Life Time Training

You know the feeling. 

That intense craving for carbohydrates when all you are trying to do is eat clean and healthy.

What do you do when this craving hits?  Do you avoid it completely?  Do you cave in? 

Or, do you try your best to find a healthier substitute that satisfies the craving without derailing your nutrition plan?

If you’re not quite the latter, you might just be short of ideas for foods that can help meet your need of a carbohydrate fix.  I've got some insight on why this type of craving is so common along with some of my go-to foods when they strike.

Table Of ContentsWhere Do Cravings Come From?Why are Carbohydrate Cravings so Hard to Ignore?What You Should EatIf You’re Craving a Salty Carb:If You’re Craving a Sweet Carb:If You’re Craving a Starchy Carb?When Can I Have the Real Thing?

Where Do Cravings Come From?

First thing's first — why do so many of us crave carbohydrates?

Most people believe that these cravings are strictly psychological. They blame their lack of willpower for their lack of success. Yet most cravings are actually derived from some sort of physiological imbalance going on inside. 

One example of this is what happens inside of your body when it’s stressed out.  Your levels of cortisol (stress hormone) levels elevate, which causes your blood sugar levels to elevate as well. 

When your body has high levels of blood sugar, it releases insulin (a fat storing hormone) to help bring that blood sugar down (storing the sugar as fat). Insulin often overcompensates, leaving you with a lower blood sugar and confusing your body into thinking it needs more energy and causing some serious carbohydrate cravings. 

Have you ever found yourself super stressed out at work and instantly craving something naughty out of the vending machine? 

This is the exact process of why that feeling happens. 

Even worse, having a poor night of sleep or simply a diet “too high” in processed carbohydrates creates the same impact on blood sugar levels and insulin. Do you know anyone that doesn’t get enough sleep and maybe has too much stress?  Try majority of the adult population in America. 

All of these imbalances really put you at a disadvantage when it comes to cravings and trying to eat healthy which is why it’s so important to realize why you have them to begin with but also what you can do to help dampen them. 

Why are Carbohydrate Cravings so Hard to Ignore?

Truth be told, food manufacturers are really good at their job. 

If you made money off of people buying certain food products, wouldn’t you do anything in your power to make them want more? 

Processed food today is chock full of artificial ingredients, sugar and salt, which influence your taste buds to want more.  And unfortunately, these foods are not typically filling, making it easy to overeat and not support a healthy waistline. 

Not to mention, many of us get a good feeling after consuming them. 

What You Should Eat

When trying to lose weight, cravings for carbs can completely derail you of your nutrition plan. 

But if you have them, you can set forth some strategies to have in your back pocket when cravings arrive. 

It’s also important to consider long-term strategies in the event that your body is going through chronic periods of stress or lack of sleep. In those cases, supportive supplements or even meditation would be advantages when it...

Delayed onset muscle soreness. The inevitable outcome of an occasional workout.

Sometimes it shows up with the first step out of bed. As you stand from your bed, pain and stiffness fill your quads and glutes, waking you up faster than jumping in an ice bath.

Or, you take a shower, reach your arm up to wash your pit, brush your pec with your loofa (err...bar of soap), and scream from the soreness in your chest.

Then again, maybe you sneeze, and every muscle fiber in your abs aches with pain.

Welcome to a day with DOMS...Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. The good news is, it doesn't last forever.

However, like paying taxes on a portion of your income, DOMS is the inevitable effect of some of your best training sessions.

Article ShortcutsWhat Is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?What Causes Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?How To Relieve Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: What Doesn’t WorkHow To Relieve Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: What Might WorkHow To Relieve Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: What Works Summary

When people face DOMS for the first time, they often ask:

“Did I do something wrong?”“How can I make this go away?”

As I often remind clients...

Expect to feel sore periodically, get hurt on occasion, and get injured at some point in the future.

What Is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the pain, stiffness, and slight swelling you feel in the hours or days following an intense exercise session.

Most of the time, it's triggered by:

Starting a new training program after a prolonged absence or when you’re brand new to exerciseStarting a new block of strength training or changing training style, especially when rep ranges exceed eight reps per set and the volume is higher than averageEccentric or ballistic training (weights, downhill running, plyometrics, etc.)

You might get a little sore from walking or running, but in most cases, the soreness comes from strength-based movements like squats, lunges, presses, jumps, etc. Even body weight exercise, like in boot camp classes, can leave you feeling pretty sore the next few days.

Technically...

DOMS is classified as a type I muscle strain injury and presents with tenderness or stiffness to palpation and/or movement."Cheung K et al. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. 2012

Don’t let the word “injury” lead you into believing your muscle soreness should prevent you from physical activity, though. Activity and exercise actually lessen the soreness, whereas remaining sedentary can make things worse.

DOMS slows you down, but it's not debilitating.

The faster you work through it, the sooner you can get back to high-intensity training. As you'll see, there's much you can do to speed through the recovery process.

Soreness appears anywhere from a half day to a day and a half later, and lasts for two to four days. However, in those new to exercise, the tenderness can last a little longer.

A manageable amount of soreness is common, so if you need to grab the toilet seat to sit down the day after hitting your legs once in a while, you’re normal.

What Causes Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

You might think scientists today have our bodies all figured out. That’s hardly the case. When it comes to DOMS, they’ve come up with six theories as to what causes it. 

I’ll briefly cover the theories here. However,

Digestive enzymes might be the most overlooked, under-appreciated part of a healthy digestive system. Chances are, you’ve given them little thought. Perhaps, you don’t even know what they are.

Article ShortcutsMy Own Messed Up GutWhat are Digestive Enzymes?Proteases and Peptidases (Proteolytic Enzymes)CarbohydrasesLipasesHow to Increase Digestive Enzyme Levels

About 20% of the US population is known to have a digestive issue, or about 60-70 million people. The percentage continues to grow in the US and across the world. A lack of enzymes contributes to these digestive problems.

Symptoms can be as subtle as burping or gas following meals, or more extreme like constant diarrhea or periodic pain.

Exercise, increased core body temperature, injury, stress, and certain diseases increase the use of enzymes. Aging, and certain diseases, like pancreatitis, decrease production. Whether you experience an increased need, or decreased production, the result is the same. Enzyme insufficiency.

Digestive enzyme insufficiency is linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, hyperthyroidism, Celiac disease, Crohn's disease, excessive exercise, and diets high in processed foods.

My Own Messed Up Gut

This was one of the most challenging articles I've ever written. Normally, I can write a new article in three to five days, but this one took a couple of weeks. I found myself going down all sorts of rabbit holes, fascinated with the significant role enzymes play in our health.  My notes for this article looked more like notes that could fill a whole book.

Part of the reason I did so much more reading was that this is a personal topic. I've had my own digestive challenges in the past, and I have a family history of it as well.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I got some control over my own issues. Prior to that, my stomach would feel irritated and look distended for hours after each meal.

I had horrible gas at night. Every night. If I were single, I probably wouldn't have cared as much, but when my gorgeous wife is sitting across the room and has to bear it, it's kind of embarrassing.

I'm convinced my issues were enzyme-related, and feel much better today, although I do still have challenges once in a while.

The articles I write come from a combination of education, experience, and experimentation. This one especially so.

All that said, I kept cutting stuff out of this article to make it short enough for you to read it when you saw it. If it was too long, I figured you'd set it aside and not come back. I think there is enough in this article for you to understand importance of enzymes for optimal health, yet brief enough that you'll read through the whole thing.

What are Digestive Enzymes?

Enzymes speed up the rate of virtually every reaction in the body. You use more than 5000 different enzymes every day. Most of those enzymes are metabolic enzymes, responsible for everything from your thoughts to the thickness of your blood.

A relatively small group of your 5000 enzymes convert the food you eat, to nutrients that fuel and build your body.

Without digestive enzymes, you wouldn’t break down protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and your foods would pass through you undigested. Along the way, the food would destroy the lining of your intestines, cause immune reactions and cause inflammation. Nutritionally, you’d starve, no matter how much food you ate.

