Hey Live Fit

About a month ago we were blessed to work with Certified Personal Trainer Sonia Maranville. Sonia gave us a booty kicking kickboxing workout and shared some astonishing information on America’s sugar intake. We are going to be meeting with Sonia again on March 13th and 27th if you missed our last meeting and want to join! Check our Meeting Times tab or message me for more information.

I thought this information really correlated with our eliminating 1 bad habit and adding a good habit in its place post: https://livefitwomensfitness.com/tag/eliminate-the-bad-add-the-good/ How is that going for you ladies? For me it’s still been a struggle. I was having energy highs and lows during the day and realized it was due to consuming too much sugar. I have cut out a good deal of sugar and am feeling a lot better. I substituted packaged oatmeal for homemade, sugary snacks for triscutts and in the evening have been giving up eating after 8pm which at first seemed hard but know I’m realizing it was pure boredom that I was eating out of. I am craving fruits and vegetables much more than sweats these days and am loving it! Please reply all let us know what you cut out and added in its place. Maybe for you it was turning negative thoughts into a more optimistic attitude, Let us know!

This article was written by Sonia, Owner of Sonia’s Fitness Training. She is a Group Fitness Instructor and Certified personal Trainer through National Exercise Trainers Association (NETA). She has been in the fitness industry since 2005. You can find her at:  www.soniasfitnesstraining.com

Sugar, How Sweet it is…Or is it?

Do you ever have a hunkering for something sweet? Do you think about it all day until you satisfy it? After you find something sweet do you feel a rush from the sugar, almost euphoric? Research shows that a high intake of carbohydrates, including sugar, releases feel food chemical in the brain called serotonin. Then within an hour of eating the sugar you start to crash and feel tired, fatigued, and lethargic and grab another piece of candy or something.

Maybe you’re sitting there thinking “who cares, what harm can a little sugar really do to me? Cravings, binge eating, weight gain, and heart disease are just a few problems that sugar can cause when eaten in excess. It also causes an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, elevated triglycerides, and low HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It has also been linked to depression, migraines, poor eyesight, autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis, gout, and osteoporosis.

Twenty Years ago the average person consumed about 25 pounds of sugar per year. According to the USDA, today the average American consumes over 135 pounds of sugar a year. That’s about 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily, the equivalent of 350 calories which means over 8,000 teaspoons a year. That’s double the recommended amount. The American Heart Association recommends that we limit our daily sugar consumption to 7% or less of our daily calorie intake. That’s about 6 teaspoons (100 calories) for women and 9 teaspoons (150 calories) for men. One 12 ounce can of regular soda contains 8-10 teaspoons of sugar, and a glazed donut contains 6 teaspoons. At least half of the sugar we consume comes from high-fructose corn syrup found in fat-free foods like ketchup, teriyaki sauce, chocolate milk, cookies, cake, ice cream and cereals. And even when you think you’re eating healthy foods, like yogurt and instant oatmeal can pack as much as 20-30 grams (5-7 teaspoons). Wow looks like we have some work to do!

4 Ways to reduce your sugar intake:
1. Only drink water and milk. No sugary liquids, including juice.
2. only eat sugars that have fiber (ie fruits). This will slow down he breakdown of sugars and cut out the unhealthy sugary treats.
3. wait 20 minutes for a second portion. A second portion only doubles the sugars you ate for that meal. You might not even want it!
4. Exercise. It improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. And if exercise is done after you eat sugar it makes fructose less toxic therefore improving liver insulin sensitivity.

Taken from the UCSF Watch Clinic Lifestyle Intervention.

The attached picture is from an exercise we did with Sonia. We measured out the sugar consumption for all the meals listed next to the glass mugs. The first day is the American Typical day of Sugar, The second day is the Healthy day of sugar and the last day is the Ideal day of sugar.

Thanks Sonia, What a great visual exercise that helps us grasp how mush extra sugar we are consuming and not even realizing it.

Blessings Ladies, Michelle