Carbs, your enemy?

"When you feel good,

you look good" 

~ Carbs after workout ~

So, now is the time when it all becomes just a little bit challenging According to PN (Precision Nutrition) we should get ALL our energy from food, which means no milk, no juices, no lemonades...they suggest only to drink water and green tea.

Last week friday I started with that new habit, no hot cacao, no juice. I'm trying to simply drink water, which I've done so far about 2l a day but drinking green tea is a struggle as I think it's horrible. I'm trying to learn to like it. hehe

This week PN gave us a new habit to learn in two weeks. The title says it all, carbs only after workout. Any other times we should eat lot's of protein and vegetables,fruits; eat only lower-carb meals.

Now this is very difficult for many as we ALL LOVE CARBS. However it's a kind of good motivation tool I think. Try to think that if you go train hard you can reward yourself with carbs. You go home after a good workout and start preparing a really nice pasta meal with meat and sallad, or rice and chicken. YUMMY.

Now there are basically three different types of carb foods:

1) Fibre-rich carbs
These include vegetables, fruits and legumes. These foods have a slow rate of absorption and will balance out blood sugar and hunger. They are loaded with nutrients, promote health and have low caloric density. Having these foods at the base of your "food pyramid" is a great idea.

2) Starchy carbs
These include eg. Quinoa, amaranth, sprouted and whole grain breads and pastas, potatoes, yams, acorn squash, oats, cereals. They are slightly lower in nutrients and higher in carbohydrates and energy (ie. calories) than fibre-rich carb foods.


Starchy carbs are best consumed after exercise. It's during this time that your muscles are like big sponges - they'll soak up the carbs and use them efficiently to restore and repair the muscle. At other times, when activity has been lower, the muscles aren't quite as receptive to carbs. This means they're more likely to be stored as body fat. Bottom line for fat loss: eat starchy carbs during the 3 hours after exercise only.

3) Refined sugary carbs
These foods are empty calories and don't do much for health. Still, eating them during and immediately after exercise may give your body a quick energy boost and accelerate recovery. You could take advantage of refined sugary carb foods by using nutrient dense sources like dates, raisins, figs and nutrition bars.   
Bottom line for fat loss: eat sugary carbs rarely, and only after exercise.

Just keep in mind, EXERCISE and you can eat without too many restrictions.

- Sara

Our life is filled with habits

"When you feel good,

you look good" 

~ It's all about habits ~

Many people, even me at times, think we know the best. We think we know what's best for us, what works best for us and we have a hard time admitting that they might be wrong.

That is usually what I come across in people trying to lose weight. Again, they think they know best. Sometimes it's good to just stop, think and go try someone elses advice instead of relying on your own understanding of how things work.

In this case, I decided to leave my "ego" at home and go try something new. I am learning which life is all about.

Yesterday I discovered that it is all about habits. There are good habits (healthy things we do and eat daily) and then there are bad habits (bad things we eat, lack of exercise).

Now some of us are very aware of our good and bad habits, some have no clue and then some just decide to ignore them. To make a change to a leaner body you have to acknowledge these good and bad habits. Once you do, write them up and start changing them bit by bit.

Here's a list of some of my bad habits that I am AWARE of:

1) Emotional eating
2) Can eat when not hungry but out of boredom
3) Likes to buy Läkerol sugarfree pastilles as a replacement of candy
4) Weighing myself every morning
5) Post-dinner snacks

Now there, I acknowledge them. To make a change into a leaner and healthier life style I decide to do something about the bad habits. I try doing the OPPOSITE of what I usually do.

Eg. when I get upset over something that happened at work, instead of taking some icecream to make me feel better. I sit a while with those emotions, acknowledge them and talk them out with my friend or partner. If I afterwards still feel like eating, I will just quickly put my coat on and go out for a walk.

So, acknowledging your habits is already a step in trying to change them.

Now write a list of your good and bad habits. Then go out there and try to do the total opposite of what you are used to do. In time you will see how those bad habits don't exist anymore and how you are just getting more and more good habits into your daily life.

- Sara

And I'm well on my way

"When you feel good,

you look good" 

~ My own little project ~

I started my Lean Eating program on 11th of January 2010. So I have already the first week behind me.
It's been great so far, but tough too.

Many of you might be wondering why on earth did I join this program. I've been training sprint (60&100m) for the past 2 years, I reached a top form and then had a back injury. I gave up running and tried finding new goals to reach. It's important to have goals, to have something to work towards.

A client of mine had been telling me of this Lean Eating program that he was doing, and I could see the changes in him; he had become leaner, he had gotten stronger, he looked healthier, happier. I became interested in this program too.

So I simply joined. My goals are:

1) To learn new healthy habits
2) To learn new things that comes to exercise
3) To lose bodyfat
4) To get stronger
5) To have fun
6) To get fit

We are spending the first 4 weeks at the gym learning the gym exercises. We are only using free weights.
The gym-program is divided into lower- and upper-body. We are basically only doing squats and deadlifts in the lower-body workout. In the upper-body we are only doing chin-ups,push-ups and press-ups.
Needless to say these workouts are hard on the body.

Now that the 2nd week has started, I can tell my body is more used to the weight training,
however still a bit sore in certain areas of the body.

-Sara