Digestive enzymes fall into three different categories, based on the macronutrient they act on:

The human body is an incredible specimen. Given proper

nourishment, healthy amounts of physical strain, and adequate conditions to

recover and adapt, it becomes resilient enough to withstand incredible mental

or physical stress.

Until you get sick.

If you get sick, you better hope your immune system is up for the challenge. This guide is designed to give you a deeper understanding of the actionable health choices and patterns that research has shown to support a healthy, resilient immune system.

It’s a helpful resource, but it’s not a replacement for actual medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice. For that, you should visit your medical provider(s).

Article ShortcutsNutrition & SupplementationDon’t ‘Diet’Eat a Nutrient-Dense DietImmune System-Supporting Essential NutrientsEat High-Protein With Every MealAvoid Inflammatory Foods and BeveragesTake High-Quality SupplementsExercise and MovementKeep Building Muscle Move OftenDon’t “Over-do” CardioInclude Active RecoveryLifestyleMaster Good HygieneGet Outside EverydayDon’t Sacrifice Sleep or DowntimeActively Manage StressHealthy People Have Healthy Immune Systems

Before we explore the “how to maintain good immune health” content, it’s important to briefly outline what your immune system is and what it’s supposed to do.

Your immune system is a collection of several biological processes that work to restore or maintain normal physiological conditions, no matter what types of pathogens we ingest or come in contact with.

It’s supposed to protect you from potentially harmful or infectious bacteria, parasites, yeasts, molds, or viruses.

Think of the immune system as two major categories:

Innate (or humoral) immunity consists of mechanical, chemical, and biological barriers and acts as a first line of defense against pathogens. These include mucous membranes, enzymes, pH (acidity/alkalinity), as well as temperature and oxygen levels. Adaptive (or cell-mediated) immunity is antigen-specific and relies largely on the health of your white blood cells. It’s the part of the immune system that “learns from experience” so to speak.

Several lifestyle factors influence the health and

resilience of both innate and adaptive immune function. This guide addresses

them in three parts:

Nutrition and Supplementation Exercise and Movement Lifestyle

Each of these categories is important for immune health, but it’s difficult to argue any single category is more or less critical than the others. They’re all intertwined in such a complex way that even modern science struggles to tease out what’s actually happening with acute and long-term immune function when certain interventions are implemented.

For example, when you sleep poorly or travel across time zones, something changes with your immune resilience. But you can make a few adjustments to your workouts, nutrition or supplementation to protect you from negative outcomes. That’s just one example.

The process of achieving better immune health is simple. It

may not be easy, but it is simple. Even Hippocrates knew this long ago.

If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.Hippocrates c. 460-377B.C.

Nutrition & Supplementation

Don’t ‘Diet’

To best support a strong, resilient immune system, eat a nutrient-dense diet. What does that mean?

Eat enough calories to maintain normal metabolic function.

Maintaining muscle is one of the most important aspects of long-term health and longevity.

While everyone is worried about which diet is best...Paleo, Keto, low-carb, low-fat (yes, some people still buy into low-fat diets)...I'm over here shaking my head, knowing people are missing a big part of the health and fitness puzzle.

Nutrition alone is not the answer to reclaiming your health, getting rid of excess body fat, and feeling your best. Nutrition provides the building blocks for your body, but you need strength training to tell your body what to do with that nutrition.

The average person starts losing muscle as early as age 25!

More and more millennials haven't even left home by age 25.

From 40 to 70 years old, muscle loss averages 8% per decade and then accelerates to 15% after age 70.

Your muscle tissue is a significant factor in the function of your metabolism. Muscle loss causes physical and cognitive decline.

Of course, much of this muscle loss, especially in younger and middle-aged adults, can be slowed, prevented, and even reversed. Unfortunately, the average lifestyle today, along with people’s low testosterone and low growth hormone, high levels of stress, and prevalence of type II diabetes, only accelerates muscle loss.

