Understanding the information on nutrition labels is a vital skill if you are going to make smart decisions about the foods you're eating. 

At Proactive Evolution, we suggest that the majority of food you put into your body comes from foods that do not have nutrition labels on them because they're things like fresh vegetables and fruits. And for the remaining foods, we strongly recommend minimally processed foods wherever possible. That being said, knowing the nutritional information of the foods you're eating is extremely important, especially if you want to make sure you're eating healthy and nutritionally dense foods that are good for your body. 

Reading the Label​

In the United States, by law, all processed foods are required have a label with the following information:

• Serving size.
• Number of servings per package.
• Calories.
• Protein (in grams).
• Total Fat (in grams).
  • Saturated fat (in grams).
  • ​​Trans fat (in grams).
• Total Carbohydrates (in grams).
  • Sugars (in grams).
  • Fiber (in grams).
• Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients (as a percentage of the recommended dietary allowance).
• Ingredient list.

The nutrition information is all based on one serving. This is important because often people eat more than one serving. For example, how many people eat 1/2 cup of packaged cold cereal? In reality, the average person has multiple servings at a time. As such, the values need to be multiplied by the number of servings actually consumed. 

Cholesterol and Sodium

The US Government recommends that total blood cholesterol levels be kept below 200 mg/dL and that the LDL cholesterol be kept below 100 mg/dL. For healthy individuals, that means limiting intake to under 300 mg per day.  While eating foods that are high in cholesterol won't usually raise your blood cholesterol levels, the fats in your diet, such as saturated fats and trans fats will raise the levels. Regardless, you're best off reducing the total cholesterol you consume.

It is recommended that the maximum amount of sodium in the diet be limited to about 1500 mg per day. At that level, according to the American Heart Association, there is a significant reduction in the risk of heart disease and stroke. While less than 1500 mg is ideal, even cutting back to 2400 mg per day has been shown to significantly reduce blood pressure. However, the average American is actually consuming more than 3400 mg per day, with more than 75% of that being hidden in processed, pre-packaged and restaurant foods rather than from adding it via the salt shaker. 

Of course, individuals who engage in extended strenuous physical activities or are exposed to major heat stress, or those with specific medical conditions, need more than the recommended 1500 mg. If you think you fit into one of these categories, it is recommended that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional to find out what your ideal consumption should be.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of energy. Carbohydrates, often referred to as "Carbs" may be broken down into three main types: Starches (also known as complex carbohydrates), sugars and fiber. On the nutrition label, the "Total Carbohydrate" value includes all three types. 

Starches are generally not listed separately on a nutrition label, so you will need to calculate the difference between the total carbohydrate value minus the sugar and fiber values to figure it out. Starch is a polysaccharide, or a chain of simple sugars chemically bound together into a single molecule, and is broken down by the body into glucose, a simple sugar, to provide energy for cellular activity. Because of its complex chemical structure, it takes the body longer to break it down, therefore, slowing the release of glucose into the bloodstream as compared to simple sugars such as glucose, fructose (fruit sugar), galactose, sucrose (table sugar--glucose + fructose), lactose (milk sugar--glucose+galactose) or maltose (glucose+glucose). 

Fiber
Fiber is also a polysaccharide, but due to its molecular configuration, it is not broken down by the body and passes through the intestines undigested. Fiber has many significant health benefits, including reduced cholesterol levels, digestive health, regular bowel movements, and feeling "full" and satisfied after eating. It is recommended that adults eat at least 30 grams of fiber each day. Unfortunately, because of the use of refined grains and reduced vegetable and fruit consumption in the average American's diet, most people are not coming close to that value. 

Sugars
The value listed for sugar refers to the number of grams of simple sugars, both added and naturally occurring. Naturally occurring sugars primarily come from milk and fruit, while added sugars include the simple sugars added during processing (such as sucrose added to make a cake). Sugar goes by many different names and is derived from a variety of sources beyond sugar cane. However, other than having greater or lesser quantities of minerals and vitamins, or being digested by the body in differing ways, added sugar is still added sugar. It's a good idea to reduce or otherwise limit the amount of sugar you're consuming to what your body requires for your level of physical exertion. Excess sugar, including starch, gets converted into fat and stored in adipose tissue.

Protein

The amount of protein listed on the label, in grams, is unique in that it often doesn't include a daily percentage value. In general, adults should consume between 0.5 and 1.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight, with more required for individuals looking to build muscle.

Ingredient List

The ingredients are listed in decreasing order of substance weight, and is most useful to determine whether the product contains trans fat, added sugars, whole grains or refined grains, as well as any chemicals or preservatives. In terms of grains, it is useful to note that if refined grains are listed before whole grains (e.g. enriched unbleached wheat flour vs whole wheat flour), then the product is not a whole grain product. As such, even though it may have some whole grain flour in it, it would be considered a "white" product (e.g. White bread vs Whole Wheat bread.) Given the higher fiber content of whole grains, it's in your best interests to stick to products that do not contain refined grains.

