Sugar, Sugar, SUGAR!

The average American consumes 153 lbs of sugar each year….YIKES!

So, how much sugar should we have each day?

>3 servings of fruit each day
>sweets in moderation/limited
>40 grams or less of ADDED sugar/ day

Wait…if fruit has sugar, does that mean I shouldn’t eat it?

>No!!! Fruit is one of the healthiest things we can eat! Make sure to consume 3 servings per day! Fruit has vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants.

>Studies suggest that those who consume fruit as part of their normal diet (diet here means dietary intake….not diet as we tend to think of it) actually crave sugar less.

Look for sugar in the ingredient list. As a general rule, sugar should not be listed in the first five ingredients. Be careful though, because sugar has many names. Anything that ends in “-ose” is a form of sugar (i.e. fructose, sucrose). Sugar hides under many other names. Here is a list of names for sugar:

1. Barley malt
2. Beet sugar
3. Brown sugar
4. Buttered syrup
5. Cane juice crystals
6. Cane sugar
7. Caramel
8. Corn syrup
9. Corn syrup solids
10. Confectioner’s sugar
11. Carob syrup
12. Castor sugar
13. Date sugar
14. Demerara sugar
15. Dextran
16. Dextrose
17. Diastatic malt
18. Diatase
19. Ethyl maltol
20. Fructose
21. Fruit juice
22. Fruit juice concentrate
23. Galactose
24. Glucose
25. Glucose solids
26. Golden sugar
27. Golden syrup
28. Grape sugar
29. High-fructose corn syrup
30. Honey
31. Icing sugar
32. Invert sugar
33. Lactose
34. Maltodextrin
35. Maltose
36. Malt syrup
37. Maple syrup
38. Molasses
39. Muscovado sugar
40. Panocha
41. Raw sugar
42. Refiner’s syrup
43. Rice syrup
44. Sorbitol
45. Sorghum syrup
46. Sucrose
47. Sugar
48. Treacle
49. Turbinado sugar
50. Yellow sugar

Benefits of Healthy Snacking

And the results are in! Snacking in between meals is… good for you? Yes, you read that right. Snacking between meals is actually good for your health. Snacks can even help you lose weight! There is only one catch though (there is always a catch); the snacks have to be healthy. What are the benefits of snacking on healthy foods? Here’s a list (you asked for it)…

•Food equals energy. Your body needs energy to function.

•Your blood sugar levels between meals can drop significantly if you aren’t refueling yourself regularly. Low blood sugar levels can lead to crankiness, sluggishness, and trouble thinking (Oh no! Nobody likes a cranky, hungry co-worker). Eating a healthy snack between meals helps maintain your blood sugar levels at a healthy level by providing a steady stream of carbohydrates and nutrients for your body. Steady blood sugar levels help prevent these unwanted side effects.

•Speaking of unwanted side effects… eating smaller meals, more often throughout the day has been proven to prevent heartburn commonly experienced after eating big meals.

•Eating healthy snacks keeps you more full throughout the day so you are less likely to overeat at mealtimes because you are “soooooo huuuunnnngryyyyy.”

•I said it before, and its true… eating healthy snacks throughout the day can actually help you lose weight! (Aren’t we all looking for ways to lose weight?) How does eating more often help you lose weight? Snacking won’t miraculously melt off the pounds, but it will help and every little bit helps when it comes to your weight, right? When you go hungry, your body isn’t getting the energy it needs to function. Your body tries to conserve energy by slowing down your metabolism (which means you are burning calories slower) and “saving energy,” or in other words, storing fat. Yikes! This is called “starvation mode.” Eating a healthy snack between meals can prevent starvation mode between meals by giving your body a constant supply of energy so your metabolism can stay higher throughout the day (burning more calories!) because your body is no longer “starving” for nutrients.

•Snacking can help you stay healthy? Eating healthy snacks helps you get all the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs which helps build your immune system.

•Eating snacks can help you think more clearly by giving your brain the food it needs to work properly. So, eating that apple before you go out with your friends may help lower the number of those “foot-in-mouth” moments and you may get that raise you’ve been hoping for.

So go ahead, eat that healthy snack you’ve been thinking about the entire time you’ve been reading this article. It’s okay. Just remember to stay away from junk foods also called empty calorie foods (foods like candy, greasy foods/chips, etc…). These foods offer little or no nutritional value, only calories and/or fat. Stick to the healthy snacks and reap these rewards! Happy Snacking!

How to Increase your Metabolism and Lose Weight Faster

We’ve all heard someone complain that they can’t lose weight because they have a slow metabolism. What exactly is metabolism, and how does it affect weight loss? Simply put, our metabolism is how efficiently we use energy (food). A person with a slow metabolism conserves the amount of energy expended by using the calories from the food more efficiently than someone with a fast metabolism. While a slow metabolism would be beneficial in times of scarcity, it is not beneficial for someone who is trying to lose weight.

There are four simple ways to boost your metabolism
and therefore lose weight faster.

First, eat breakfast within an hour of rising. We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Why is that? Breakfast is just that, breaking a fast. While you sleep, your body slows down. When we eat breakfast we are telling our bodies to wake up and telling our metabolism to get going.

Second, don’t starve yourself. It may seem counterintuitive, but you can’t just cut calories to lose weight. If you don’t consume enough calories, your metabolism enters starvation mode and slows down significantly. Aim for eating six small meals each day with each meal spaced about three hours apart. When you eat small meals throughout the day, it keeps your metabolism revved up and burning calories.

Third, exercise at least five days per week.
Include both aerobic (cardio) and anaerobic (weight lifting) exercises. Aerobic exercises increase your metabolism while you are in the process of working out. Anaerobic exercises such as weight training significantly increase your metabolism even after you are done working out, creating an “after-burn” effect where you continue to burn calories at an increased rate for hours after completing the exercise. Plus, muscle burns more calories than fat, so a person who has more muscle mass burns more calories at rest than a similar person who has more fat.

Fourth, drink plenty of water.
Your body is composed of a high content of water. Even your metabolism needs water in order to work properly. Remember this simple rule: if you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Drink up!

At Utah’s Live-In Fitness Camp, our personal trainers guide you through daily activities that help you increase your metabolism. They will be with you throughout every step of your five to seven hours of exercise each day. They will help you increase your metabolism and muscle mass while shedding pounds of fat each week. With so much activity to help work up an appetite, take comfort
in knowing that you will always have enough healthy and delicious food to keep you going. Three gourmet meals are provided each day as well as three snacks. This ensures that you are able to eat every few hours and keep your metabolism running at its peak.

Come stay with us in our beautiful valley location in the shadow of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. Learn how to change your life and be the best you that you can be. Release the fit and healthy person inside you. Jump-start your fitness goals and learn how to make the results last for the rest of your life!

About Utah's Live-In Fitness Camp

Utah's Live-In Fitness Camp is located in the Salt Lake Valley at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in northern Utah. Our highly trained staff of personal trainers is well educated in maximizing weight loss through high intensity workouts. Skilled massage therapists make scheduled visits to your spacious personal suite for 30, 60, or 90 minute massages to keep muscles flexible and feeling great. Indoor and outdoor activities make active time fun and exciting. Nutritionists and chefs bring flair and flavor to our balanced meals and snacks. Counselors and life coaches help bring a level of understanding to each personal journey and help bring about lasting change and motivation. You can be healthy! And we can teach you how! Contact Utah's Live-In Fitness Camp at www.utahweightlossretreat.com today!