At some point, the rate you lose muscle exceeds the rate you can gain it, even in someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger. You cannot escape the effects of aging, but you can delay them.

Besides aging, injuries, cancer and other diseases also cause muscle loss. Our eventual physical decline is inevitable. But the more muscle we have when our bodies start rapidly breaking down, the longer we last with our physical function.

Muscle looks good, but its value goes well beyond how it looks. My hope is, by the end of this article, you’ll drop whatever excuse you have in your head for not strength training and eating enough protein, and make them both nonnegotiables.

Article Shortcuts1. Muscle Helps Manage Blood Sugar2. Muscle Builds Strength And Stamina3. Muscle Supports Your Joints4. Building Muscle Builds Bone Too5. Muscle Helps You Control Body Fat6. Muscle May Change Your Emotional State7. Muscle Makes You More Self-ConfidentMake Regular Deposits Into Your Quality Of Life Savings Account

Here are seven ways muscle supports your body and mind.

1. Muscle Helps Manage Blood Sugar

High-carb diets combined with sedentary lifestyles created an epidemic of diabesity (obesity and diabetes). About two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese, and pre-diabetic or diabetic.

If you look down at your stomach and you don’t see a bulging belly, don’t assume you’re in the clear. About 20% of those with diabetes or pre-diabetes are at a healthy weight.

To fix the blood sugar problem, you could eliminate carbs entirely by following a ketogenic diet. Or, you could eat a more moderate amount of carbs and create space to store them by building muscle.

In my opinion, your mental and physical health will be better off with some carbs in your diet.

Your liver and skeletal muscle store glucose as glycogen. However, if you don’t exercise regularly, and more specifically, train with weights, you lose your ability to store carbs. When you don’t have any place to put them, blood sugar rises, the pancreas secretes insulin, and you store fat.

There's also plenty of evidence to show that blood sugar and insulin dysfunction leads to cancer, cognitive problems, heart disease, and accelerated aging.

People fall in and out of fitness all of the time.

I fell in love with fitness at a pretty young age. I have

vivid memories of joining my mom as she’d do her at-home exercise videos or

rollerblading alongside of her while she ran outdoors in a park close to home.

That frequency of exercise carried with me throughout high

school and college as I prioritized time, almost every day, to lift weights or

do some cardio.

When I became an adult, everything changed. I started my

career as Registered Dietitian and Personal Trainer at Life Time. And although

I devoted almost all of my extra time to helping others, was still able to keep

my daily workouts.

Flash forward to today and my day-to-day is very comparable to the average American. I work more than 40 hours a week in an entrepreneur-based career while working my hardest to be a good spouse and mother. I get mom guilt thinking about “not” being at home with my toddler and instead being at work. I live on coffee during the day when my kiddo doesn’t have a great night of sleep the night before. Often, I consider laying on the couch and relaxing instead of doing my workout. Have you been there?

Here’s the thing, though. I’ve never regretted a workout

I’ve completed. I only regret when I haven’t. And although I constantly think I

have no time for it, I feel my best (and am my best self) when I stick to a

consistent routine. I’m a better mother because I have more patience. I’m a

better spouse because I have a more positive mood. I’m a better professional

because I have more energy. And all of these benefits are my reasons why I make

myself prioritize fitness and sometimes have to talk myself into it when I’m

feeling weak.

And if I’ve learned anything from my clients or my own self, sometimes you need creative new ideas to fit fitness into your schedule (whether it be even changing your mindset). Your routine doesn’t have to be perfect – and I always tell my clients you can dial it down as far as frequency and volume, but try never to completely avoid it. Anything is always better than nothing. And although I crave daily activity, on my best weeks, I can always get in around four sweat sessions. And with my hectic lifestyle, I think that is pretty darn good. Below are five of my creative ways of getting it in and sticking to a frequent routine.

Table Of ContentsMultitaskMake AppointmentsLunch SessionWeekend WarriorChoose Something Over Nothing

Multitask

When I’m with friends and family (or my clients), I don’t

multitask and strictly focus on being present in that moment. But with exercise

– I do think there is opportunity to do some multitasking. 

Consider options during your workday – such as creating a

makeshift standing desk. I catch my coworkers doing calf raises or squats

throughout the workday while writing content or on the phone with clients. If

you have a conference call, consider taking it from your cell phone and going

on a walk. If you have a weekly meeting with a team at work, consider touching

base over a brisk walk or encouraging everyone to stand during the meeting.

For cardio sessions, make it a rule that you can only catch

up on your favorite and recorded television show while walking or jogging on

the treadmill (or your favorite piece of cardio equipment). I love having this

rule because I look forward to a show or two, which makes me look forward to my

cardio workouts that I might otherwise try to skip out of.

Lastly, consider catching up with a friend over a workout.

You probably aren't short on food. But, if you're like most people, you're probably short on nutrition. Especially amino acids.

Amino what?? Amino acids.

Don't let the title of this article keep you from reading. Your (optimal) health depends on it. You need to know about amino acids.

I saw the power of protein and amino acids first-hand, as my personal training clients got leaner, felt better, and improved their health and fitness by starting with a single focus of  increasing their protein or amino acid intake. The more I saw them getting results, the more fascinated I became with protein and amino acids.

I realize that most people won't feel that same level of excitement, read this entire article anyway. Once you realize how powerful protein and amino acids are, you won't look at your meal choices the same way ever again. You also might be motivated to make an amino acid supplement one of your core nutritional supplements, especially if you're over the age of 30.

I've addressed the following questions throughout this article:

What are amino acids? How do they work? Why are they so important to your health and fitness? Why are they so important as you age?

Article ShortcutsProtein and Your BodyTypes of Amino AcidsProtein Synthesis and BreakdownFrom a Piece of Meat to an Amino AcidMaximizing Amino Acid IntakeEssential Amino Acids and AgingEssential Amino Acids and MuscleEssential Amino Acids and Post-Injury or BedrestEssential Amino Acids and Weight ManagementEssential Amino Acids and Mood/EmotionsAmino Acid Frequently Asked QuestionsAmino Acids: Summing it UpIn this Story

Protein and Your Body

Your body is about 60% water. Remove all the water, and almost half of what’s left will be protein. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

Every day, about 250-300 grams of the protein that builds your body breaks down. That’s the amount of protein you'd get from six chicken breasts! When you're sick or injured, you break down even more.

As protein breaks down, amino acids are released.

In case it's ever a Trivia question, or you want to sound extra-smart with your friends, amino acids are compounds made of nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen.

Twenty-two amino acids combine in different patterns throughout your body, to form the proteins, that create each of the tissues, that make you, you.

As the 250-300 grams of protein break down each day, some of the amino acids are reused, kind of like you can recycle cardboard and make printer paper.

Other amino acids are released into the blood to maintain its normal “pool” of amino acids for normal metabolic functions. Your heart and skeletal muscle use certain amino acids for energy production.

And still other amino acids are lost. Your body can't store extra protein, like it can store fat or carbohydrates, so you have to consistently eat enough protein to support your daily needs.

Read more: High-Protein Diets: Health Benefits and Controversies

Types of Amino Acids

Amino acids are either proteinogenic (protein-forming), or non-proteinogenic (non-protein-forming). The only reason I mention the two categories is that there are a number of non-proteinogenic amino acids that provide health and performance benefits, which I won't cover in this article; amino acids like carnitine, ornithine, citrulline, glycine, and beta-alanine. I'll get to them in the future.

In this article, I focus on the proteinogenic amino acids,

Gut continues to be a buzz-word in the world of nutrition and holistic health. More and more research continues to come out on how our gut health has a bigger impact than we once thought when it comes to our immune system, metabolism and overall health.

And here’s the thing: There are a lot of gut health

promotion programs out there (and more surely to hit the market soon) that

offer up eating plans and supplemental treatment. But ironically, many of the

recommendations within them could actually negatively impact your gut health.