Integrating Healthy Eating into your Life

As already noted, here at Proactive Evolution, we recommend eating lots of unprocessed or minimally processed foods. fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, etc. If you're looking to integrate healthy eating into your life, we can help. We offer Registered Dietitian designed meal plans that take your individual preferences into account as well as shopping assistance, education and health coaching. Click on over to the "Contact" page and get started today! 

* An article in the Huffington Post (2014/April/22) had this to say about Coconut Oil:  "Not all coconut oils are created equal. The flakey, fragrant stuff you might find in a superfood smoothie is a very different type of coconut oil than the partially-hydrogenated fat found in junk food in the ‘80s, which was a highly-processed version of the plant oil, containing trans fats and other dangerous, cholesterol-promoting compounds."

“The older refined-deodorized bleached coconut oil causes rapid and very unhealthy looking rises in cholesterol, for sure, no doubt,” Brenna said in an email to HuffPost Healthy Living. “There is no evidence that that is the case for virgin coconut oil, which is available today but was not in the 1970s and ‘80s when people were using RDB coconut oil.”

​"About half of virgin coconut oil’s saturated fat is lauric acid, a medium-chain triglyceride that turns out to have a number of health-promoting properties, including the ability to improve levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. People can also more easily digest medium-chain triglycerides and convert them to energy, according to The Wall Street Journal, making coconut oil a good choice for athletes. That said, because it’s so high in saturated fat, even the purest, most natural coconut oil could be problematic for long term heart health, according to a Harvard nutrition professor."

If you live in or near Encinitas, here's your opportunity to win four free personal training or health coaching sessions. (For those of you who are not local, we will be running another contest soon for Google Hangouts/Skype based training.) 

Whether you are looking to get fit, learn some new workout routines, make some positive lifestyle changes or learn about vegan & vegetarian fitness nutrition here's your opportunity to jump start your program for free. All you need to do is subscribe to our emails and you could win!

* For this contest, you must be willing to travel to Encinitas, CA to receive your training sessions. One entry per person. All entries become the property of Proactive Evolution. By entering this contest you agree to be added to our mailing list and receive occasional emails from us. We hate spam as much as you do, so we will never sell, rent or otherwise share your contact information.

Way back in the "olden days," before everyone had smart phones, tablets, or even PCs, I was told that I should keep a food diary. So, for a few days, I would write down everything I ate hoping to get some insights into what I was doing that was causing me to gain weight. On paper (literally) it didn't look like I was doing anything horrible. There were two problems. The first was that I wasn't really writing down all the food I was consuming. The second, and more difficult problem for me to overcome was that I just didn't have enough data about the nutritional value of what was going into my mouth. All that changed when I got what, at the time, was a cutting-edge app and had access to the USDA database of foods along with access to "nutrition" information from select companies via their web sites.

I was in the San Diego airport, on my way to San Francisco for work, when I stopped in at the Starbucks and got my usual "morning snack"--a Chocolate Muffin and a grande soy mocha without whipped cream. While I sat in the departure lounge, waiting for my flight, I decided to enter the data from my breakfast and my snack into that new app that I had downloaded. I went through all the foods in my morning smoothie, creating a meal so that I could easily add the smoothie again the next day (yes, like most people, I'm a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast.) Then, I went to enter my Starbucks snack. There wasn't any data in the app for Starbucks, so I used my WiFi access to visit their website. I looked up the nutrition information for the muffin and the soy mocha and I was given a rude awakening. Together, the snack that I finished in fewer than 10 minutes had over 1200 calories! Holy Shiznit! That little snack accounted for almost 2/3 of what I was supposed to eat for the whole day! No wonder I was overweight!

From that moment forward, I made the commitment to keep track of everything I ate so that I was sure I'd have the data I needed to keep me losing weight. For the next year, I logged foods eaten and calories burned from exercise. I made certain that I had enough calories remaining before I ate something, sometimes going to the gym or for a run just so I could have a sweet treat at the end of the day. And, guess what...It worked. In that year, I made sure that each and every day I had at least a 900 calorie deficit (from eating less and from working out more) and the results were phenomenal. 

Of course, times change and technologies move forward. The app that I had been using stopped being updated and I moved to a new platform that wasn't supported. So, I set out to find a replacement. Nothing that I found was quite right or as easy to use as that old app. And so, I stopped logging the food I was eating. At first it was OK. But little by little, I started to gain weight again. It became clear to me that in all of that year that I had been using an app to keep me on the path that I had actually neglected to look at the path itself. I had learned how to count calories, but I hadn't learned how to listen to my body so I could discern actual hunger versus desire for tasty food. 

In order to get a grip on this area of my life, I decided that I had to take a two-pronged approach. First, I had to go back to counting calories. Second, this time I had to pay attention to what my body was telling me as opposed to what my mind was telling me. The first approach was easy. There are tons of apps on the market for Android, iOS and Windows mobile devices as well as computer and web based programs. Probably the easiest and most useful of those is MyFitnessPal.com which has programs to cover all platforms as well as a website for data entry. Basic functionality is free, and a premium version is available but in my opinion, doesn't really add enough features to be useful for most people.

The second approach was a bit more difficult, and this is also where I see my clients struggle at first. Most people who are overweight aren't eating because they're physically hungry. Their bodies aren't saying "I need more nutrients to fuel cellular energy and regeneration." Rather, the food gets consumed due to emotional and mental hunger.  The problem is that emotional and mental hunger is never satiated by food. In fact, emotional and mental hunger is usually increased by eating food. The way to quell emotional and mental hunger is by emotional wellness, mental engagement and physical activity. At Proactive Evolution, emotional wellness, mental engagement and what we call "strenuous play" are the center point of our success with achieving physical well being. And really, this is the best diet tracker of the year: By recognizing, tracking and resolving the challenges that create emotional and mental hunger, you'll be able to employ effective strategies to lose weight and change your life for the better. If you're struggling with your weight, we can help. Click on over to the Contact page and get a free consultation to see how you can use the power of Proactive Evolution health coaching and personal training to finally reach your fitness goals. Whether you're local to us in Encinitas, CA or you're half-way around the world and can use Google Hangouts or Skype, we've got you covered.

Whether you're just getting started with your fitness program, or you've been at it for quite some time, chances are you would like to see a higher return on your workout investment. One of our favorite ways here at Proactive Evolution to do that is through what is called "Metabolic Training". 

How Metabolic Training Burns Fat
Metabolic Training intended to torch fat involves performing a series of multi-joint, large-muscle exercises at high intensity with a minimal amount of rest between each exercise. There are other forms of metabolic training that have goals other than burning fat, but this article will focus on the fat burning type.

Research has shown working out this way is as effective as long-duration (boring) cardio at burning fat, while having the added benefit of developing lean muscle mass which in turn helps you burn even more calories. Unlike long-duration cardio (which actually causes the loss of lean muscle mass), the fat burning benefits of increased lean muscle mass and density extends well beyond the end of your workout. In fact, the fat burning effect can extend up to 72 hours after you finish!

It should be noted here that if you're a woman concerned about bulking up, rest assured that you have nothing to worry about except greater definition and a leaner body. Big bulky muscles are the result of high testosterone levels.

Schools of Thought
There are several different schools of thought about how to perform metabolic training for fat loss. Some have you perform a certain number of repetitions  of an exercise, while others have you perform the exercise until fatigue. The problem with both of these methods is that not everyone will be able to perform the specified number of reps (which has a profound effect on motivation) and the closer you get to fatigue the more likely your form will suffer and that's when injuries tend to occur.

The method we use at Proactive Evolution is to make the reps time-based. In other words, using a timer, you perform as many reps as you can within the interval period, rest, and then move on to the next exercise. So, if you're a beginner and you can only perform one rep in the interval period, that's fine. If you already have a good level of fitness, you will be able to perform more reps. The key, again, is to perform as many reps with good form as you can. 

Torching the Fat
If you're doing it right, you'll find that Metabolic Training is challenging. Whether you're doing the workout that I've given you below, or one of the workouts I'll design for you during a Personal Training session with me, keep the following in mind:

• Maintaining good form is more important than doing an additional rep.
• Try to do as many reps as possible in each work segment.
• Try to increase the number of reps in each round. (Don't be too worried about it. Do what you can, but push yourself.)
• Try to increase the number of reps each time you workout. (Again, don't be too worried about it. Do what you can, but push yourself.)​
• Pay attention to your body's response to exercise and avoid overtraining. 
• Get yourself a good interval timer. There are gym specific timers that you can clip to your clothes, or you can get an app for your Android or iOS device. Our favorite apps are Impetus for Android and Interval Timer - Timing for HIIT Training and Workouts for iOS.
  • If you end up using Impetus, I've provided three presets for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Metabolic Workouts.

Instructions

• Absolute beginner Level
  • 20 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest for each exercise until you've completed all 10 exercises.
  • Complete 3 rounds with 2 minutes of rest in between each round.
  • Do a workout at least three times per week, with a day of rest in between, for two to three weeks before moving on to the Beginner level.
• Beginner Level
  • 30 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest for each exercise until you've completed all 10 exercises.
  • Complete 3 rounds with 2 minutes of rest in between each round.
  • Do a workout at least three times per week, with a day of rest in between, for three to four weeks before moving on to the Intermediate level.
• Intermediate Level
  • 45 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest for each exercise until you've completed all 10 exercises.
  • Complete 3 rounds with 2 minutes of rest in between each round.
  • Do a workout four to five times per week, with rest days peppered in, for three to four weeks before moving on to the Intermediate level. Be careful to avoid over-training.
• Advanced Level
  • 60 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest for each exercise until you've completed all 10 exercises.
  • Complete 3 rounds with 2 minutes of rest in between each round.
  • Do a workout five times per week, with rest days peppered in. Every few weeks take an extra day of rest. Be careful to avoid over-training.

Proactive Evolution Bodyweight Metabolic Workout

Warm-up with dynamic stretches for 5-10 minutes

1. Burpees
2. Renegade Rows
3. Bodyweight Squat
4. Mountain Climbers
5. Hip Raises
6. Push Ups
7. Skater Leaps
8. Forward Lunge
9. Jumping Jacks
10. Planks.

Cool-down for 5-10 minutes.
Stretch and/or foam roll.