Foodtrainers

The holidays are right around the corner, and for many people, that means struggling to maintain a healthy diet. To make things easy, we’re going to offer you a holiday playbook with 10 tips to keep you sane and healthy.

1. Go Pro: Having protein at your first meal of the day reduces cravings and helps you make healthier choices throughout the day. This could be a collagen smoothie with greens powder or spirulina, eggs and avocado, or chia pudding.
2. Work Your Water: Richard Johnson, author of Nature Wants Us to be Fat, explains how one of your body’s reactions to dehydration is to store fat as a potential water source. Holiday cocktails are dehydrating, so you really want to be drinking at least half your ideal body weight in ounces of water — so a 140-lb person should have around 70 ounces of water per day. We have the Foodtrainers® FLASK to help you visualize your water intake throughout the day. Tea is also a great way to hydrate, whether it’s ginger, yerba mate, green tea, or any of the other healthy variants.
3. You Can Complain: Lauren always stops clients when they say “I can’t complain.” Susan Davis, in her incredible TED Talk, said “Want to be happy? Embrace your negative emotions.” She mentions that our internal pain often comes out in the way we eat. For her, repressed emotions around her father’s death led to an eating disorder. It wasn’t until she expressed how she truly felt that she was able to overcome that obstacle.
4. Pick Your Pleasure: Food is often a big part of celebrating the holidays, but it isn’t always the healthiest option. We advise not abstaining completely, but picking your pleasures intentionally and making responsible choices around them. Maybe you can have that decadent pumpkin pie, but skip the fatty gravy or super sweet side dishes.
5. Passeggiata: Passeggiata is Italian for a leisurely stroll after a meal. As little as 10 minutes of movement after meals lowers blood sugar, which is good for weight and digestion. Whether it’s a walk outside or simply cleaning up, try to move after meals, especially indulgent ones.
6. 2-to-3 Food Free: You want to have a minimum of two, ideally three, hours “food free” before bed. If you go to bed at 10 PM, you should stop eating, even snacks, by 7 PM.
7. Pre-Think Your Drinks: Before heading out, give yourself a drink budget. Probiotics and B vitamins mitigate a lot of damage of alcohol. Yes, it’s better not to drink at all, but as we said above, it’s important to pick your pleasure.
8. BYO Nutcase: Having nuts before drinking, or a sweet, indulgent meal can prevent your blood sugar from plummeting and help you make better food choices throughout the day. Our Foodtrainers® Nut Case is perfect for bringing a few emergency walnuts or brazil nuts with you.
9. What You Measure Gets Improved: Data collection is important, particularly over the holidays. We’ve talked about tracking your food, our clients keep daily deets. The scale works for some. Levels has their glucose monitors and the Oura Ring is fun. Be sure to do some tracking or data collection over the holidays — better to know! 
10. Don’t Do It Twice: The habit researcher and author of Atomic Habits, James Clear, says “don’t do it twice.” If you skip a workout one day, don’t do it the next. If you eat treats one day, don’t do it twice. We talk to clients about regrouping ASAP — don’t wait for the New Year, Monday, or even the next day. The #1 skill of healthy eating and weight loss is regrouping fast. This can spin an oops into a victory.

Products mentioned:

• Vital Proteins Grass-Fed Collagen - Foodtrainers®
• Vitality Greens
• Terrasoul Blue Spirulina
• Foodtrainers® FLASK
• Foodtrainers® Gutsy Probiotic
• Foodtrainers® B-sane
• Pure O.N.E. Omega-3
• Apothékary Lion's Mane
• Gossamer Dawn CBD Tincture
• Foodtrainers® BFF
• Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar
• Foodtrainers® MagneZZZium

Resources:

• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

Seed oils are just about everywhere—even at places like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Most people don’t even know about the dangers they pose, yet they’re unbelievably common in all kinds of foods many people buy every single day.

Today, we’re going to dive into seed oils—the reasons that seed oils can cause inflammation (and what that even is), how that can affect our weight, chronic conditions and mood, and what we can do to avoid them in our day-to-day shopping.