So what are the key components of gut healing eating? I’m going to outline some of the key components in our gut health program.

Article ShortcutsEliminate the Biggest OffendersMore Eating, Less DrinkingRotate Your ProteinsCook Your VegetablesReduction of Other Top OffendersInclude Gut-Nourishing Foods

Eliminate the Biggest Offenders

Gluten, corn, dairy, soy, eggs and peanuts. There’s a reason these foods cause the most common food allergies within our population. We not only are overly exposed to these foods within the processed standard American diet, but they’re also the top offenders when it comes to foods that disrupt our digestive function and immunity.

Also on the elimination list, processed vegetable oils (hello pro-inflammatory omega-6’s), beans, legumes and lentils (their high fiber can cause distress), foods high in added sugars, and specific nuts (cashews, hazelnuts and pistachios) that are harder to digest.

More Eating, Less Drinking

Although we recommend getting ample water throughout the day, (optimal is half your weight in ounces) focus on drinking that fluid before or after your meals, but never during.  This not only will help you focus on our other mealtime recommendations, (focus on the food, eat slowly) but will also make it easier for your body to break down and digest the meal.

Alcohol, coffee and tea should be eliminated as they can disrupt digestion and absorption of nutrients needed to heal your gut.

Rotate Your Proteins

When talking food intolerances and allergies, it is the protein within the food that the body is reacting to. As Americans, we tend to eat the same foods over and over so that when we compromise our gut health, we might start reacting to things that are common in our diet. Because we don’t have a huge variety of different proteins in our diet, (beef and chicken are most common) this food category specifically can be the most at-risk for a food sensitivity. 

The GUT.FIX meal plan rotates different proteins (or foods that are biologically similar) to not only provide variety but also help prevent a food sensitivity or allergy from emerging. To practice a rotation protocol with proteins, you can eat a specific category of protein (let’s say chicken) on a day and throughout the day, but then can’t again until at least four days later.  This allows your body to full digest and eliminate it along with any potential antibodies.

Cook Your Vegetables

Vegetables provide ample amounts of vitamins and minerals along with some of the best sources of dietary fiber (needed to support optimal digestive function). But if your gut is feeling compromised, veggies in their raw form can cause additional distention and related symptoms, (excess gas, etc) making them not so desirable to consume.

Eating cooked vegetables is a great way to make sure your body is getting the desirable nutrients and also making it easier for your body to digest and break them down.

After a couple weeks of eating cooked vegetables,

From cardiac patient to competitive athlete, depressed to diabetic, growing up to growing old — you need magnesium. And you need more than you’re probably getting.

At least two-thirds of adults get less than the paltry recommended daily allowance (RDA), which is 400–420 mg for men and 310–320 mg for women, making magnesium the second most-common micronutrient deficiency, next to vitamin D.

Article ShortcutsWhy Is Magnesium So Important?Cardiovascular HealthEnergy ProductionBlood Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and DiabetesMuscle Function and Bone HealthDepression and AnxietyLearning and MemoryMagnesium and ExerciseWhat Causes Low Magnesium Levels?Increased Excretion or Use of MagnesiumInsufficient IntakeHow to Increase LevelsSupplementing With MagnesiumOrganic vs InorganicThe Best Magnesium SupplementsMy Magnesium RecommendationsMagnesium GlycinateMagnesium MalateMagnesium Threonate (Notable Mention)Summary

If you hope to meet your magnesium needs through food alone, please understand: It’s nearly impossible to do that. Most people need to supplement to get enough.

Before you stop into a retail store and buy the lowest-priced supplement you can find, read through this article so you know what to look for. The last thing I’d want for you is to buy the cheap stuff and end up with an immediate need for a restroom — and not have one available.

I’ll cover why it’s so important, why we don’t get enough, how to choose the right magnesium supplement, and what I use myself. You'll understand why magnesium is part of our Foundational Five, the five foundational supplements for (almost) every nutrition program.

Why Is Magnesium So Important?

At any given time, you store about 25 grams of magnesium in your body, a little less than an ounce. About half is stored in your bones, half in organs and tissues, and about one percent is stored in your blood.

