Fitness & Wellness

Caffeine before a workout can provide benefits to improve your performance. There’s a point when the caffeine ceases to help and becomes a detriment to your health. Ensuring you don’t have negative consequences is important. A cup of coffee may be just what you need, you can also get caffeine in other forms. Caffeine pills are examples. They can make it far too easy to take too much caffeine which can cause dehydration, jitters, headaches, and an increased heart rate. All of those things can detract from your workout.

What are the positive benefits of caffeine?

As noted earlier, caffeine can improve your performance, particularly for aerobic activities. It doesn’t take much to do that either. Drinking a cup of coffee 60 minutes before working out allows the caffeine in your blood to peak during your workout. Caffeine can improve long-term memory. It can help relieve headaches. Many OTC pain killers like acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen contain caffeine. Some studies show it may provide protection from Alzheimer’s and dementia and when consumed in coffee provides protection from cardiovascular disease.

At what point are you taking too much caffeine?

You’ll get a boost to your endurance if you have between 200 and 350 mg of caffeine. If you translated that to cups of coffee, it’s about two cups since the average cup of coffee contains between 90 and 100 mg of caffeine. Some people want to bypass drinking coffee or think if a little is good, a lot is better. They often opt for caffeine powder or pills. You can overdose on caffeine very easily by using the powder. It’s so concentrated that one teaspoon has as much caffeine as the equivalent of 28 cups of coffee.

Every is different.

Most people can consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine in a day and not have side effects. That’s equivalent to two energy shots, five cans of Red Bull, or four cups of brewed coffee. That’s not true for everyone. Some people have side effects with just one cup of coffee, while others may drink energy drinks, pots of coffee, and a few colas with no problem.

• Caffeine is a diuretic. It can lead to frequent urination and may lead to dehydration. It can also affect the digestive system, causing stomach upsets and diarrhea.
• If you overdose on caffeine, it can cause far more problems than the jitters. It can affect your heart and nervous system. High doses of caffeine can cause muscle tremors, rapid heartbeat, and seizures.
• If you don’t like coffee but want the benefits of caffeine, choose green tea. Green tea offers half the amount of caffeine as coffee, but it is loaded with antioxidants and contains phytochemicals that can prevent jitters.
• Caffeine is addictive and has withdrawal symptoms. Those include headaches. Ironically, you can’t take most OTC pain medications for the headache since they contain caffeine.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness

Nobody enjoys cooking during the scorching hot months in Houston, TX. Healthy meals that don’t require that much cooking. Living on take-out isn’t an option. The food is often bad for your health and is loaded with sugar, potassium, and additives. You can make any meal preparation easier by washing and cutting fresh vegetables ahead and storing them in the refrigerator.

You may have to do a little cooking but make that effort worth it.

Use your air fryer to make rotisserie chicken. Set aside enough for the nightly meal and store the rest in the freezer for other meals. Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces and add your favorite chicken salad ingredients. They can include grapes, apples, pecans, celery, onion, red bell pepper, or other healthy options. Top it with a healthy dressing, such as a combo of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt. Put it atop a bed of lettuce or in your favorite wrap.

Tuna or Salmon add some Omega-3 fatty acids to your meals.

Make tuna or salmon salad and keep the house cool. Just open a can and add the ingredients. One salad uses either fish and adds chopped celery, capers, onions, and pepper. Top it with a mixture of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt and put it on a bed of lettuce surrounded by sliced tomatoes. Grilled salmon is delicious with spinach salad as a side pepper, strawberries, and vinaigrette.

Make a “cheat” Gazpacho with canned tomatoes.

Real Gazpacho requires a little extra effort if you’re making it from fresh tomatoes, but you can cut some time by using canned or a combination of the two. It takes a pound and a half of fresh peeled and deseeded tomatoes or 2 ¼ cups of canned. That’s about 1 ½ 14-16 ounce can. Use the “chili ready” type that contains jalapenos or if using fresh tomatoes, chop and seed one small jalapeno. Add ½ cup each chopped onion and red bell peppers, 1 cup of peeled, seeded, and chopped cucumber, 1 medium minced garlic clove, ¼ cup olive oil, and a cup of tomato juice. Put half the mixture in a blender until smooth, then add it back to the bowl. Add in the juice of one lime, 2 tsp each of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, a dash of cumin, 1 tsp sea salt, and ground pepper. Chill for an hour and serve with your favorite salad.

