Nutrition Hacks: Don't drink your calories

Hello everyone!

Welcome to another edition of "Nutrition Hacks", an ongoing series where I discuss some techniques one could use to help them get a better hold on their nutrition and accomplish their fitness goals.

This week, I'd like to talk about a nutrition hack I was introduced to early on in my bodybuilding career. It's a concept that revolves around the idea that someone shouldn't drink their calories. And it's a technique that works really well for initial fat loss.

It's important to eat whole foods for many reasons when it comes to body transformation. One of those reasons is that the act of chewing and eating requires you to invest time and energy. And if you're eating the right foods, you'll get tired of eating and become full before you eat a crazy amount of calories. Also, whole foods are significantly more filling than liquid substances, further decreasing the chances of overeating.

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Both of these concepts help in stopping the act of consuming a large amount of calories within a super short time frame without getting full, which can throw caloric responsibilities out of whack.

We all know that super-sugary cola beverages and alcoholic beverages can be very bad for you as far as weight gain is concerned. But it's also important to note that drinks marketed as "healthy" or "nutritious", such as fruit juices and skim milk, can also be detrimental to a weight-loss program. All of said beverages contain hundreds of calories within a small quantity that can be consumed in no time at all and not give your body enough time to give you the feeling of being full....thus leading to overeating.

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Here are some examples of how many calories can be consumed by commonly ingested beverages:

*Sodas vary, but can contain around 130+ calories per can.

*Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. One can of beer can be 150+ calories (check how diluted your alcohol drink is for calorie calculations).

*Orange juice contains around 110-120 calories in 8fl. oz, or 1 cup!! A lot of fruit juices are like this and are loaded with sugar.

*Skim milk contains around 80 calories in one cup, so it's easy to jack up the calories if you're using it for protein shakes, cereal, or before bed.

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So it's easy to see just how quickly one can pile on those calories simply by drinking something. If you're trying to lose weight, I recommend drinking almost exclusively water, with the occasional zero-calorie drink / unsweet tea as a snack, and black coffee for energy. You can drink as much water as you want and it will fill you up without having any major impact on your caloric goals.

If you're having trouble losing weight after implementing a solid nutritional and exercise routine, try maybe looking at the beverages you are consuming and see if eliminating them from your diet and substituting them with better choices like water helps you to lose more weight!

-Jtrain

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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Asking For a Spot / Help in the Gym

My journey through bodybuilding has really given me a lot in life. One such thing is the ability to interact with people more effectively and find ways to start conversations and engage someone. Many people probably won't believe it unless they really know me well, but I'd more or less consider my basal personality as more towards the introverted side. I only really need the social interactions that I feel are necessary to me in my life, but am mostly content with doing things on my own. Growing up I was shy, and even to this day I can sometimes feel a little cautious / anxious being thrown into a large social gathering where I am unfamiliar with the people or the place.

So you can imagine how I felt the first day I decided to dive into the gym culture, having never been a part of any kind of athletic team and never really being a part of or accepted into any kind of social groups / gatherings from my peers. I was completely intimidated and worried about how I would look stepping foot inside of a gym having absolutely no experience in that culture whatsoever. In fact, the very first day I tried working out, I was wearing jeans and was kicked out of the gym.

It's because of this that I can understand and connect with someone who is shy and apprehensive about trying to work out for the first time, let alone asking someone for help lifting the weight.

 

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But for those of you starting out, I'm here to tell you that you should NEVER be afraid to ask for help in the gym. I've personally never run into someone who wasn't willing to help me understand or work on an exercise or piece of exercise equipment. In a gym environment, most people are willing to assist you or give you advice so long as you're open to what they have to say and are polite in asking them.

A lot of people who go to the gym do not consider themselves experts and are often times flattered that you would want their opinion or advice on how to do a particular exercise. For those of you intimidated by the people who DO consider themselves experts and are super intense when they're working out, I want to tell you that those kinds of people are actually the ones most enthusiastic and willing to give advice, because it's something they're super passionate about.

But how do you go about asking someone for help or a spot? It's pretty simple really. If you have a friend with you or see people you know, then obviously they're going to probably be your first choice. But what if you're new and none of your friends want to go to the gym with you?

My advice is to find someone who looks like they are in between sets or not immediately preoccupied with an exercise. If you can find a gym associate (like a trainer) who doesn't look like they're immediately interacting with a client, they are probably your best bet. If you choose to talk to someone who is working out, gym etiquette would dictate that you never interrupt them during a set. If they look like they're taking a break, walk up to them and politely ask if they wouldn't mind giving you a spot real quick. They will almost certainly say yes. Make sure to say thank you every time that person or someone else does this for you. Never lift an unsafe amount of weight without some kind of supervision. Being shy is not worth being injured and putting yourself in harms way.

 
 

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If you're looking for advice on an exercise, find someone who you've observed performing that exercise with great range of motion and control with a good amount of repetitions and ask them for their opinion. You could also find someone who has overly developed muscles in the muscle group(s) you're trying to work out, but be careful about that. They might just have great genetics for those muscle groups but have crappy technique / advice, or could just be injecting synthetic drugs to over-exaggerate those muscle groups. If you can, find someone you know who was small starting out, and successfully developed their muscles. Catch them in between sets and ask "hey, what's your opinion on....". They'll be happy to give you advice and you'll meet awesome new friends. Just don't overstay your welcome and let them get back to finishing their workout.

The gym has really helped teach me how to become more social and how to interact with many different types of people. A lot of people are there to work out, but a lot of people are also there to interact with other people. If you need someone to help you push your maxes, or need to learn new perspectives from new people to help advance your lifting / fitness technique, don't be afraid to meet someone new and ask for assistance / advice. I promise you that everyone you ask will be happy to help you out!

-Jtrain

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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