Magnesium plays a role in more than 300 enzymatic reactions, impacting almost every system in the body.

Cardiovascular Health

Inflammation is a major factor in heart disease.

Magnesium supports normal inflammation levels through multiple pathways. In fact, low-grade inflammation from insufficient magnesium can contribute to a whole host of health problems.

Studies show those with low magnesium are more likely to have elevated C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), the main marker of systemic inflammation. And correcting low magnesium levels can lower CRP levels.

Elevated blood sugar and blood pressure also increase cardiovascular risk, both of which can be improved by meeting your magnesium needs.

Energy Production

Magnesium plays a role in energy production, assisting with the extraction of energy from food. It supports the proper utilization of amino acids, fat, or carbohydrates. It also aids in the creation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of every cell in your body.

Nerve impulse conduction requires magnesium. No nerve impulse, no ability to move a muscle, control your heart rhythm, or have a functioning brain.

Magnesium is also required for the utilization of other micronutrients, such as B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, and vitamin E.

Blood Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and Diabetes

Magnesium supports normal blood sugar levels and is needed for proper insulin metabolism. Those with insulin resistance, diabetes, and/or metabolic syndrome are often deficient.

Elevated blood sugar is toxic to the body, so insulin is secreted when blood sugar levels rise.

“Can’t you just write me a meal plan?”

As the saying goes, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard this during a nutrition consultation I’d be a rich, rich dietitian! But I’d also be a guilty and not-so-helpful one if I had given in to making those meal plans.

How so?

For most people, meal plans don’t work. And if I’m trying to help someone reach long-term success with their nutrition and reach optimal health, it’s in their best interest to avoid giving them a measly piece of paper outlining exactly what to eat.

Meal plans are solely a tool, and in the event you are preparing for a fitness show, or a quick and small body composition goal, I might write you up something close. But if you are one of millions trying to figure out how to eat right for your health and/or you have a significant body composition goal, a meal plan can you set up for complete disaster.

Read on to learn my top reasons for why meal plans don’t work and what strategies would be better in place!

1.Too many habit changes.

Your eating behaviors are habits you’ve been practicing for years or even decades.   A new meal plan could contain as many as 100 new habits to master and, for most people, tackling one new habit at a time is enough to chew off.

Think of each preparation step, grocery store purchase and cooking technique as its very own habit to practice.

If you never eat breakfast, and are planning to via the new meal plan, it might be a task in itself just to practice waking up earlier!  But now you’ve got to also make something, then pack today’s assigned lunch, etc. This equals too many new things up front!

Instead, I work on one meal at a time with my clients.  We might just practice making or preparing breakfast for at least a week before we move on, because there are so many variables and habits to go along with it.

A couple of nutrition sessions could be solely spent on what breakfast looks like in multiple scenarios (traveling versus at home versus workout days) and how-to strategies on cooking, prepping and grocery shopping to support the new changes.

2.Set up for short term.

Think about it.

Are you really going to follow that meal plan, verbatim, for the rest of your life?

Most of the meal plans I cross paths with are written for a day, week or at most, month. Essentially, the short meal plan is just providing the fish versus teaching the person how to fish for themselves.

What happens when holidays come or you get bored with the choices?  Or when the season changes, and those blueberries assigned at breakfast no longer are as appealing and cost double because they aren’t in season anymore?

3.There’s more than one way to get things done.

Meal plans lay out one way to do things, often not explaining that there are hundreds of substitutions for each of the foods and macronutrients (fat, carbs and protein).

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the same meal plan circulating around. You know, the one that has oats and egg whites for breakfast, fish and green beans for dinner, etc.  Sound familiar?

Instead, I coach my clients to first understand the macronutrients, carbohydrates, fats and proteins and learn which foods fall within each one of those groups.   If we can then outline their likes and dislikes and figure out how to balance the different macronutrients at each meal, there are unlimited possibilities for them.

They won’t get in a rut or think they can’t deviate from the pl...