• Whole grain burritos are quick and save time and money when made with canned refried beans. Heat the beans in a pan and warm the burrito shell in a skillet. Top with chopped lettuce, chopped onions, cheese, and chopped tomatoes.
• You don’t have to reserve eggs for breakfast. A spinach feta scramble can provide a meal for any time of the day. Sautee onions, mushrooms, and fresh spinach. Whip several eggs and add them to the pan. Top them with crumbled feta cheese when the eggs are almost cooked.
• A rice cooker can make meal prep a breeze. You can make quinoa or rice for main dishes, including salads. Add avocado, radishes, cucumbers, and a cumin-lime vinaigrette to quinoa for a quick summer salad.
• Who doesn’t love pasta salad? Almost any vegetable can make it delicious. Add any vegetables, cheese, or protein source you want. A favorite of mine includes cheese cubes, chopped celery, onion, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It’s topped with a vinaigrette.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness

One of the most popular diets today is the keto diet. It forces the body to switch from using glucose to burning fat. That causes the increase in ketones in your blood. They’re the energy source for the brain when limited glucose is available and created by the liver. Ketosis indicates the diet is working, so you need to know when you’ve achieved it. Here are some signs to help you.

Test your blood for more ketones.

Probably the most reliable way is to test the blood for ketones. That requires you to prick your finger and a special kit that can be expensive. Since excess ketones leave the body as acetone in the urine and breath a breath analyzer, is a second choice. The most often used and cheapest way is to test the urine. The urine strips aren’t as accurate, but they are less expensive and give you a good idea of how much progress you’re making.

Your breath smells odd and not in a good way.

The breath analyzer indicates ketones, which are acetones, are being expelled. A good friend or family member can do the same thing. The release of acetones makes your breath smell like a combination of nail polish remover and rot. It’s a side effect of ketosis. No matter how much you brush your teeth or gargle, the smell lingers. Don’t quit brushing more often or attempting to eliminate it by chewing sugar-free gum or gargling. Those still help a bit.

Losing weight is one of the most positive ways to know you’re in ketosis.

You went on the keto diet and noticed that you shed far more weight than expected in the first few weeks. Rejoice! The diet is working and your body is in ketosis. You won’t have such fast weight loss after that, since the loss is mostly water weight but your weight will consistently drop. It will just be slower. The upside is that it will be true fat loss.

• After you start the keto diet, you may notice you’re not as hungry as you might normally be. Some believe it’s due to the increase of protein and change that causes diminished hunger hormones.
• You might feel exhausted initially. Fatigue can affect physical and mental performance. It’s all about switching from using carbs to burning fat for energy. Once your body adjusts, your energy level returns.
• The keto-flu includes both brain fog and digestive issues. The feeling of being sick is common when first starting a low-carb diet. It takes a few days for the brain to adjust to burning ketones. Since you’re eating less fiber, digestive issues like diarrhea or constipation occur.
• The good news is once your body adjusts, you’ll be more focused and have improved brain functioning. You’ll have more stable sugar levels. If you initially had insomnia, it disappears after a few weeks.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness

If you’re like many people in Houston, TX, who have switched to a plant-based diet, you’re having a problem identifying a good plant-based protein or how to introduce vitamin B12 into your diet. For vegans, adding nutritional yeast or fortified products are good ways to include B-12. The answer isn’t as simple for plant-based protein. There are far more options and some require combinations to create the best amino acid balance.

Before getting into the best plant-based protein choice, you need to understand protein.

Protein is one of the three macronutrients. It’s created from 20 amino acids. The body can produce all but nine of those. Those are the essential amino acids. They include histidine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, lysine, methionine, and valine. When a food with protein contains all essential amino acids, like animal products do, it’s considered a complete protein. Few plant-based proteins are complete proteins and must be combined to ensure the diet contains all essential amino acids. You don’t have to eat them at once for a complete protein. You can consume several types of amino acids throughout the day.

A few plant-based options are complete proteins, like soy and quinoa.

