Personal Trainer Fitness Tip, Mindless Eating

Do you ever sit down and eat an entire bag of chips, bucket of popcorn or a whole pizza? When you think of these actions, they are ridiculous, yet they are a common place in today’s society. There are reasons why we all do this and here are a few studies that back up these unnecessary acts of gluttony.

The Stale Popcorn Study - A group of movie goers where given free buckets of stale popcorn and asked to return the uneaten portion at the end of the movie. One group was given large buckets and another was extra large buckets. You can probably guess what the results were: the group with the extra large buckets ate 53% more popcorn then the other group! According to the author Dr. Wansink “Most people eat mindlessly, based on the size of the container and other cues-not the taste of the popcorn or how hungry or full they are.”Most people eat mindlessly, based on the size of the container and other cues-not the taste of the popcorn or how hungry or full they are.”

The More Hassle It Is to Eat, the Less We Eat - This study took place in an office where the candy bowl was put at either 6 feet or directly in front of the seating area. The group of people with the bowl 6 feet away ate twice as much of the group that had the bowl in front of them. The author attributed the results to the fact that people had more time to think before getting more candy.

So what do these two studies mean? Think about what you are eating and why you are doing it. Eating just because you have it in front of you will lead to an increase in calorie consumption and prevent you from achieving your weight loss goals.

ENERGY PUDDING

A nutritionally balanced blend of easily digestible high-nutrient foods, energy pudding is a great pre-exercise snack.

2 bananas
½ cup dates
¼ cup ground flaxseed
¼ cup roasted carob powder (or cacao nibs to make pudding 100% raw)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp sea salt

In a food processor, combine all ingredients; process until smooth.

Variation: Add 2 tsp ground yerba maté for a high-performance version. (Keep in mind that this will also mean greater fatigue later.)

Makes 2 servings.

Chocolate Almond Smoothie

Chocolate Almond Smoothie (antioxidant-rich)

Simply blend all the ingredients together in a blender. Smoothies can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days, thought they’re best when fresh.

1 banana
2 fresh or soaked dried dates
2 cups cold water (or 1 ½ cups water plus 1 cup ice)
¼ cup almonds (or 2 tbsp raw almond butter)
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp hemp protein
1 tbsp roasted carob powder (or cacao nibs to make smoothie 100% raw)

Makes about 3 ½ cups, or 2 large servings

Health Issues!!

From: Maggie

Q: I would like to know what kind of results people with insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes have with the Thrive Diet?

A: Thanks for your question Maggie.

Many of the recipes in The Thrive Diet are excellent for anyone who is looking to stabilize blood sugar levels, including type-2 diabetics.

Since the Thrive Diet is based on whole, unrefined foods that comprise of complete protein, essential fatty acids and fibre, blood sugar level and therefore insulin level will not be spiked.

There are a few sport-specific recipes that are intentionally low in fibre and are made from dates and other high-natural-sugar fruit that would not be appropriate, but the majority of the recipes and the diet itself is ideal for diabetics.

Bodynriched

P.S Jamaica was a great time see some photos on my facebook page!!