KTK-Nutrition

Do you know how much protein you need each day?   I have heard many people say, “I am watching my carbs.”   Have you ever heard anyone say, “I am watching my protein?” Probably not.   The students in my classes are often confused as to what foods provide high quality protein and how much protein they need each day.   Do you need that protein shake, those protein bars?   Did you know most Americans get much more protein than they need each day?   This is true for those ages 19-59.   You may not know that people over 59 may need to focus on adding more protein to their day.   How much of your diet should be protein? The Mayo Clinic notes :   About 10-35% of the calories you eat should come from protein.   If you eat about 2000 calories a day, this equates to 200-700 calories from protein.   Or, if you count grams, this would be 50-175 grams of protein a day.   Most of the young adults in my nutrition class ate over 90 grams of ...

Do you know anyone playing sports this fall or coming winter?   In order to play at one’s best, one has to eat healthy.   As I noted before, many people have a poor understanding of what “eating healthy” means.   This month I will focus on eating well for sports, starting with protein.   Although focused on sports, the information provided is helpful to anyone interested in nutrition and eating healthier.   Ask some friends or family members, “Which food provides the highest quality protein?”   You will be surprised that few people know the correct answer. Many young people playing sports want to boost their muscle mass but often have little understanding about protein.   What foods are the best sources of high-quality proteins?   What does “high quality” protein actually mean?   How do you know what protein foods are high quality? A nutritionist in the United Kingdom and host of Movement and Nutrition on Facebook, wrote an interesting...

My daughter has a friend who was diagnosed with prediabetes.   And this is becoming increasingly more common.   What is prediabetes?   How many people have it?   If you have prediabetes, what lifestyle changes should you make?   Focusing on exercise and diet are two important areas to focus on.   What is prediabetes? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says prediabetes is a “serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes”.   To determine if you have diabetes your health care provider will take a blood test: o    A1C Test – this test measures how much sugar is in your blood over the past 2-3 months.   o    Fasting blood sugar – This test measures how much sugar is in your blood after you have fasted overnight.   Your health care provider may also do a Glucose Tolerance Test or a random blood sugar test.   Know your num...

Last week we talked about people who start off on a diet, lose weight and then seem to stop losing.   Why?   I noted that SparkPeople had an interesting article on “8 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight” written by a personal trainer.   We covered 4 of these reasons last week and this week we cover the personal trainer’s other 4 reasons.     Reasons for Not Losing Weight –   based on SparkPeople and good nutrition advice from a registered dietitian. 5.        Y ou are not being consistent –you need consistency to establish good habits. You start out strong, sticking to your diet and exercise routine.   Then you step on the scale and haven’t lost the weight you wanted and you fall into the trap of going off the diet and skipping the gym.   You say, “What’s the point?”   to justify going off the diet and exercise regimen.   Or you have that one dessert and then say you’ve ruined your diet and stop all ...

      Many people start off on a diet, lose weight and then seem to stop losing.   Why?   SparkPeople had an interesting article on “8 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight” written by a personal trainer.   She said it is one of the most common questions she is asked.   She noted that those on a diet may thing they are doing “everything right” but still plateau.   So why are there no changes on the bathroom scale?   This week we’ll review 4 of the reasons and next week continue with the other 4 reasons.          Reasons for Not Losing Weight –   based on Spark People's 8 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight and good nutrition advice from a registered dietitian.   You are eating back the calories you burn. Yes, working out is great but then eating everything in sight when you get home, is not so great for weight loss.   When I first started a spinning class, I would come home ...