SNAC
Janelle Donn |
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Janelle and Jim meet Linda for the first time. They are introduced to the three foundation tools for healthy eating. Learning to use these tools will be key to their success in the coming months. Here's a recap of what Janelle and Jim learned today...
1-2-3 Energy!
Use '1-2-3 Energy' to build a balanced meal. Choose a ? - Fruit or Veggies, ? - Grain and ? - Protein choice to create a meal that is nutritionally balanced. The bonus is that by eating fruit or veggies and/or whole grains together with a protein food, you will influence your blood sugar levels for 3 to 4 hours at a time. Stable blood sugar levels prevent you from feeling hungry all the time, and offers you better energy. You really won't believe the difference!
Meal Pattern
A fruit or veggie offer our bodies 1 hour of energy, a whole grain food about 2 hours, and protein up to 3 hours of energy. So, we can predict when we need to eat next by looking at the meal we just enjoyed. Eating every 3-4 hours is key to our energy levels. Taking care not to spike our blood sugar too high or let it fall too low has everything to do with successful weight and body composition change. This will help both Janelle and Jim achieve their fitness and sport goals.
Power Snacks
For a student, fueling every 3-4 hours means SNACKING! This is tough for many. By snacks, Linda means mini-meals...not the chips and licorice snacks loved by many. She calls those foods treats. Great to enjoy them...but they are not main energy players for Janelle and Jim this term. Snack ideas are always useful...pop open a can of tuna, try a yogurt/All Bran mixture or a banana and a piece of cheese. For lots of ideas, check out the Snacking fact sheet designed specifically for students at Laurier. Snack.
The Fat Fight
Janelle was sick earlier in the week...just what you need at the start of term! On the mend, she is concerned about her food intake. First question - how much fat should she eat?
Looking at her overall energy needs and performance goals, 45 to 55 grams of fat each day is recommended for Janelle. Surprised it's that high? Although we are pretty good at reciting numbers and grams...we are also pretty good at grabbing for high fat snacks when we get really hungry...say mid-afternoon about 3 - 4 PM. So, allow yourself to enjoy fat in the foods you eat at meals, rather than those impulsive snacks between lunch and supper, or later in the evening.
HALT
Hungry. Angry or Frustrated. Lonely or Bored. Tired...sound familiar? Common in a student lifestyle, these physiological states cause your brain to tell you to EAT!!! Many of us are fortunate to have a choice about whether or not we are hungry. That's the easy one! Step by step we work on balance in our lives to take care of the rest. We tackle hungry first because it's easiest to fix, and balanced energy through the day helps with the others.
Janelle found she was really hungry about 4 PM. She commits to eating a fruit or fruit cup, together with a protein food at this time. Not always handy, the trick is to make sure you know where you will buy your snack, or perhaps even better pop snacks into your book bag to have handy later on in the day. Tuna cups are a hit!
Pre- and Post-Workout Snacks
Janelle shows great resolve for regular activity! She works out first thing in the day, or about 4 PM. To get the best results from activity, it is important to fuel both before and after workouts. When Janelle exercises first thing in the morning, she has about 2000 calories stored overnight so no snack is needed. Some people find a glass of orange juice or toast before an early morning workout gives them an energy boost. For her 4 PM workout, she needs a snack about 2-3 PM...once again combining carbs and protein. A protein shake, protein bar, or tuna and banana all work well. Find a favourite sport snack among these ideas. Janelle would like to try frozen waffles, toasted, with a little peanut butter. Those rice cakes, on their own, just don't cut it!
Sport Nutrition
Janelle is keen to learn more about sport nutrition. Glycogen stores and body fat use during exercise are top on Janelle's list today. Myth busting time! First, lets tackle fat-burning. You need to fuel your workouts to burn body fat during exercise. Think of a candle. The wick in the candle represents stored fuel, or glycogen, and the wax your body fat stores. If you do not have enough fuel, you cannot light the wick and thus cannot use stored energy, even if lots of body fat is available. So, undereating around your workouts is not a good idea.
Pre-workout Snack
Eating a pre-workout snack 1 - 3 hours before exercising helps maintain your blood sugar until your workout begins. Carbohydrate from this snack is digested and absorbed into your blood stream as sugar. Blood sugar is finely regulated by your brain. If blood sugar levels drop, the brain triggers a breakdown of glycogen, stored muscle energy. To optimize energy for your workout, plan a mini-meal or snack 2-3 hours beforehand. This snack prevents a blood sugar drop.
This pre-workout snack is not fueling your workout. The body requires 24-48 hours to turn food energy into stored muscle energy. So, you are not burning the snack you just had during your workout, but what you ate and stored 1-2 days ago. This explains why some people can do a long, hard workout when eating very little beforehand. Some people just have a glass of water before heading out to the gym for their early morning workout and feel just fine! They are using stored energy to fuel their workout. For more info, look for Nutrition for the Long Run in our resource list, on sale for $10.
Clothes fit better, and love those waffles!
Janelle is noticing some changes...already. It's been a month since she took on the 2003 Health Challenge. Her clothes fit right after washing. This is a great way to track progress...rather than battling the weigh scale! Janelle tried the frozen waffle idea-pop a couple in the toaster in the morning, spread with a little peanut butter and take with you to eat later on-and loves them!