There’s a wide variety of soy products on the market. Soy is one of the better quality complete plant-based proteins available. A cup of chopped tempeh has 34 grams of protein. A half-cup of raw firm tofu has 21.8 grams of protein and the same amount of edamame has 7 grams of protein. Quinoa is another complete protein source that can be used in place of rice. If it’s not a staple for those choosing plant-based options, it should be. It has a long shelf life and has 8 grams of protein per cooked cup.

Hemp seeds and chia seeds are complete proteins and make good supplements.

Hemp seeds contain complete protein. Three tablespoons of shelled hemp seeds contain 10 grams of complete protein. That’s about 1/6 the amount required daily amount. You can use it to increase protein intake by sprinkling it on salads, adding it to oatmeal, or incorporating it in other ways into your diet. Two tablespoons of chia seeds provide five grams of protein—1/12th the DV. Like hemp seed, you can use it to supplement your protein intake.

Pistachios are a great snack and an excellent way to increase protein in your diet. A one ounce serving provides 6 grams of protein. They’re a delicious snack that will increase your protein intake.

Combine two plant-based incomplete proteins to get a complete protein. Beans and rice and peanut butter on whole wheat are a few combinations.

Plant-based protein sources are often inexpensive. Many have a long shelf life, making it good to store for emergencies. Lentils, beans, rice, quinoa, nuts and nut butter, and nutritional yeast are a few examples.

High-protein breads, like Ezekiel bread, provide a source of protein. Coat it with peanut butter and it’s a high-protein meal or snack.

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If you’re not getting the nutrients you need, your body won’t function properly, affecting your overall health. Your gut is responsible for most of the digestive processes and the food you consume can either be bad or good for it. A diet high in sugar creates many problems, from too few beneficial microbes to inflammation. A compromised gut means compromised health. If you’re taking gas relievers or antacids after each meal, it’s time to switch your diet.

Introduce probiotic food into your diet.

What are probiotic foods? They are foods with beneficial microbes. A healthy microbiome—the collection of microbes in your gut—means better health throughout the body. A lot of things can affect the balance of microbes in the gut, creating an unhealthy environment. Medications, stress, a poor diet, and lack of exercise are a few. Probiotics replenish the beneficial bacteria. Probiotic foods are fermented foods that contain live cultures. It includes kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, some types of cheese, kombucha, kimchi, miso, and unfiltered apple cider vinegar.

Add foods that are high in fiber to your diet.

Food high in soluble fiber is prebiotic. The soluble fiber in the food improves the population of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract by providing food for them. The result is short-chain fatty acids that aid in mucus production, boost immunity, and deal with inflammation. Food high in soluble fiber includes beans, avocados, Brussels sprouts, apples, broccoli, and sweet potatoes. The other type of fiber, insoluble fiber, provides bulk to the stool, prevents blood sugar spikes, and hemorrhoids, and keeps food moving through the tract. Consuming nuts, whole grain products, and apple peels can boost insoluble fiber intake.

A diet high in plant-based food, but low in added sugar can be a big benefit to gut health.

A diet high in sugar boosts the population of yeast and other pathogens. As the colony of bad microbes grows, cravings for more sugar increase, causing more inflammation and weight gain. It can cause malnutrition, autoimmune diseases, skin conditions, cancer, and mental health conditions. Skip the candy bar and eat fresh fruit. Cut back on red meat and replace it with vegetable protein sources. It takes longer to digest meat, which can create digestive issues.

• Consume food high in collagen to heal the gut. Collagen regulates stomach acid and heals leaky gut, IBS, and inflammation. You can boost collagen by adding bone broth or protein-rich foods to your diet.
• Gut health also benefits from additional vitamin C, zinc, and copper. Citrus fruit, bell peppers, cheese, nuts, organ meat, and cocoa powder can increase the intake of at least one of those nutrients.
• Apples are excellent for gut health. They improve digestion, plus provide pectin to increase the beneficial bacteria, reduce the risk of acid reflux, boost weight loss, and aid hair and nail growth.
• Antibiotics kill both harmful and beneficial bacteria. If you have to take an antibiotic, consume fermented food an hour before taking the antibiotic or an hour after taking it to protect gut health.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness