Category Fitness

How To Shop For Healthy Foods

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From Sports Nutrition Supplement Guide Article I wrote which was posted on their site.

From Sports Nutrition Supplement Guide Article I wrote which was posted on their site.

Grocery stores in the U.S. can be nutritional traps for uneducated shoppers, because processed foods are placed prominently in the center aisles, while nutrient-dense whole foods are pushed to the periphery. It’s a smart marketing ploy, since many shoppers are easily lured by the colorful and appealing packaging which processed foods feature. There’s even a whole science devoted to the psychology behind food labeling! Because of this, I always advise patients and clients to do the majority of their shopping around the perimeter of a grocery store, even in places like Whole Foods, in order to maximize chances of making the healthiest food choices.

Think about it. If a food item can be stored in a box, bag or can at room temperature, it means that it probably has preservatives which keep it from spoiling. Start reading ingredient labels and you might be shocked at what you find. If ingredient labels are excessively long or have long names which you can’t pronounce, you probably should steer clear. Remember that the least processed foods will be assimilated by your body the most readily.
Grocery store junk

Supermarkets and grocery stores are designed to lure you in like a rat in a maze, but instead of getting a reward at the end of the maze, you might be signing up for health issues if you are distracted by all the colorful advertising found on the most popular food items. Keep in mind that these stores are designed to tempt shoppers to make impulse purchases. Such impulse buys can be especially tempting if you are ravenous with hunger when you shop.

Here are some guidelines which will help you to make healthy food choices when perusing a grocery store.

1. Shop around the perimeter of the store – Most processed foods are found in the aisles of a grocery store, while whole foods like fresh produce and meats are found around the perimeter.

2. Read food labels – Be aware of hidden sugar, sodium, artificial flavors and colors, and preservatives.

3. Keep purchases of packaged foods to a minimum – Beware of foods which are packaged in boxes, bags, or cans, as these foods tend to be filled with preservatives.

4. Prepare a shopping list and stick to it – Making a list will ensure that you do not forget any necessary items and will also help prevent impulse purchases if you adhere strictly to the items which are on your list.

5. Eat a meal before you shop – If you shop for groceries when you are satiated, you will be less likely to make impulsive purchases or buy more than what you need.

6. Fill your cart with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fish, poultry, nuts and beans.

7. Try a new fruit or vegetable each week – This will add variety to your meal plan.

8. Spend the most time during your shopping trip in the produce section.

9. When choosing whole grain cereals, aim for at least 4 grams of fiber per serving– Make sure the sugar content is minimal.

10. Choose lean cuts of meat – Good beef cuts are round, top sirloin and tenderloin. When buying poultry, purchase the skinless variety.

11. If you can’t purchase fresh fruit, choose frozen fruits and vegetables over the canned variety.

12. Avoid food items that contain more than five ingredients, artificial ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce.

13. Be careful when choosing bread – Many refined breads are dark from added molasses, caramel or other coloring. Look for breads which contain 100% whole wheat or other grain as their first ingredient. Try to avoid enriched wheat flour as it is actually made with processed white flour. Make sure the bread you select has at least 2 grams of fiber per slice.

14. Select fish which is high in omega-3 fatty acids – Best selections are salmon, rainbow trout, lake trout, and tuna. (Below is a list of seafood lowest in Mercury)
low mercury foods
15. Choose strong-flavor chesses – Sharp cheddar, feta and Parmesan have strong flavors which means you will need to use less to flavor your foods.

16. Purchase Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt is thicker and creamier than other varieties, and the protein content is much higher. My favorite is Fage Total 0-Percent Greek Yogurt.

17. If you must buy frozen entrees, make sure they contain less than 400 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 600 milligrams of sodium, with at least 14 grams of protein and 2 grams of carbohydrate.

18. Add vegetables and/or cooked brown rice or quinoa to your frozen entrée to increase the size and nutrition level of the meal.

19. Add fresh or frozen fruit to cooked oatmeal to provide sweetness without added sugar.

20. Eat oatmeal – Make sure to buy regular oatmeal, not the instant variety.

Here’s to happy and healthy shopping!

Hit Peak Fitness Fab Abs

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Please check out Heidi Jo Medina’s article on fab abs in the August 12, 2016 edition of the Pensacola News Journal which includes me as one of the featured experts in her engaging article. I absolutely love Heidi Jo’s fantastic tips for getting amazing abs!

For convenience, I have copied and pasted the article here, but please also click on the link below to read the article from the source.

Many thanks to Heidi Jo Medina and the Pensacola News Journal for this feature!

http://www.pnj.com/story/life/2016/08/11/medina-hit-peak-fitness-fab-abs/88493918/

Medina: Hit the peak of fitness with fab abs

Heidi Jo Medina, News Journal correspondent 4:51 p.m. CDT August 12, 2016

Getting that six pack is the highest mountain to climb on most people’s fitness journey. To help you make it to the peak, several bikini pros tell us how they maintain their hard bellies.

Christina Heine, a graduate student in health promotion and assistant for the exercise science and health department at the University of West Florida, loves to work her abdominal muscles with planks, hanging leg lifts and reverse crunches. Her cardio routine incorporates high intensity interval training on the stair stepper or stadiums. The 31-year-old National Physique Committee (NPC) competitor switches between two minutes of high intensity and one minute of low intensity until she has reached 30 minutes.

She recommends incorporating white fish, egg whites, plain non-fat Greek yogurt into your diet. (This is ab-friendly for some people because it has natural probiotics which supports healthy digestion, but for some dairy-sensitive people it can cause bloating.)

Jessica Vetter, 36, of South Dakota, works her abdominals with ball crunches, decline crunches and double crunches. Her resume includes International Federation of Body Building (IFBB) figure pro and American Muscle & Fitness personal trainer.

“Being consistent is very important in getting and maintaining abs. Hold yourself accountable to what is put into your mouth,” she says.

For cardio, Vetter uses the stair stepper or elliptical. She says stair steppers are her favorite, as they use every muscle in the lower body, and are perfect for building lean muscle while burning fat. It is a low-impact exercise that can burn more calories than high impact, as you have to lift your entire body weight with every step you take.

Vetter only trains abs twice a week.

“If you are eager to have abs, your best strategy is to pay closer attention to your diet,” she says. “There are multiple factors that can contribute to storing fat around your belly. Focusing on eating healthy will make it easier for your body to reveal abs.”

Vetter’s diet incorporates ab-friendly foods such as fish, chicken, almonds, extra virgin olive oil, greens, coconut oil and egg whites.

“Watching labels is key,” she cautions. “Look at the grams of sugar, saturated and trans fat, and carbohydrates. The list of ingredients is also very important, and understanding what you are reading.”

Stacey Naito, 50, of California, has eliminated processed foods and refined sugar from her diet in order to sustain a lean midsection.

The IFBB pro, board-certified physician and nutrition coach suggests you stick to whole foods like lean meats, eggs (including the yolk), vegetables, almonds, and grains like quinoa and brown rice.

Naito only trains abs once a week for five to 10 minutes. She likes to incorporate planks, flutter kicks on a bench, and decline bench crunches.

When asked what kind of cardio she integrates into her workout regimen, her reply was, “Cardio? What’s that?”

Naito says she hasn’t done cardio in months and her body is actually leaner as a result.

“The body can become very efficient with cardio, meaning that it becomes resistant to the supposed fat-burning effects of cardiovascular activity,” Naito says. “The solution? Dial it down! Too much cardio can destroy a body.”

She suggests that you don’t over do it and just keep it simple. In fact, Naito says the best way to get chiseled abs is to drink plenty of water, take nutritional supplements like magnesium if you think you may be deficient, and eat clean at least 90 percent of the time.

Genetics will always play a role in your body shape and fitness achievements, but if you are only eating healthy 60 percent of the time, just like in math, that is a failing grade. Abs are made in the kitchen. The best ab exercise out there is to stop eating so much junk.

Amazing ab tips

1.Utilize a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Along with eating four to six small meals a day, try to consume your carbs first thing in the morning to give you sufficient energy through the day.

2.A consistent combination of cardio and weight training will enable you to burn fat and stay lean. Weight training burns calories after the workout and throughout the day while cardio burns calories during the workout.

3.Staying properly hydrated will help you burn the most amount of fat and will speed up your metabolism. Try to drink six to eight glasses a day.

4.Adjust your ab routine often. This will help to maximize results as diversity and confusion to the muscle show more development than a stagnant routine.

5.Breakfast kicks off your metabolism so don’t skip it. Include lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates in your first meal. Steer clear of unhealthy fats and foods high in unhealthy carbohydrates.

6.Don’t skip cardio. Losing fat will make your abs more prominent. Cardiovascular exercise is much more effective in the morning as well since the body is refreshed.

7.Getting eight to nine hours of sleep will help boost metabolism. Lack of sleep will cause the body to release the stress hormone cortisol which promotes fat storage and will derail your ab efforts.

8.Cardio in the morning is much more effective since the body is refreshed.

9.Engage your abdominals during compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and rows which demand a lot of core stability. These big moves will rev your metabolism and burn calories.

10.Don’t forget to breathe. Muscles need oxygenated blood to work properly and holding your breathe will hinder you from generating strength. Inhale deeply before performing a movement and exhale as you perform the crunch or lifting movement. Exhaling will force your abs to contract and engage your inner oblique muscles.

11.Cheat! Once or twice a week throw in a cheat meal to keep you sane and to throw your body a curve ball. This will keep your body from adjusting to healthy eating and slowing down your metabolism.

Too Many Cooks (Repost)

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Adult female with personal trainer at gym.I am getting pretty tired of clients who think they are suddenly fitness authorities, or who think nothing of following the advice of 52 different people on what to do about diet, exercise after signing up for a comprehensive training and meal plan which I customize for them. Honestly, why hire me if you’re just going to follow whatever your whim decides is cool at the moment? I don’t get easily insulted, but it’s more that I put time into customizing plans and don’t appreciate it when a client reads some silly excerpt in Shape magazine, and decides that it must be better than my advice because it was in a popular women’s magazine.

I deal with know-it-all attitudes both as a fitness professional and as a physician. Let me be very clear. I have a four year college degree in Exercise Science from a well respected college. I have almost thirty years of experience with weight training, and have done contest prep coaching since 2010. I am also an IFBB Professional Athlete. On top of that, I have worked as a board-certified and fully licensed physician for over a decade. Yet I am challenged on a regular basis by people who think that because they looked up something on WebMD or Google, they are suddenly more knowledgeable than I am. In fact, I am not sure which bothers me more: the disrespect I get as a doctor, or the disrespect I get as a fitness professional. Both are infuriating.

The BEST advice I can give to anyone who is looking for a comprehensive plan in fitness, nutrition, or hormone balancing is to pick ONE expert and stick with that person’s knowledge, instead of second guessing the individual by throwing other mostly uneducated opinions on what to do. I give people a lot of credit for knowing their own bodies. However, it is important to remember that contradicting your coach, physician or mentor is a study in animosity that will pitch you in poor stead with the very person who is trying to help you.

Hot Logic Is Amazing

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Please check out my review of the Hot Logic Mini on YouTube!

It’s a portable mini oven which you can take everywhere with you! All you need is a power source, and you can heat up pre-made meals or even cook something from scratch.

Another HUGE selling point about the Hot Logic Mini is that your food heats up evenly, and is the perfect temperature whenever you’re ready to eat it. You’ll get that fresh baked oven flavor, not that nasty microwave heated flavor. Another great feature about the Hot Logic Mini is that it enables you to heat up a meal in a hotel room (many hotel rooms no longer have microwave ovens), board room, or any room where you have access to a power source.

Go to http://www.hot-logic-mini.com/staceynaito to order, and you’ll save 20% off your order.

Which Protein Powder If You’re Lactose Intolerant?

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If you are lactose intolerant, then you are quite accustomed to checking to see if dishes contain dairy. You might also be wary of whey and casein protein powders due to their derivation from milk. However, if you have only a mild lactose intolerance, you may not have an issue with whey and casein. Why is this?

Many individuals with a mild lactose intolerance are fine with whey protein isolate as well as with casein. Both whey and casein are separated from the lactose during processing. There are small concentrations of lactose which bypass the separation, but usually this is not enough to mount a reaction in a mildly lactose intolerant individual. Only the most sensitive individuals will have a problem with these forms of protein. Bear in mind that whey concentrate is not the same as whey isolate, and that individuals who are more lactose intolerant or who have other gut issues might not tolerate the concentrate form of whey.

You may be asking what the big deal is with whey and casein, and whether they are better than other forms of protein. Why take a chance of mounting a reaction in the belly when there are other forms of protein?
whey scoop
Whey is a complete protein, meaning that it provides all the amino acids the body requires. It is also relatively cheap. Casein protein is also a complete protein, and is digested very slowly, making it a great option for bedtime.

While soy is also a complete protein, it undergoes considerable processing, and it contains phytoestrogens which are estrogen mimics. I am definitely not a fan of soy protein and will not advocate its use.

Rice, hemp and pea proteins are good alternatives for the vegan or vegetarian crowd, but since they are not complete proteins, they must be combined to fill out the amino acid profile. Rice protein is very easily digested, while pea protein has glutamic acid, which helps convert carbs into energy instead of being stored as fat. Hemp protein is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and has a high fiber content.

As long as you mix plant based proteins to get a complete profile, you will not be at a disadvantage if you cannot tolerate whey or casein. However, when it comes to cost, nutrition profile, and convenience, whey will always win the prize for being the king of protein powders.

On a personal note, I discovered that I had a mild intolerance to whey and a moderate intolerance to casein, and though I only have a mild case of lactose intolerance, the whey and casein proteins themselves cause my body to react. As a result, I keep whey protein intake to a minimum, consuming only a small amount (about 20 grams) a few times per week. This is a drastic drop from the 60 to 70 grams of whey protein which I was ingesting during my competing days in the off-season.

These days, I opt for soy-free plant-based proteins. Since the combination of pea and rice proteins delivers a complete amino acid profile, I tend to look for those blends. Healthy Skoop has a very tasty version which mixes beautifully:

Protein

I also use MitoXcell’s new Plant Protein formula, which also features hemp protein and the original MitoXcell formula for mitochondrial optimization. I think it’s a superior protein, but it’s a bit chalky for my tastes:

MitoXcell Plant Protein

Some Foods Just Don’t Like Me

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broccoli

As one who loves most types of foods and who isn’t particularly finicky, I look back fondly on the days when I could eat whatever I wanted without any digestive or reactive consequence. Sadly, the past three years have been defined by a number of food intolerances which have required me to monitor what I eat. I honestly believe that the extreme and repetitive meal plans which I consumed while competing were major factors in the development of my food intolerance issues. During one particular contest prep regimen, I began to notice that every single time I ate broccoli, I would get severe abdominal cramps and a headache which persisted for an entire day (now they last for 3-5 days if I am stupid enough to eat even one small floret).

After my last Pro contest in June of 2014, I noticed that other foods were aggravating my gut, my skin, my head and my mood, so I decided to eliminate them. In January of 2015, I had an ALCAT food intolerance test , and was pretty stunned by the results. Not only was broccoli on the list of offending foods for me, but I also apparently had SEVERE gluten intolerance, as well as intolerance to coconut, mangos, casein, blueberries, and a number of other foods considered healthy. In an effort to allow my body to calm down, I eliminated every food which I had any intolerance to (there were about 30 foods) for close to a year.

Because I am hoping and assuming that my body has reset from the elimination of offending foods, I currently allow myself to have blueberries, coconut, mango, lobster, cashews, bison, and spinach on occasion, and have noticed no reactions. However, every single time I eat broccoli or any food which has barley in it, I regret doing so within 30 minutes. This means that pizza (which I actually don’t consider a favorite food) is no longer a cheat meal option, not unless it is a gluten free version. Food combinations also wreak havoc on me. For example, if I have pizza and wine, I might as well forget about functioning like a normal person for a couple of days.

If you suspect that you have food intolerance, try eliminating the suspect food to see if it makes a difference. Trust your body’s signals. And if you want to get a food intolerance test, check out ALCAT.com and Everlywell.com for the kits they offer.

Riche Magazine And The Nation’s Top Ten Fitness Models

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1r1

“America’s Top Ten Fitness Models 2016” is the big feature in Riche Magazine’s July 22nd issue! You can get your copy of this publication by clicking here:

https://www.joomag.com/…/riche-magazine…/0763834001469056114

Guess who took the #1 spot? Drumroll please…

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I am so blessed and grateful for this honor! Thank you Alex Deal and RHK Publications!

Make Regular Exercise A Priority

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inspiration-4

I freely admit that I chuckle to myself whenever I hear people say that they wish they had the discipline to work out on a consistent basis. It’s not that I am insensitive to the rigors of busy schedules, because I spend my days running from place to place, multitasking and barreling through tons of tasks, errands and responsibilities. But I set aside about an hour per day, six days per week, to go to the gym, and I train HARD and HEAVY every time. In recent months, I have also managed to fit in two aerial hoop classes each week. The main reason why I am so consistent about exercising consistently is that it is a priority, as important as brushing my teeth and showering on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, I look forward to my gym sessions as a way to begin each day, which is why Sunday, my rest day, is a bit rough for me and throws me off my usual daily pattern of waking up and heading straight to the gym.

Perhaps you are one of those people who believes that there isn’t time to work out, and you continue to allow your schedule to annihilate any chance of working out. The thing is, if you actually made working out a MUST instead of something to fit into your schedule as it allowed, you would find a way to get your butt to the gym and follow a plan. I have definitely noticed that people who want to reach certain fitness goals are much more successful in reaching them when they follow a specific regimen which provides guidance and structure. Making promises to yourself like, “I will go to the gym on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 6 am to 7:30 am”, or “I will drive straight to the gym after work every day” can be a great start to adding discipline and consistency, but you need to follow through and hold yourself accountable.

I am not kidding when I say that you need to put your workouts into your schedule! Enter your workouts on your iPhone or your Google calendar so that you have the time blocked out in your schedule. Don’t allow other things to interfere with the time you have allotted for exercise either, because when you do that, you reinforce the idea that exercise is not that important and can be pushed off. Those of us who are committed to a fitness way of life don’t allow life’s little hiccups to interfere with our gym time. It’s that simple.

Why I Love Lyra (Aerial Hoop)

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Crucifix on the lyra...one of my favorite moves

Crucifix on the lyra…one of my favorite moves

I fell in love with the lyra, also known as the aerial hoop, from the moment I first mounted one. I remember not being quite sure if I would enjoy lyra, since I had spent several months experimenting with different aerial disciplines, and was still finding my way among them. Here is a summary of the different aerial arts which I had tried, and my impressions of each one.

Pole – I took two pole classes several years ago, and though I was sore in places I didn’t think I would ever be sore in (mostly groin and lower back), I really didn’t enjoy the movements. In addition, the connotation of pole dancing is indelible in my brain, and I just couldn’t get past the feeling that I was a dirty girl for even taking a couple of classes. Both instructors I got were incredibly self-absorbed, and I found them irritating to no end. I also found it humorous that the students were encouraged to explore their sexual energy in the class, because at no point did I feel sexy. If anything, I felt completely foolish and awkward, and basically counted the minutes until class would be over. Yes, it was that bad for me.

Flying Trapeze – Last summer I signed up for a Groupon deal for a flying trapeze class at TSNY-LA on the Santa Monica Boardwalk, and moments after I did so, I had a split second of panic. I remember thinking, oh crap, what have I gotten myself into? Then I took that class in August 2015, and found the experience exhilarating. Once I was on the trapeze, I truly enjoyed swinging and challenging my body to move in new ways. It was the compromise I was looking for, since I had been unable to find adult gymnastics classes to accommodate my desire to return to the gymnastics moves I had learned as a child. I signed up for two more classes at Richie Gaona’s school because I wanted to gain more experience on the trapeze. Unfortunately, my nerves always got rattled whenever I was up on the board, on deck to fly, because that board was so narrow and so high off the ground. I just couldn’t get over being 20 feet up on the air, leaning far forward into the trapeze, while trusting someone to hold me and keep me from slipping off the board. It began to overshadow the joy of flying, so I gave it up.

Silks – I took one class at Aerial Physique, a nice facility in Brentwood which focuses on silks for its aerial offerings. The instructor was a sweetheart, and the class was fun, but my poor ankles did not enjoy the sensation of being wrapped in fabric as my body weight sank upon them for the foot locks I performed. My elbows and hands screamed in agony over the torsion which occurred when I set up for a trick which required me to grip the massive swaths of fabric. Though I enjoyed the beauty of the apparatus, I didn’t like what the fabric was doing to my poor joints, and I also couldn’t remember the complicated trick sequence the instructor wanted the other student and me to learn. This was the first experience I had with instructors who just assumed that you would pick up all the specific vocabulary for all the tricks you were learning, and it irked me. Why on earth would I know these terms if it was my first time taking silks? Grrrrr.

Static Trapeze – I took a class in static trapeze after falling in love with the lyra, so I expected that I would enjoy the experience. What I discovered was that for as much as I loved being on the lyra, I absolutely hated the static trapeze. The ropes were extremely rough and painful to negotiate during some of the tricks we learned, yet they were flexible enough to make me feel quite unstable while up in the apparatus. I did not enjoy the experience of twisting the rope around my thighs and risking significant rope burn and bruising, and my grip strength was definitely challenged by the gauge of the ropes. I didn’t click with the instructor at all either, so I scratched this apparatus off my list very quickly.

Aerial Cube – Now THIS is a fun apparatus, and I definitely intend to take more classes using this. Imagine an open cube, consisting of bars around which you can wrap your body and hang from. It was like being on the monkey bars at the park, and incredibly fun. The only caveat is that since there is a lot of metal, you are basically in a suspended cage, and if you don’t time certain moves properly, body parts like shins can collide with those bars and leave nasty reminders of your time on the cube.

Aerial Cube:
cube

Lyra – Love at first knee hang. Truly. There is something about the simplicity and symbolism of the perfect circle which has a strong appeal for me. The lyra also seems to be incredibly accommodating to many different body types and sizes, because I have seen people of all shapes and heights manage to wrap their bodies around this sturdy apparatus with more ease than some of the other aerial equipment. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that performing on a lyra is easy! In order to properly mount a lyra (or any other aerial apparatus, for that matter), you must have strong abdominal muscles and decent upper body strength. It took me three classes before I was able to properly do a straddle mount without cheating!

straddle mount

I took my first lyra class at the beginning of May at Aeriform Arts in Hollywood, and am still taking classes, though I have switched for the time being to a facility near my home. I have in fact lost count of how many classes I have taken so far, but it’s been more than a dozen now. Once or twice a week, you will find me swinging from a suspended hoop, enjoying the challenge and not minding the calluses which have taken up permanent residence on the palms of my hands. My back is wider and has more detail as a result of lyra, and my shoulders are also more developed. I don’t mind the fact that my elbows scream from the tendinitis which flares up more often now, nor do I mind the deep ache from my lats which asserts itself if I resume lyra practice full force after a few days of rest. It’s also incredibly empowering to find a new form of creative expression at the half century mark of my life, one which most people my age would be terrified of. I have learned many new tricks, including the Russian splits and Yoga Cat pictured below (no, that isn’t me, but I have performed these moves successfully a number of times).

Russian Splits:

russian splits on lyra

Yoga Cat On Top Strop:

Yoga cat top strop

There is a good reason why the time spent on aerial equipment is referred to as flying, because I really do feel like I am flying when I am in class, free as a bird. I intend to continue this love affair for quite a while!

How Weekend Drinking Binges Make You Fat (Repost)

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One of the reasons why people tend to look forward to the weekend so much, besides being away from work, is the ritualistic imbibing of alcohol and consumption of rich foods which many tend to engage in. I have clients who will follow a sensible and healthy meal plan during the week, only to abandon all self-control, put on party hats and eat and drink during the entire weekend.

I will explain to you why this practice is a sure way to keep you from attaining your fitness goals. When you drink large amounts of alcohol, say 3 drinks or more, your body gets a sudden influx of alcohol which puts your body’s metabolism of nutrients to a grinding halt. Why? Because the body cannot store alcohol and must use it immediately as a fuel source. What happens with nutrients is that they are converted to fat and then stored in fat tissue for later use, so alcohol essentially prevents the body from utilizing fat. High consumption of alcohol also impairs the cerebral function (specifically the prefrontal cortex), flattening inhibitions and increasing the appetite. That is why you will often crave greasy foods when you drink, because the body turns to rich foods to replenish nutrients. The combination of increased appetite and behavioral changes are enough to get you to eat a calorie laden, fatty meal which is then stored as fat.

I enjoy the occasional cocktail and as a result will never tell people to avoid drinking altogether. However, I have several recommendations which will minimize the fat deposition which alcohol consumption triggers.

1. Always eat a meal with PROTEIN, FIBER and HEALTHY FAT before you begin drinking to offset the surge in blood sugar which occurs with alcohol consumption and to slow the absorption of alcohol once it is introduced to the gut.

2. Drink two glasses of water for every drink of alcohol. Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning that it will dry you out. Because of this, it is important to maintain a high level of hydration to offset the diuretic effect.

3. Limit consumption to 1 or 2 drinks in an evening. This will keep calorie consumption down.people at party