What are seed oils?

Seed oils include soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, and peanut oil. Cate Shanahan calls these oils the “hateful 8.” The extreme process they go through to be ready for consumption is extreme, involving several chemical solvents. And seed oils are found everywhere, from oat milk, packaged foods, roasted nuts, salad dressings, in most restaurants, and more. And the main reason they’re so bad for you is because they cause serious levels of inflammation in the body.

What is inflammation?

There are two main types of inflammation: Acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation is when it’s noticeable via redness or swelling, as if from a cut or a sore throat. Chronic inflammation is in some ways more subtle or rather difficult to detect. It happens when this response lingers, leaving your body in a constant state of alert. Over time, chronic inflammation may have a negative impact on your tissues and organs. It also plays a role in a range of conditions, from cancer, to heart disease, to diabetes – basically all chronic diseases.

Food can be can anti-inflammatory, such as salmon and other omega-3 foods. They can also be inflammatory, with omega-6 fats being the opposite.

What should you do?

Decrease seed oils where you can. Be mindful to ask what oil is used in the dressing or what fish is cooked in when you’re eating out, especially if it’s a regular for you. You can also increase your omega-3 intake via fish, chia, hemp, and walnuts.

In our shop:

• Pure O.N.E. Omega-3
• Old Dog Ranch Walnuts 

Resources:

• Micronutrient : Vibrant America
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

Kayleen, inspired by TikTok’s “Hot Girl Walk” (started by Mia Lind, @exactlyliketheothergirls), started amping up her steps. That, along with a study on being an “active couch potato,” is what we’re here to talk about.

An active couch potato (we say ACP) is someone who exercises for 30 min or an hour and then is sedentary for the rest of the day. A study from July of this year in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise received a lot of press. The study, conducted in Finland with 3700 men and women in a birth cohort study, tracked individuals’ steps and sedentary time and divided them into 4 groups: “Active couch potatoes,” “Sedentary light movers,” “Sedentary exercisers,” and “Movers.” ACP was the largest group, while Movers—those who exercised and stepped—was the smallest.

It turns out that those who did around 30 minutes of exercise a day, but were sedentary for the rest of the day, were not in good shape. Now before you stop exercising, you need to be aware that what the data shows is that sitting for long periods of time is a problem, regardless of exercise. Exercise for blood sugar, brain health, hormone health, and managing stress is still 100% necessary.

Listen to the full episode to hear us discuss the relationship between muscles and glucose, the Italian concept of “passeggiata,” and what studies say about how much exercise you should get in the day over what amount of time.

And another study from February seems to be a hot research topic this study concluded frequent short interruptions of standing significantly attenuated postprandial glucose compared to prolonged sitting; however, light-intensity walking was found to represent a superior physical activity break.

Resources:

• Joint Profiles of Sedentary Time and Physical Activity in Adults and their Associations with Cardiometabolic Health
• The Acute Effects of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting Time in Adults with Standing and Light-Intensity Walking on Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
• Mia Lind on TikTok: @exactlyliketheothergirls
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

In this episode, we discuss cholesterol, an area where mainstream medicine may be a little behind. This is an area where you have to advocate for yourself. Many doctors are quick to put someone with high LDL on a statin. The corollary advice is to pass over foods high in cholesterol or saturated fats, and that’s not current either.

You can’t simply look at LDL, you need to look at HDL and triglycerides. We use the ratio of Triglycerides to HDL. Ideally, this ratio is less than 1:1. Greater than 2:1is an indicator of risk.

We must stress: you need to request the right tests from your doctor. You must ask your doctor to do a particle size test. Other cholesterol tests are outdated. A regular test won’t reveal particle size. The tests are either an NMR Lipid Panel from LabCorp or the Cardio IQ Test from Quest Diagnostics—they are the only way to know what’s really going on with your cholesterol. 

For particles- the big particles are safe and not a source for concern. If you have lots of small particles, those can really harm your arteries.

