning. 

The following are some ideas and hacks that you might consider to make your transition to your day smoother:

1. No snooze button - Do they make alarms without a snooze button? Not sure, but don’t press that button! Hitting snooze is oh, so tempting, but putting your last ½ hour of sleep in fragmented sleep is not very helpful. Instead, try this hack if you want the idea of snoozing extra in the morning. Set two alarms 90 minutes apart. This way you could get another uninterrupted sleep cycle in before you actually have to get up.
2. Splash some cold water - Unless you want to take a cold shower, a splash in the face will do to give your body a jolt that there is a change in body temperature and time to get up. If a walk to the bathroom sink sounds like too much at first, you could always keep a mister on your nightstand to mist your face instead.
3. Drink some water - Now that you have hydrated your face, hydrate your body by taking in some water to help refresh yourself after a long night without drinking anything.
4. Stretch and exercise - If you have a ½ an hour or so getting your muscles stretched and moving would do wonders to rejuvenate them. Remember that they have been paralyzed during certain sleep cycles they need to be reactivated to allow them to release endorphins to the brain which provide energy. 
5. Protein for breakfast - If you are not intermittent fasting and eating breakfast, make sure it is one to fight sluggishness. We know that food is the fuel that keeps us going, so make it a combo of lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, and lower-sugar fruits. No sugary breakfast foods - keep away from those in order to not go through dealing with blood sugar spikes that in the end cause more fatigue.
6. Don’t pound down the coffee - Have some, but not a lot. There are good health benefits to coffee, but partaking of cup after cup of the caffeinated drink can be a contributing factor of fatigue later on in the day.
7. Let the light in - Or better yet, go outside and enjoy the sunlight. It raises your serotonin levels and just makes most people feel happy to be alive. But, if that is too much for you first thing then at least adjust your curtains to let the sunshine in while you are getting used to the day.

Do you have other hacks that you know of that we have not listed? We would like to hear what works for you. In the meantime, put a few of these through the paces and see if they work for you. Good morning!!

Simple Meal Prep Tips For Weight Loss

Losing weight is probably one of the hardest battles that anyone can face. Not only does having excess weight impact your self-esteem but it can markedly affect your appearance and lead to depression and anxiety. Of all available weight loss methods, proper diet and nutrition are the most effective way to not only lose weight but to keep it off. Developing healthy eating habits can be your key to slimming down that waistline and gaining more confidence. As they say, ‘six packs are made in the kitchen’.

However, sticking to a healthy diet is easier said than done. For most people, it takes a lot of effort and can be considerably harder than previously imagined, as evidenced by the thousands of people who try diets and give up after only a few days. So what’s the secret to retaining a nutritious and healthy diet without falling off? Meal preparation!

Meal prep is the latest weight loss craze and it’s not hard to see why. Through the simple act of preparing healthful meals ahead of time, many have been able to accomplish their weight loss goals in a fraction of the time it takes the average person. Meal prep helps you to maintain a healthy diet even during those stressful days when you would most likely succumb to junk food cravings. Here are some simple tips to get you started on a meal prepping system that’ll help you shed those extra pounds.

 Tip # 1: Have a plan

The first rule of meal prepping is to plan ahead. It doesn’t help to meal prep if you don’t know what exactly you’re preparing and why. So think about the types of meals that you want to cook and the types of recipes you’re good at preparing, and make sure to come up with a versatile meal plan that you can use as your go-to for a number of months.

Another helpful element of meal prepping is to plan your meal times in advance. Instead of eating haphazardly or when you feel the urge, designate specific meal times and stick to them. Not only will this prevent unwanted and unplanned indulgence in unhealthy snacks, but it’ll also reduce those midsection inches and keep you healthier.

Tip #2: Create a grocery shopping list

Once you’ve figured out what you’ll be eating and when now it’s time to go shopping. The trick to sticking to your planned meals is to create your grocery list ahead of time and make sure that it only consists of ingredients that you’ll be using to prepare your meals. This will prevent you from buying on impulse or getting confused while shopping.

Ideally, you want to stick to organic and whole foods with enough variety to meet your body’s nutrient needs. Good carbs found in vegetables and fruit, lean protein and low GI grains are definitely the way to go to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Tip #3: Get to chopping

Chop and slice vegetables and fruit according to your recipe requirements and store them in individual containers according to the relevant portions. Chopping veggies ahead of time cuts cooking time in half and encourages you to consume more salads and veggie based snacks than you would otherwise. Plus having chopped fruit on hand will satisfy your sweet tooth cravings to prevent reaching for ice cream or puddings during dessert.

Tip #4: Be generous with your portions

Try and cook big portions, especially when it comes to dinner meals, as the leftovers will take care of lunch the following day. Just be sure to store the leftovers in the fridge overnight and warm them up before you leave so that they’re nice and fresh for lunch time.

Also, preparing large portions will leave you feeling satisfied after each meal and prevent overindulging at your next meal, or running to the snack bar. And it’ll prevent from running out of meals before the week is done.

Tip #5: Have a designated meal prep day to keep you organised

Schedule your meal prepping time so that it falls on a particular day of the week, or you can even do it twice a week if your timetable allows. Just be sure to allocate yourself enough time to chop, cook, assemble, label and store all your meals so that it’s easier to find what you’re looking for during the week. Preferably 3 or more hours are enough to prepare meals for an entire week. If need be, you can also split your meal prepping to two days a week, so that you can slash your meal prepping time by half.

Tip #6: Use the right containers  

The effect of good quality storage containers on your food preparing endeavours cannot be underestimated. Having the right single-serving size containers, for example, will help you stick to the right portions and prevent binge eating or feeling unsatisfied. On the other hand, BPA free, airtight and fridge friendly containers will keep your food fresh to maintain nutrients for longer. Some good quality suggestions include Tupperware, glass and stainless steel containers. Not only do they meet all the stated requirements, but they also won’t melt while you’re warming your food in the oven.

Another good tip is to purchase small sized containers to keep snacks, as this will prevent overindulgence during snack time, and small containers are mobile enough to take with you in a handbag when you’re on the go. Lastly, glass bottles and jars are ideal for storing and travelling with your healthy smoothies and juices, and you can also use them to store things like oats, muesli and salads.

Tip #7: Make meal prep work for you

There’s a wide variety of healthy food options to choose from, so you should never feel forced to include certain health foods in your diet even if you don’t like them. Rather opt for healthy versions of the foods you like, such as spiralized zucchini noodles instead of pasta, or avocado fat instead of butter. Through healthier ingredients, you can enjoy the health benefits of genuine food without compromising on taste and flavour.

Tip #8: Organise your fridge right

When storing food in your fridge make sure to organise it in a way that will not only keep your food fresh but is also advantageous to your weight loss goals. For instance, keep the healthy selections at the front of the fridge so that it’s the first thing you grab when feeling peckish, and keep unhealthy options in the back to avoid consuming them at all.

The best place for cooked foods is on the top shelves, while the fridge door is better suited for keeping foods with a long shelf life as it’s the warmest place in the fridge. Also keep ethylene-producing plants such as bananas, avocados and tomatoes away from veggies with a short life span such as potatoes, cauliflower and spinach. On the other hand, the lower shelves provide ideal storage for foods that still need to be cooked, like chopped veggies and fruits.

A post shared by Amanda Meixner (@meowmeix) on Oct 16, 2017 at 5:14pm PDT

Tip #9: Create a variety of options  

Prepare a different meal for each day of the week to keep your palate excited and avoid getting bored at eating the same thing every day. Have an assortment of go-to recipes that use similar ingredients so that you can rotate them throughout the week. This way, you’ll have different options to choose from at all times and you can eat what you like instead of what’s available.

Top #10: Start with the complicated recipes first

Preparing the more sophisticated recipes while you’re still fresh and full of energy, and ending off with snacks will make meal prepping more enjoyable. Also, if you’re splitting your meal prepping duty into two days instead of one, then prepare the complicated recipes on the weekend day and the less complicated recipes during mid-week to save time and energy. It’s also a good idea to only prepare the recipes you know really well instead of trying out new and potentially time-consuming recipes that may not turn out the way you expected.

Step #11: Have enough snacks

Healthy snacking is part of a balanced diet and will help to stave off hunger pangs in between meals while keeping your sugar levels in check when you’re on the go. Things like dried fruit, nuts and seeds, energy balls, trail mix and string cheese are all healthy snack options that you can turn to satisfy your mid-afternoon cravings. Ideally, you should stock up on these during your grocery shopping, and be sure to buy enough to last you for the entire week. Also, remove all unhealthy snacks from your pantry and preserve your healthy snacks inside those cute mini containers, so as to prevent binge eating as well.

Tip #12: Use healthy condiments and sauces

Add some flavour to your food by using healthy spices and sauces, and avoid the store bought variety as it’s laden with calories, unhealthy sugars, fat and sodium. Alternatively, you can easily whip up a healthy marinade or dressing with simple but healthy ingredients like crushed garlic, olive oil, fresh ginger and herbs.

Tip #13: Develop a positive mindset to stay disciplined

Lastly, approach your food prepping with a positive attitude. Remember that you’re doing it to not only to reach your goal weight but to experience better health and to feel good about yourself. Don’t put pressure on yourself to prepare a week’s worth of meals if this is your first time. Rather start small with enough meals for three or more days and increase the amount as you get the hang of it to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Also, avoid preparing food on an empty stomach, as you might end up ‘tasting’ your way to excess calories.

8 Lunch Mistakes That Make You Gain Weight

So, we are meal preppers and we are feeling pretty confident as we pack away our meals for a week of healthy lunches. We have lunchtime in the bag (so to speak!). But do we really? There are a bunch of lunchtime mistakes that even the most careful meal prepper can overlook from time to time. Here are a few common mistakes that can be made that can possibly slow your progress at achieving your weight goals. The following is our top eight:

1. You Didn't Pack Enough Protein

 One of the best ways to use your calories is in the form of proteins. You will want to pack good and nutritious proteins that you prepare yourself. Stay away from processed lunch meats that have sodium nitrates in them as a preservative. These meats, aside from just being scary, can actually interfere with your body’s processing of sugar. Adding lots of good protein helps to decrease your appetite while increasing a feeling of fullness that will satisfy you throughout your day. It can also increase your metabolic rate to help you burn calories while at the same time protecting your muscle mass during weight loss.

2. No Variety

No one wants to eat the “same old, same old” continuously. You want to meal prep a variety of things to eat for your lunches. Make good use of your freezer when you cook your proteins to preserve them and to add to your lunches.They won’t spoil this way and can be used from time to time. Make good use of spices in your favorite dishes. Vary your healthy fats up occasionally too so that you don’t get bored. A boring lunch can make even the most dedicated weight watcher slip up and binge on something from the no-no list periodically.

3. Not Eating Enough Healthy Fat (Or Eating Too Much)

 Just a few decades ago, the accepted health mantra was “Fat makes you fat!” Since then, we have actually found the opposite to be true. Healthy fats are mandatory for a good, filling meal prep lunch. Fat is actually essential for weight loss and when it is coupled with a good portion of protein, it is very satisfying and keeps hunger and cravings at bay throughout the day. But, you also have to be smart about it. There is a balance. You don’t want to overdo the fats even if they are healthy. If you find that you are not losing weight, try cutting down on fat a smidge.

4. Portion Control

 This mistake can mean a few things. You can have poor portion control by having too few calories in your lunch making you hungry and open to temptation to make some bad food decisions within the hour. Or it can mean that you have overdone it making your lunch too large and left yourself open for derailing your weight loss efforts. Don’t over-fill your lunch containers. Because, more likely than not, we will eat all of whatever we pack.

5. Skipping Fruits & Vegetables

Important to include lots of veggies in your meals. In fact, it should be two-thirds of your meal (the remaining third being protein and carbohydrate). Vegetables provide lots of important fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Fruit is important too (fewer fruits than vegetables), and you should provide yourself with a variety of each every day.

6. Cheating With Processed Foods & Condiments

 Let’s face it, meal prepping takes a fair amount of time and commitment on our part. It is very tempting to let our guard down and fall back on processed foods from time to time. And to make it more enticing, these unhealthy foods (which are generally high in sugar and sodium) have a longer shelf life than those made from scratch. But don’t be give in! Instead, remember the pledge you have made to yourself and take the time to make your healthy marinades and dressings in bulk and freeze them in freezer bags for easy use when you need them.

7. Eating Out Too Much

We all have in the position of going to a restaurant and being served a meal that is big enough to feed a small village. OK, I am exaggerating a little, but really, restaurants can be hard because we have a tendency to eat everything that is placed in front of us. It is especially hard if we might be under some stress and feel the need of some comfort food. Or how about when we forget to plan ahead for lunch and we are hungry. Remember the sage advice “never grocery shop when you are hungry”? Same concept.

8. Packing Flavored Drinks

 Whether it is diet soda or juice, both should be avoided. Diet sodas may be zero calories, but the sweeteners that most diet sodas use are far from a healthy choice. Juices, on the other hand, are filled with sugar. Your best bet is to pack water to hydrate yourself throughout the day and before you eat to help curb your appetite and keep you from eating beyond satiating your hunger.

There are other mistakes that we might have included, but these are our top 8. What lunchtime mistakes (if any) have you made? Let us know in the comments below.

[ajax_load_more post_type="recipe" button_label="Free Meal Prep Recipes"]

When it comes to achieving lean tissue levels, increasing fitness and maintaining optimal health, cutting calories presents the pathway to do so. Yes, calories are needed for the energy which fuels our performance. However, there are times when cut-backs are required to achieve various goals. Maybe you’re getting married in 60 days and you already went to the tailor for fitting and customization. You are now pressured to cut the calories to lose weight to fit into that dress on your special day. Yet you must go about calorie reduction the right way to reduce the occurrence of the negative consequences of not doing so properly. Here is our special list of guidelines for cutting calories the right way.

13 Tips for Cutting Calories The Right Way

Fact is when you want to address anything health-related, you have to start with the right thoughts and follow through with the right approach. Let’s see how healthy calorie cutting can be achieved!

1. Calorie Cutting - The Best Time To Begin

Give yourself time. If you wish to achieve a goal, you must work towards it long before the final output arrives. Likewise, if you have a tournament coming up, you may want to take advantage of the offseason. During the off-season, you will be allowed the time to focus on gradually getting to the point you wish to be! Additionally, your body will get the opportunity to adjust to the changes that a cut in your calories would cause before your debut. 

2. Slow and Steady - Calorie Reduction

Immediate results when it comes to cutting calories is a myth proven false. Avoid drastic methods to gain speedy results. Cut your calories over a period of time until you get to where you’d like to be. If you usually consume in excess of 800+ calories daily, consider starting cutting to 750 in the first instance. 

After a few days consider cutting calories further to 675. Eventually, you will get there as you do so gradually so you can see the marked difference as you go along.

3. How Calories Affect Energy Balance?

First off, energy balance refers to establishing a balance between what you eat and the amount of activity you engage in, on a daily basis. This balance is what determines if you gain, lose or maintain a given weight. A negative energy balance does cause weight loss. This, in turn, causes the body to use its fat stores to provide energy.

As you partake in calorie reduction, you should avoid a severe negative balance as this is associated with unfavorable symptoms. A severe negative energy balance causes:

• Brain fog
• Moodiness 
• A decrease in bone mass
• A reduction in hormone distribution
• Poor physical performance

4. Nutrient-rich Low-calorie Foods

The foods you consume while cutting calories should be low in calories but rich in nutrients the body needs. Nutrient-rich foods are low in sugar and bad fats making them the perfect supplement for all the extra calories you are not consuming. They include foods such as:

• Fish, poultry, meat, and beans are great sources of proteins.
• Fruits and vegetables, especially those organically grown and free of pesticides. They are packed with vitamins and minerals.
• Grains for fiber and carbohydrates.

5. Health Benefits Of Reducing Sugar Intake

If you aren’t training for an upcoming event, a decrease in sugar will further help you in cutting calories. Yes, sugar gives bursts of energy when consumed. But we’ve all heard of the dreaded sugar crash, right? A reduction in sugar actually allows your body to:

• Be energized throughout the day and not just at sugar moments.
• Reduce mood swings, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and digestive issues.
• Prevent obesity.
• Have clearer skin.

6. Foods To Increase Fiber Intake

Foods rich in fiber help give that feeling of being satisfied or ‘full’. Yet these foods also assist in digestion by helping to keep the intestines clear for efficient digestion! Fiber-rich foods include legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.  Take a look at these Health Benefits of Eating Oats

7. Daily Intake Of Protein

Have small servings of protein throughout out the day instead of one large serving for lunch. Almonds, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, oats, and broccoli are all delicious sources of protein to snack on during the day.  Here are 18 High-Protein Meal Prep Recipes to give you new inspo

8. Healthy Calorie Intake

When you do have to exercise and train for events, remember to increase your calorie intake before, during and after. This is to help you in maintaining your energy balance. Failure to take in the extra calories will result in poor performance. You have to put in a bit extra to get the extra energy needed to perform.  Figure out your optimal calorie intake and meals HERE

9. How To Avoid Snacking

A quick snack always seems to provide such useful hunger relief, right? Most times we feel a persistent urge to snack its because we’ve missed meals or haven’t eaten right for the day. You can avoid excessive snacking by:

• Drinking fewer calories
• Not missing meals.
• Carefully organize your portions
• Eating high nutrient foods which leave you feeling satisfied.

10. Decreasing Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol is rich in calories but it does not leave you with that sated feeling. If you are cutting calories, alcohol consumption must decrease also or else, your calorie levels will rapidly increase.

11. Tips On Staying Hydrated

Our body needs water to function efficiently. There are no two ways about this. Therefore, ensure that you stay hydrated while cutting calories. You may:

• Guess what!? The more water you drink, when feeling ‘hungry’, the fewer calories you consume.
• Check urine color to know if your body could do with some water even if you don’t ‘feel’ thirsty.
• You can also get water from your fruits and vegetables like watermelon, cucumber, and strawberries.

Read more about Dehydration and Tips to Avoid it here

12. Monitor Your Intake

The power is in your hands! No one can do it for you. Take a closer look at what you eat while cutting calories. Be realistic about what you wish to achieve. Habits won’t change overnight but with time the patterns can be broken. Customize your meals appropriately and celebrate the small victories cause they add up.

13. Importance Of Chewing Properly

You’re already cutting calories, ensure you get the maximum nutrients and minerals from your meals. Help your body digest the food you eat by chewing your food properly before you swallow. Doing so also helps nutrients to get extracted at a faster rate. So chew slowly and crunch what you munch before you swallow!

Which one of our guidelines did you find most beneficial to you? Let us know in the comments section.

Cutting Calories The Right Way

When it comes to achieving lean tissue levels, increasing fitness and maintaining optimal health, cutting calories presents the pathway to do so. Yes, calories are needed for the energy which fuels our performance. However, there are times when cut-backs are required to achieve various goals. Maybe you’re getting married in 60 days and you already went to the tailor for fitting and customization. You are now pressured to cut the calories to lose weight to fit into that dress on your special day. Yet you must go about calorie reduction the right way to reduce the occurrence of the negative consequences of not doing so properly. Here is our special list of guidelines for cutting calories the right way.

13 Guidelines for Cutting Calories Healthily

Fact is when you want to address anything health-related, you have to start with the right thoughts and follow through with the right approach. Let’s see how healthy calorie cutting can be achieved!

1. Calorie Cutting - The Best Time To Begin

Give yourself time. If you wish to achieve a goal, you must work towards it long before the final output arrives. Likewise, if you have a tournament coming up, you may want to take advantage of the offseason. During the off-season, you will be allowed the time to focus on gradually getting to the point you wish to be! Additionally, your body will get the opportunity to adjust to the changes that a cut in your calories would cause before your debut. 

2. Slow and Steady - Calorie Reduction

Immediate results when it comes to cutting calories is a myth proven false. Avoid drastic methods to gain speedy results. Cut your calories over a period of time until you get to where you’d like to be. If you usually consume in excess of 800+ calories daily, consider starting cutting to 750 in the first instance. 

After a few days consider cutting calories further to 675. Eventually, you will get there as you do so gradually so you can see the marked difference as you go along.

3. How Calories Affect Energy Balance?

First off, energy balance refers to establishing a balance between what you eat and the amount of activity you engage in, on a daily basis. This balance is what determines if you gain, lose or maintain a given weight. A negative energy balance does cause weight loss. This, in turn, causes the body to use its fat stores to provide energy.

As you partake in calorie reduction, you should avoid a severe negative balance as this is associated with unfavorable symptoms. A severe negative energy balance causes:

• Brain fog
• Moodiness 
• A decrease in bone mass
• A reduction in hormone distribution
• Poor physical performance

4. Nutrient-rich Low-calorie Foods

The foods you consume while cutting calories should be low in calories but rich in nutrients the body needs. Nutrient-rich foods are low in sugar and bad fats making them the perfect supplement for all the extra calories you are not consuming. They include foods such as:

• Fish, poultry, meat, and beans are great sources of proteins.
• Fruits and vegetables, especially those organically grown and free of pesticides. They are packed with vitamins and minerals.
• Grains for fiber and carbohydrates.

5. Health Benefits Of Reducing Sugar Intake

If you aren’t training for an upcoming event, a decrease in sugar will further help you in cutting calories. Yes, sugar gives bursts of energy when consumed. But we’ve all heard of the dreaded sugar crash, right? A reduction in sugar actually allows your body to:

• Be energized throughout the day and not just at sugar moments.
• Reduce mood swings, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and digestive issues.
• Prevent obesity.
• Have clearer skin.

6. Foods To Increase Fiber Intake

Foods rich in fiber help give that feeling of being satisfied or ‘full’. Yet these foods also assist in digestion by helping to keep the intestines clear for efficient digestion! Fiber-rich foods include legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

7. Daily Intake Of Protein

Have small servings of protein throughout out the day instead of one large serving for lunch. Almonds, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, oats, and broccoli are all delicious sources of protein to snack on during the day.

8. Healthy Calorie Intake

When you do have to exercise and train for events, remember to increase your calorie intake before, during and after. This is to help you in maintaining your energy balance. Failure to take in the extra calories will result in poor performance. You have to put in a bit extra to get the extra energy needed to perform.

9. How To Avoid Snacking

A quick snack always seems to provide such useful hunger relief, right? Most times we feel a persistent urge to snack its because we’ve missed meals or haven’t eaten right for the day. You can avoid excessive snacking by:

• Drinking fewer calories
• Not missing meals.
• Carefully organize your portions
• Eating high nutrient foods which leave you feeling satisfied.

10. Decreasing Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol is rich in calories but it does not leave you with that sated feeling. If you are cutting calories, alcohol consumption must decrease also or else, your calorie levels will rapidly increase.

11. Tips On Staying Hydrated

Our body needs water to function efficiently. There are no two ways about this. Therefore, ensure that you stay hydrated while cutting calories. You may:

• Guess what!? The more water you drink, when feeling ‘hungry’, the fewer calories you consume.
• Check urine color to know if your body could do with some water even if you don’t ‘feel’ thirsty.
• You can also get water from your fruits and vegetables like watermelon, cucumber, and strawberries.

12. Monitor Your Intake

The power is in your hands! No one can do it for you. Take a closer look at what you eat while cutting calories. Be realistic about what you wish to achieve. Habits won’t change overnight but with time the patterns can be broken. Customize your meals appropriately and celebrate the small victories cause they add up.

13. Importance Of Chewing Properly

You’re already cutting calories, ensure you get the maximum nutrients and minerals from your meals. Help your body digest the food you eat by chewing your food properly before you swallow. Doing so also helps nutrients to get extracted at a faster rate. So chew slowly and crunch what you munch before you swallow!

Which one of our guidelines did you find most beneficial to you? Let us know in the comments section.

7 Diet Myths Busted

Diet myths easily thrive in the health and fitness world. Some of them are encouraged by the agendas and surpluses of the food industry. Some we have heard for decades and now are just accepted as fact. Some of them actually sound logical (ie. “Fat makes you fat.”) so we believe them because they just sound right. But with the increasing commonality of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, we have realized that what we have been doing for decades cannot be right.

The following are Meal Prep On Fleek’s  top 7 diet myths busted

1. Whole Wheat and Grains are Your Friends

There is a whole history to wheat that we will only touch on here, but suffice it to say, that the wheat and grain that we ingest today is no longer the wheat that we consumed 100 years ago; its no longer your Grandmother’s grains. The sad fact is, that wheat is a commodity that can be used to feed a hungry world very cheaply, but it has gone through so many modifications of how it is grown, harvested, and processed, that it has been greatly reduced in its nutritional value and can actually be linked to digestive problems and the soaring increase of diabetes and obesity epidemic..

Modern milling of grain for flour (as opposed to vegetable flours) can be done quickly, conveniently, and economically, but leaving it without any nutritional value to speak of. Additionally, our modern wheat crop is soaked in pesticides (since the 1960’s) to make it resistant to pests and to allow for a bigger harvest per acre. I don’t need to tell you that this is not a healthy development! Unfortunately, the more we avail ourselves to this high carb, inflammatory food, the less we consume vegetables and healthy fats and proteins.

2. Low-Carb Diets are Dangerous

Being taken in by this myth would require you to believe that reducing blood pressure, insulin levels, and body fat is dangerous to your health. When we consume carbohydrates, our body immediately turns those carbs into glucose. Glucose is important to provide fuel for our cells however, our cells have only a certain capacity that it can hold. When that capacity is exceeded, the rest is stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. If there is excess beyond the capacity of muscles and liver, it is then stored as fat in the body. Excess fat can then lead to higher amounts of insulin resistance (elevated insulin levels) which is known to make us store fat. The less insulin resistance, the more fat can be released to be burned for energy resulting in weight loss. Cutting carbs is the best way to deplete glycogen so that it is not as available and your body will then turn to your fat stores for its energy first.

3. It is Best to Eat Many Small Meals Throughout the Day

This is one of the most logical sounding myths about dieting out there. The logic goes that it is easier to keep our metabolic furnaces fired up and burning calories if we provide little bits fuel for it to burn throughout the day. It sounds good, except that it may not work that way at all. Recent studies into the idea have found that it is less important how often you eat than what you eat. It may actually be true that by grazing throughout the day, never allowing yourself to feel a hunger pang, can actually not give your body opportunity to burn residual fat because you are constantly providing fuel for your metabolism. There is a certain amount of energy expended when you are digesting food and the number of calories you eat will determine how much. This burning of calories is called the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). Two or three normal meals a day will keep your metabolism going just as strongly as six small ones.

4. Egg are High in Cholesterol and Should be Avoided

According to the Harvard Health Letter dated January 2017, this is a myth. It matters more what you pair with your egg rather than whether you have one. Those that are at high risk for heart attack or diabetic (type 2) are recommended to limit eggs to no more than 3 per week, but for the general public, eggs are a wonderful whole food protein. Eggs have come under scrutiny because of the amount of cholesterol in the yolk. Recently, however, studies have shown that cholesterol is made by the liver and our LDL (bad cholesterol) levels does not come primarily from dietary cholesterol. Go eat those eggs fam!

5. Stay Away from Saturated Fat

“Fat makes you fat!” Isn’t that the dieting mantra that you heard over and over until recently? I sure did and I am so pleased to learn that this is not true at all. Trans fat can cause inflammation and is very unhealthy (see below about oils), but that should not be confused with saturated healthy fat.

I always struggled with enjoying low-fat anything (even though low-fat items are loaded with extra sugar) and now, I find out that I don’t need to cut out all those wonderfully great tasting healthy fats. Come to find out, we NEED fats in our diets not only for the taste and nutrition they provide but also to keep us healthy and satisfied so we don’t crave extra calories in between meals. Look to add some of these fats to your favorite recipes and watch your LDL(good cholesterol) level rise: Butter, Avocado, Olive oil, and Coconut oil.

6. A High-Protein Diet is Unrealistic and Unhealthy

Actually, recent studies have shown that if you stay within 35% of your overall calories being protein, you are on the best track of keeping your blood sugar stabilized throughout the day so that you don’t have the typical sugar highs and lows, moodiness, and cravings that tend to accompany other food plans. Protein is important for strong bones and healthy organs. Enjoy your proteins that come in the form of certain organic meats, salmon, bone broth, kefir, nuts, and beans. Lentils also are a great source of protein!

7. Refined Seed and Vegetable Oils are Super Healthy and Lower Cholesterol - NOT!

Nothing could be farther from the truth when it comes to healthy oils. Vegetable oils, which do not actually come from vegetables, but processed seeds, contain trans fats which are known to be highly inflammatory and unhealthy for us. This is because refined seed oils are rich in Omega 6 fatty acids which are pro-inflammatory. What we want is foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which help to reduce inflammation. Not to mention that the processing methods which involve “washing” the oil in chemical solvents. Eww. That can not be good for us. The oils that you want to consume and cook with are plant oils like olive oil, coconut oil, and the newest best oil on the block, avocado oil.

Have you ever fallen into the trap of any of these diet myths? What about something else?