DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES
Calories count and one trick to lowering your total calorie intake is just removing the calorie-dense liquids from your diet. Calories in beverages add up quickly. Look at the average calories for the most popular beverages today; soda, orange juice, low-fat milk and iced tea. They can be up to 150 calories per serving each, which adds up to big numbers throughout a day. Many people drink 1-2 sodas a day, not to mention the sugary juices we consume in the name of good health. What’s worse is that many of these drinks provide little or no nutritional benefits.
GLYCEMIC INDEX
One of the key reasons we are constantly fighting our ever expanding waist lines, is that we eat/ drink too many processed foods. Processing foods changes the Glycemic index (rate of absorption) of foods. For example, orange juice has had all of the valuable fiber and pulp removed, and soda is processed with sugar or sugar substitutes. All of this changes the rate of absorption, which increases the number of calories that get stored as fat. Remember, eat the orange- don’t drink it.
THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE
The most critical time to drink a calorie-dense beverage is immediately following your workout. These liquid calories are quickly absorbed into the blood stream and shuttled back to your muscles where glucose is stored as glycogen. This is important to the recovery phase of your workout and will optimize your efforts in the gym. You will be able to burn fat and gain muscle more efficiently.
If you are worried about extra calories; don’t be. These calories are turned to stored energy (glycogen), not fat, if consumed immediately following your workout. The trick is to reduce your calorie intake proportionately over several other meals throughout the day. Remember, it is critical to feed your body at the right times. Timing is Everything. Now it’s time for me to spend some time with family, friends and a healthy meal. HAPPY HOLIDAYS & EAT WELL!