We also like to see C-reactive protein (an indicator of inflammation) and hemoglobin A1C

Dietary and lifestyle recommendations

So what do you do if you want to improve your cholesterol? It’s encouraging that 80% of cases of heart disease and diabetes may actually be preventable with diet and lifestyle. Even losing as little as 10 pounds can be enough to improve your cholesterol levels. In one study, people who lost at least 5% of their weight significantly reduced their levels of LDL, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. On top of that, 150 min of exercise increases HDL (or what we call “happy cholesterol.”)

You should also consider adding these foods to your diet:

• Walnuts
• Chia seeds
• Brazil nuts
• Green tea/matcha
• Fermented foods: Apple cider vinegar, kraut, kimchi
• Fish
• Supplements: Omega 3, Vitamin D3, BFF

On the other hand, you might want to avoid these:

• Seed oils/unhealthy fats: cottonseed, corn, canola, soy, safflower
• Sunflower oils contain high amounts of omega-6, a fat that is considered a danger when it comes to heart disease, highly inflammatory
• Refined carbohydrate intake is also associated with a higher risk of heart disease

We hope this is eye-opening for you. There’s a lot of false and outdated information out there, so make sure you’re getting it right when it comes to cholesterol.

Resources:

• Understanding the NMR LipoProfile® Test Report
• Cardio IQ® report | Quest Diagnostics
• A Single Consumption of High Amounts of the Brazil Nuts Improves Lipid Profile of Healthy Volunteers
• The Fatburn Fix: Boost Energy, End Hunger, and Lose Weight by Using Body Fat for Fuel
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

Where do you get your advice from? 

This podcast episode was inspired by a Reel from Bethenny Frankel, a former star of The Real Housewives of New York. The Reel starts with Bethenny saying she doesn’t exercise, she doesn’t work out, and touching on a number of topics—but what we really want to discuss is who should and shouldn’t be giving advice, and who you should be listening to when it comes to your health.

Bethany has 2.8 million followers on her Instagram, which means that the advice she gives has reach. There is some truth to what she says, but it’s interspersed with a lot of advice that’s dangerous. We’re also not fans of “do what I do” advice, because not only is it impossible to verify they do what they say they do but not every piece of advice is going to work the same for everyone.

Telling people not to exercise is fraught. We mentioned in the protein episode that we lose muscle with age. In perimenopause and menopause, there’s a rapid decline in muscle. This not only has metabolic effects, but it also has consequences when it comes to longevity. Muscle mass at midlife is correlated to all-cause mortality, so this goes well beyond vanity.

Cardio matters too. It’s one of the best tools to fight against Alzheimer’s.

Bethenny also mocks people who may not have their relationship to eating and exercise figured out. She makes fun of people who feel the need to work out when they overeat. While we believe exercise should be regular and your diet, we’re all still trying to figure things out.

When you see someone giving what seems to be poor advice, no matter how famous they are, feel free to push back. Leave a comment and add to the discussion. And know your family history and risk. Everyone’s health is going to be different, so what works for some won’t work for others. Take care of yourself, and take advice with a grain of salt.

Resources:

• Bethany’s Reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CiV7XONgFSz/?hl=en
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

Today’s episode is all about tea. We are fascinated by rituals and habits, and tea just feels right at home in our daily lives as a way to provide comfort and warmth. It can also be a great replacement ritual—we prefer substitution to abstinence in most cases, and tea fills that role perfectly.

Loose-leaf tea is typically higher quality than tea bags. Many people find loose tea a pain or don’t know what to do with it, but it’s worth learning and experimenting with. Once you figure out a brewing method that works for you, it can be just as easy and natural as tea bags but with much better flavoring and health benefits.

Yerba Mate

There’s a tea—or more accurately a plant—called yerba mate that increases what’s known as GLP-1. Yerba mate may increase leptin, the “you’ve had enough” satisfaction hormone. Even though the studies are preliminary, it’s encouraging. Additionally, two other things to potentially increase GLP-1 are protein and probiotics, so you’re not out of options if you aren’t down with tea. Many use yerba mate for its cognitive benefits as a nootropic, so the benefits are potentially far-reaching.

Other favorite teas

Green tea is a common variety brought up when talking about health benefits and supplementation. It’s a high polyphenol drink that can help with weight loss and acts as a probiotic. Dandelion, while not a great taste on its own, can be mixed with other herbs and flavors to create a great detox tea that helps you shed water and reduce bloating. Spearmint tea, on the other hand, is delicious and can act as a hormone balancer.

Each of us has to find the right combination of flavors, recipes, rituals, and times of day that work best for us. It’s a process to try and see what works for you. Just consider making tea a part of your day—because the health benefits could be worth it.

Products Mentioned:

• Foodtrainers® Loose Leaf Teapot
• Organic Traditional Loose Leaf Yerba Mate - Guayaki
• Foodtrainers® Decade Eraser
• Pendulum Therapeutics
• Detox Brew - Foodtrainers®
• Spearmint Tea - Foodtrainers®
• Wakaya Perfection Ginger Powder - Foodtrainers®
• Matchaful Matcha - Foodtrainers®

Resources:

• 72. Top 10 Nutrition Trends 2022
• Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity
• Ozempic, Semaglutide Diabetes Drug Weight Loss Trend, Risks
• Why Do I Have 1 to 3 Sharp Little Chin Hairs That Just Keep Coming Back?
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

We all know how bad heavy drinking is for your body, your brain, your cancer risk, and more. But while moderate alcohol consumption is still widely accepted, how much damage is it doing to us? Is it enough for us to stop drinking altogether?

Huberman Lab had an episode called What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health that discusses this. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines moderate drinking as14 drinks a week for men and seven drinks a week for women. While there’s plenty of research on the impacts that drinking more than that has on the body, there aren’t nearly as many seeing what happens when drinking under that amount.

There are a few factors of drinking that persist even when not under the influence of alcohol. That impulsive behavior you might feel while tipsy or drunk actually carries on long after you stop feeling the other effects of alcohol consumption. People who drink also have higher cortisol levels even when not drinking—one of the things that often lead to that dangerous cycle of addiction. And the increased risk of cancer kicks in with just one drink and only goes up as you drink more.

There are things you can do to mitigate the impacts of alcohol on your body. Making sure to take care of your gut, which alcohol can wreak havoc on, can reduce several of the short-term downsides of alcohol consumption. Making sure you are hydrating, especially with electrolytes, is also a must. Folate and B12 have been said to reduce the risk of cancer associated with drinking as well.

Overall, it’s important to know the risks and make the judgment for yourself. It’s okay to pick your pleasures and try not to freak out over them. Living a healthy life doesn’t mean living joylessly, so feel free to live your life on your terms.

Products mentioned:

• Foodtrainers® Gutsy Probiotic
• Foodtrainers® B-sane

Resources:

• What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health - Huberman Lab
• Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

We’re going to talk about relationships and how they affect our eating. Whether it’s physical attraction, eating habits, or getting on the same page about health and fitness goals, being in a relationship plays a big role in our weight and diet.

We discuss an article in the New York Times called "For Better, for Worse, for B.M.I." which focuses on the tendency to gain weight after getting married. It states “Call them happy pounds, love chub, or the marriage 15. No matter what gaining weight during marriage is about as common as holding your breath under water.” A 2009 study published in Obesity surveyed 1,293 young adults between 18 and 27 years old who were married, living together, or dating. The married couples were threefold more likely to both be obese, whereas the cohabiting couples had close to double the risk. The dating people were the thinnest.

We also talk about a couple where the wife is concerned about her mountaineering-man-turned-couch-potato husband and whether it’s okay to bring it up, referencing an article on Foodtrainers called "What to Do When You're Married to Mr Bagel."

Items Kayleen is taking on her trip from the Foodtrainers shop:

• Debloating Detox Drops - Foodtrainers®
• Gossamer Dusk CBD Tincture - Foodtrainers®
• Foodtrainers® MagneZZZium

Other products mentioned:

• "The Little Book of Thin" by Lauren Slayton
• "Bittersweet" by Susan Cain

Resources:

• "For Better, for Worse, for B.M.I."
• Emily Gellis’ “The Great Diet Crash"
• "What to Do When You're Married to Mr Bagel"
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemm

When we’re talking about what we put into our bodies, there’s one thing that gets lost in the discussion between fats and carbs and keto, and that’s protein. Not getting enough protein is one of the things that can begin to impede weight loss, especially as you get older. And even if weight loss isn’t your goal, the same advice applies to healthy aging.

Plants are critical to our health—we’ve said before that it’s a good guideline to have half your plate be veggie-based. But whether you’re plant based or keto or any other specialty diet, you need to look at where the gaps are and make sure you’re getting the necessary nutrients.

Amino Acids

There are nine essential amino acids that aid our bodies in building muscle. Part of what makes them essential is that our bodies don’t naturally produce them—we have to get them through our diet. They help with metabolism, slow down muscle loss, and change our body composition. Many plant-based foods are lower in these essential amino acids.

Protein and Hormones

One of proteins biggest strengths, besides helping your body to become stronger, is how it affects your hormones. It impacts the hunger hormones by keeping you full and decreasing cravings better than almost anything else. This means eating a high-protein breakfast can positively impact all your food choices throughout the day.

Products Mentioned:

• Vital Proteins Grass-Fed Collagen
• Kion
• The Little Book of Thin

Resources:

• Read: Eat Like The Animals
• Significant Amounts of Functional Collagen Peptides Can Be Incorporated in the Diet While Maintaining Indispensable Amino Acid Balance
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma

Eating healthy is a lifelong pursuit. After a long time, it is natural to start to forget some of the fundamentals. Now that you’ve hopefully had a relaxing summer, it’s a good opportunity to get back to basic and back on track.

We’re going to give you five “needle-moving behaviors” to give you traction heading into the fall.

Vegify

I can’t tell you how many people are tracking their steps, taking shots of apple cider vinegar, but they’re forgetting one of the basics: eating enough vegetables. A good guideline is two cups of vegetables twice a day. We like to classify vegetables as top shelf, leafies, smellies, and ferm. If you can get more of these into your diet, your health outlook will vastly improve.

Daily Deets

This is what we call our food log, and it’s one of the most impactful parts of our client sessions. The format doesn’t matter, whether digital or analog, but one thing we recommend is to look at a week at a time instead of day-to-day. Weighing and measuring can actually be counterproductive, but the simple act of tracking will keep healthy eating top of mind.

Budgets

Trying to get your behaviors back on track is important, and sometimes you don’t want to eliminate a food outright. That’s where budgets come into play. If you’ve been way off track, pick something you are trying to avoid—say, carbs. Scale things way back and try to only have one meal a day with carbs in it.

Supplements

We like to keep things basic with supplements, but sometimes it’s worth revisiting your supplement lineup and make sure you have everything covered. We have two bundles of supplements to make things even easier. Our Foodtrainers® Starter Pack includes our Double D’s, Chill Pills, and Gutsy, which are great for pretty much everyone. We also have our Foodtrainers® Great Weight Bundle with Rhodiola, BFF (berberine), and Omega-3.

Diamond Days

Think about the shape of a diamond. Narrow at the top and bottom but wider in the middle. A Diamond Day is letting our meals reflect that shape: Small breakfast, big lunch, small dinner. Your insulin is least efficient at the end of the day, and large dinners affect sleep quality and aren’t ideal for weight loss. Just changing what you eat during certain times of the day can have a huge effect on your health and weight.

You can just start with one of these items and really get it down, then move on to the next. You’ll see some results very quickly.

Products Mentioned:

• Foodtrainers® Starter Pack
• Foodtrainers® Great Weight Bundle
• Foodtrainers® Decade Eraser
• Foodtrainers® B-sane
• Foodtrainers' Pill Popper
• Foodtrainers' Daily Deets Food Log

Resources:

• 48. The Habit That Can Double Your Results
• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma