Emily Miner

Eating Healthy On The Road: A How-To

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As featured in the April 2014 issue of BossFit Magazine.

Whether your job has you on-the-go weekly or on a more occasional basis, life on the road can be stressful.

Chronically high stress can lead to catecholamine resistance and catecholamines are one of two major fat-burning gas pedals of the metabolism. And so while stress may not have calories, its effects have been clearly established as a detriment to our fat loss efforts.

My Top 5 tips for healthy travel:

  1. Move early. With work to do, flights to catch and dinner meetings running late, your end time is unknown. Instead, set your alarm 30-minutes early and get moving! Take advantage of hotel amenities and get a quick lift in at the gym or a leisure walk on the treadmill. Or, complete a 20-minute bodyweight circuit in the comfort of your own room. If you find yourself in a pedestrian-friendly city, walk to a local coffee shop for your morning cup. 
  2. Stay hydrated. Not only does it keep us hydrated, but water helps balance our fluids and prevents feelings of hunger between meals. Sodium and alcohol cause water retention and dining out, our intake of both is likely to be higher than at home. But the more [water] we drink, the more we shed. Be intentional. The pipeline of coffee being dripped into conference rooms doesn’t help either due to the mild diuretic effects of caffeine. Alternate with water every other cup. A workaround to airport security? Carry a reusable bottle with you and refill on the other side. 
  3. Prioritize protein. The most filling of the macronutrients, protein has little impact on fat storing hormones and can help speed the metabolism. Its slow digestion helps to control cravings and balance blood sugar, preventing insulin spikes that can lead to fat storage. Comprised of amino acids, protein spares lean muscle so that the body burns fat for energy. It, too, can be used by the body for energy. Muscle is a major determinant of basal metabolic rate, which accounts for over two-thirds of calories burned at rest, and so maintaining it results in less rebound weight gain. Aim for protein at every meal. 
  4. Be prepared. Time-permitting, prep travel-friendly snacks at home. Alternately, stock up upon your arrival using the Metabolic Effect Label Rule for anything with a label: total carbohydrate – fiber – sugar alcohols – protein should be <10, negative numbers are best. A few of my favorites? Protein bars, almonds, fruit, jerky, protein powder and sugar-free gum. If you have access to a mini-fridge, veggies, hard-boiled eggs, pre-cooked chicken breasts and plain Greek yogurt are quick and easy. Have something with youat all times. Do not resort to the hotel mini-bar: the in-room vending convenience that is anything but for your wallet and waistline. Hit up room service, or a hotel restaurant. 
  5. The breakfast buffet (trap). Choose fat over carbohydrate, but not both. The combination is an atomic bomb for fat storage. Think egg white omelet with fibrous veggies and breakfast meat, or a serving of oatmeal with scrambled egg whites or protein powder. Prioritizing a protein-packed breakfast keeps hunger, energy and cravings balanced, which will set you up for success by enabling you to make better choices throughout the day. 

What’s your biggest obstacle to staying healthy on the road? Let me know in the comments below!


Top 10 Most Difficult Weight Loss Truths: What You Need To Know Now To Prepare For The Long-Term

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As featured in the March 2014 issue of BossFit Magazine.

  1. The extent to which you deprive is directly related to the extent to which you binge. Naturally, when we tell ourselves something’s off-limits it’s all we want. With willpower drained, cravings run rampant and compensatory binges result. Preemptive cheats help “take the edge off,” and won’t necessarily aid in your fat loss, but used strategically, will not cause you to gain. Knowing that you can eat anything you want, anytime is liberating. Jill Coleman’s approach? Intermittent sampling: “Taste everything, finish nothing.”
  2. Weight loss does not equal fat loss. If calories are restricted, you will lose weight but not necessarily fat. Fat loss minimizes muscle loss, and changes body shape. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) accounts for over two-thirds of the calories burned at rest and muscle is a major determinant of BMR. Research shows that if you lose muscle on a diet, you’re 15-30% more likely to gain 20+ lbs. over the next two years aka the rebound yo-yo weight gain. Lift heavy, and keep your muscle!
  3. Calories matter, but hormones matter more. The key to caloric deficit and hormonal balance is this: eat less, exercise less OR eat more, exercise more. Where the calorie model has ingrained in us the eat less, exercise more approach, the hormonal model teaches us to eat more of the right things more often. With exercise, more is not always better; it is just more.
  4. Stress and sleep. Chronic high stress raises stress hormones and impedes fat loss. Build stress-reducing activities into your daily routine. We all have stress but instead of hating yourself for it, or placing blame elsewhere, remember you control your attitude and effort. Aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. Not feasible? Nap or meditate.
  5. Action beats intention. Intentions are meaningless until they are followed up with actions. Small actions over time can create big results, but inaction creates nothing.
  6. Nutrition = gross control. Exercise = fine control. If you only have thirty minutes, hit the kitchen not the gym. Be prepared. A diet high in protein, veggies (fiber) and water will balance hunger, energy and cravings and thus, hormones. Give yourself some wiggle room and practice letting good be good enough because good still gets results. If you can’t do it forever, you’re on a diet; you’re either ‘ON’ or ‘OFF.’ A lifestyle is sustainable over the long-term.
  7. Carb control. The amount of carbohydrate you need to sustain energy, and still get results, is based on your own unique metabolism. As a general rule of thumb, the whiter the starch the fewer the bites.
  8. Walking is not exercise, it is a necessity. Leisure walking lowers stress, reduces hunger (cravings, too?) and carries little concern for over training. If you can, walk outside. A little Vitamin D never hurt anyone, and the change of scenery is great to recharge.
  9. Focus on ONE thing and you will succeed. Small successes over time add up to be big wins. To think that you can successfully overhaul your lifestyle all at once is unrealistic. You can have everything, but not everything all at once.
  10. Consistency + enjoyment = success. Finding what works for YOU takes time, but fitness and nutrition are meant to enrich your life, not detract from it.

What do you struggle with most? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Strength In Numbers: How Groups Make Weight Loss Easier

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As featured in the February 2014 issue of BossFit Magazine.

So we’re a month into 2014. Perhaps you’ve made strides toward those “get healthy in the new year” resolutions or perhaps you started strong January 1, but your time, energy and motivation are beginning to wane. Good news is that the more individual it feels the more universal it probably is. Group exercise, in the traditional sense of a formatted class or just a network of individuals sharing health/fitness goals, facilitates the weight loss process.

Community promotes accountability. To be a part of something bigger than oneself, a group of other people that “get us,” creates a circle of trust among its members. A community need not necessarily be comprised of friends and in fact may be detrimental to our development, despite our best intentions. Friends are apt to be more permission-giving than mere acquaintances and in the pursuit of health, empathy not sympathy is most productive for personal growth.

Camaraderie that breeds friendly competition can also give us a boost when the going gets tough. Push each other to be the best version of your unique selves, but be wary of adopting an “I’ve got to beat so-and-so” attitude because no, you don’t. First, it gets you nowhere. You can only control you so focus on nothing, but that. Second, it’s a waste of energy – a finite resource. Instead, channel that energy toward doing you. This is a mindset switch, but something you choose. Be each other’s support and share in both your successes and struggles.

Accountability creates consistency and consistent action over time gets results. We talk about it [consistency] with relative ease, yet find more difficult to put into practice. Pick a new fitness class to try with a coworker, or schedule a workout with a gym “friend” (they’re aplenty this time of the year, just FYI). No gym access? Not to worry. Throw on your tennis shoes, grab your kid/dog/coworker/significant other and just go for a walk. You’re less likely to blow off your exercise if you know someone else is expecting you.

Results keep us going. Will we be losing weight forever? Of course not! But, motivating results don’t have to be physical in nature. What about more energy? Or reduced hunger and cravings? Quality sleep, less stress, healthier relationships and improved self-confidence, for example, are worth something, too.

When in doubt, just do something. The best kind of exercise is something that you will actually do. So find something you enjoy and do that. Action trumps inaction, always.

Bear in mind, your environment reinforces your habits. Do not underestimate the power of your support network. Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Be it family, friends or even complete strangers, you get to choose who you surround yourself with. What are you doing to create an environment conducive to your wellness success? Let me know in the comments below.

Top 5 Tips To Becoming A Badass Group Exercise (GEX) Instructor

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As featured by GEXhub.com,  April 25, 2014.

  1. Be kind and professional. Be the class people want to take because of YOU, not because of what you’re teaching. Do not talk about other class participants with your regulars. As the instructor, we are responsible for the energy in the room and it is our job to make everyone feel welcome. Holding judgments will accomplish anything but. Respect that everyone is at a different point in their health/fitness journeys, but that they are exactly where they need to be; honor their process. Exercise, let alone in a group setting, is outside the comfort zone of many. Be inviting and smile. It makes you more approachable, tenfold. 
  2. Be accessible, but set boundaries. Arrive to class with sufficient time to get situated and, of course, be available to any first-timers requiring assistance. Be sure these individuals are tended to before engaging in small talk with regulars. Being a GEX instructor means that we know a thing or two about fitness and/or nutrition and naturally, people will approach us for guidance in these realms. Even if it’s not your area of professional expertise, you only have to be one step ahead of your students to help. Don’t pretend to know something you don’t, but also don’t underestimate all that you DO have to offer, right now. Still, your time is your most valuable tool. Guard it, and know that you owe your students nothing more than the best class you can deliver, every time. If you offer additional services that you think you might serve them (and you!), direct them there. *An example from my own life. My students know that I am around for five minutes after each class while equipment is returned and am available for questions/comments then. If I am available and want to stay beyond that, I will, but beyond that it’s a consult or training.
  3. If others teach it, take it. This proved hugely helpful to me at the beginning of my career in GEX. An invaluable learning experience not only to understand how class formats vary, but in taking from different instructors who teach the same class you can take bits and pieces from each to make it your own. At this point, I know how I like to run my classes but still take on occasion when my routines are feeling stale and I am in need of some new ideas.
  4. Be open. You may be good, but you can always be better. Seek out opportunities for growth, and never stop learning. Take feedback for what it’s worth, but bear in mind that you can’t please everyone. And while it’s nice to receive compliments, we can’t depend on them to keep us going because they won’t always be there. Find it [inspiration] within you.
  5. Rest. Do NOT overcommit. Downing cough drops like it’s your job? May be an indication that you’re teaching too much. Though we’re inclined to want to help our colleagues every time they need coverage, do not feel obligated. My mantra when it comes to avoiding burnout? If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no. While most of us are more than [physically] capable of picking up a few extra classes, our mind, body and voice need rest. The last thing you want is for your classes to suffer because you’re fighting exhaustion.

 What keeps you on your A-game when it comes to GEX? Let me know on the GEXhub Facebook page!

Gym anxiety: do you have it?

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So despite my love for exercise, I used to have the worst gym anxiety. Like for real. Rewind to my crazy running days, I would always choose the pavement over the treadmill. Even in the dead of winter, even in the blazing heat of summer. And running was something I was good at.

Fast forward to my weight-lifting debut. For about six months, I trained three days a week, at 5:20 a.m. behind a wall on the far side of the gym. Kind of pathetic, right? Seems so awkward to me now- sorry Danny for making you stand there with me, but thanks. In training at that time and place, I hoped to elude…everyone. Though I may have looked the part (sort of…thin, but not lean), I felt so out of place.

Slowly, we migrated out from behind the wall into the scary place that was the gym. My fear was so real. Until now, my only exposure to weights was in my exercise science classes in undergrad, and even that was limited. That said, the equipment was totally foreign to me and consumed me like a jungle gym would a small child.

I wish I could say that my seemingly high energy state at that hour was a function of having been well-rested; rather, my extreme anxiety (coupled with my pre-workout coffee :)) drove me to be on alert, always. On alert for what, you might ask? Good question. An extremely self-conscious individual, I cared way too much about what other people thought (and in keeping things honest on here, still do to a certain extent #workinprogress). You know what though? Doesn’t matter.

I have the unique perspective of being on the other side of things now, as a trainer, and am here to tell you that EVERYONE is having these thoughts. Young, old, male, female, fit, unfit; you are NOT alone. And even if you feel like everyone is looking at you, new flash: they’re not.

Following is a breakdown of your gym demographic and the primary focus of each (I realize there are exceptions):

- The Meathead: himself
- The Soccer Mom, Female Collegiate: calories burned (likely on the elliptical)
- The Senior: crosswords and coffee at the front; I hate to generalize but for most of them, social activity > physical activity
- The High School guy: pretending to know that he knows everything and his [maybe] bulging muscles
- The High School girl: how do I look (FYI: It’s a gym!! Sweat first. Look pretty later.); after-school gossip sesh with girlfriends
- You: everyone but you

I’ve gotten a whole lot better, but definitely still working on it. Not long ago, weights sans trainer never would have happened. For a while, my only form of weight training came in the form of group exercise. It’d become a fun something for me to do, but no longer gave me the challenge it once did. Because I didn’t want to lose what I’d worked so hard to gain, I finally mustered up the confidence to grab some heavy dumbbells from the floor and marched myself into the comfort zone that is Women’s Wellness (WW). [Note: Dragging weights, benches, etc. across the entirety of the gym is arguably more awkward than just using them, in place. Not to mention the stares you get when you walk into WW with dumbbells > 10 lbs. Or actually use the bench lol.] Though I haven’t ventured out onto the floor with weights, yet, I will. In however many baby steps it takes to get there, I will get to the point where I can walk up to the squat rack like I own it (ha if you know me at all, you know that legs are by far my favorite thing to train).

You’ve heard it before, and I’ll say it again, but sometimes you’ve just got to suck it up and deal. It might likely will not be comfortable, but that’s exactly why you need to get over yourself and just do it. I have learned it to be much less painful a process to confront a fear head on than to contemplate then contemplate some more. In my experience, when I give myself too much time to think, I over think. In some instances, there may be something to be said for that whole “act first, think later” mentality that I give my guy friends such a hard time for. Let me know what you think!