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What Helps With Muscle Cramps

What Helps with Muscle CrampsWhat Helps With Muscle Cramps

Adopting a new way of eating along with a new physical fitness routine may have you experiencing painful muscle cramps. Often, people assume that adding salt back into their diet helps with muscle cramps.

While increasing sodium helps with muscle cramps related to sodium depletion, it’s important to keep in mind that sodium depletion is rarely the main underlying cause of muscle cramps. Increasing your sodium intake will also hurt your weight loss and health efforts.

What Else Causes Muscle Cramps?

There are actually several suspected reasons that you might experience muscle cramps:

  • Over-use of a muscle
  • Dehydration
  • Inadequate blood supply to muscles caused by narrowing arteries during exercise
  • Mineral depletion – potassium, calcium, magnesium (and sometimes sodium).

Other Increased Risk Factors include

  • Age
  • Dehydration
  • Pregnancy
  • Diabetes, nerve, liver, or thyroid disorders (some medications can cause an increase in muscle cramping)

While there are several theories presented for the cause behind muscle cramping, it’s important to know that currently, we don’t know exactly why they happen, but we do know a few remedies that helps with muscle cramps:

Epsom Salt Bath – Helps with muscle tension and restores magnesium levels through the skin.

Supplements – Taking a multivitamin can help with nutritional gaps, while a ZMA or ZMA-5 can help with magnesium and zinc levels.

Potassium – Some Challenger-approved ideas include: half a banana before morning workout (33mg magnesium), Spaghetti squash (450mg per half a cup) plus tomato puree (1/4 cup 660mg potassium), fish like tuna or halibut (3oz is .5g, plus 170mg of magnesium), yogurt (calcium and potassium 580mg 8oz yogurt), sweet potato (700 mg), half a medium avocado (500mg), half of a typical salmon filet (800mg potassium and 53mg magnesium), broccoli (half cup 200mg potassium and 51mg magnesium) medium plain potato (size of fist 800mg), spinach (400mg per half a cup).

 

Weight Loss and Your Menstrual Cycle

weight loss and your menstrual cycleThis one is for the ladies. It’s a pretty predictable pattern; you’re doing great with weight loss and then all of a sudden, you’ve got a bad weigh-in Monday and can’t figure out what you did wrong. You might be surprised to learn that weight loss and your menstrual cycle are interconnected. It can be a little discouraging to see that you’ve lost very little, or maybe even gained a pound or two from the last week. Don’t panic. Poor weight loss and your menstrual cycle are related, typically affected most around your fourth week.

Weight Loss and Your Menstrual Cycle – Tips

Week One (period week) –

At some point during week one of your cycle (starting the first day of your period), estrogen begins to build, which usually results in more energy and a boost in your mood. The build in estrogen is a great time to increase the weights you’re using during your workout at Fit for Life, because you’ll build muscle much easier. For diet, your cravings will begin to disappear, and it would be a great week for you to try to decrease your carbohydrate intake, especially after lunchtime.

Week Two –

This is the week your estrogen peaks, giving you the most energy you’ll have during your cycle. This is a great week to consider doubling your workouts if you have time. You will also want to focus extra on stress management because the higher estrogen may also make your stress response more sensitive, which can build up cortisol or contribute to chronic stress, neither of which are good for weight loss.

Week Three –

During this week, progesterone increases with a fat blasting boost, up to 30% more fat burned capabilities during aerobic exercises. Decreasing your weight and increasing reps will be helpful this week for more fat burning. You’ll also want to be diligent to keep up with your hydration, and add in some extra fiber by way of more veggies to minimize the impending water retention and bloat that’s coming with the increased progesterone.

Week Four (PMS) –

As more progesterone builds, you’ll notice an increase in cravings for unhealthy foods. You’ll need to find FTDI treats to avoid those powerful cravings as much as possible. Berries, tea sweetened with a stevia/erythritol, or half a Quest bar are a few ideas to help you get through this week.  Continue to focus on hydration and extra fiber to avoid water retention and bloat (up to 5 lbs!). You may also find that increasing your healthy fat intake and decreasing carbs, especially after lunchtime, can help with cravings.

What About Menopause?

Menopause can be a difficult time for weight loss because of all the shifting hormones, but the good news is, that strength training – especially the HIIT style used at Fit for Life, is one of the most effective styles of working out you can participate in during menopause. It burns fat faster, especially the stubborn visceral fat that gathers around the belly. Avoiding processed foods is also key to weight loss or maintenance during this time, along with sleep, stress management and self care.

Do Taste Buds Change?

Do Taste Buds ChangeCongratulations to our 6-Week Challengers! You made it to the end, AND YOU DIDN’T DIE! HA!

Now, if you haven’t already done so, the temptation to indulge in some of your pre-weight-loss favorites may be on your mind, but don’t be surprised if that giant cookie a la mode or that $5 greasy pizza from your favorite restaurant or take-out doesn’t quite taste like you remembered. In fact, it may taste way too sweet, salty or fatty to even enjoy. Is this because your taste buds change?

Do Taste Buds Change?

Technically speaking, yes, they change completely about every 7 years, however, you’re probably referring more to your food preferences which takes only a few short weeks to start making adjustments.

Why Do My Cravings Change?

It’s not just your tongue that’s involved, either. Did you know that your gut also contains taste receptors for both fats and sugars? Your body begins to crave junk food less when you reduce or cut it out. When you begin to nourish your body with good foods, your gut changes, your brain changes, even your hormones change, which all affect how you perceive things like fats and sugars. When these changes happen throughout the body, your body also begins to send signals to your brain that you would actually PREFER that loaded salad bowl over a greasy bowl of pasta. And, when you do decide to take a bite of something unhealthy, it probably won’t have the same appeal as it did before.

Why Maintenance Becomes Important

Just as your food preferences or “taste buds change” for the better, they can also be eased back into preferring the junk, too. Surrounding yourself with a community of like-minded health-conscious individuals becomes important to maintain your new lifestyle, and for some individuals, this will be a lifelong struggle to continue making healthful choices for yourself. You’ve got the tools to continue on this journey, but we hope you won’t choose to make this journey alone.

 

When You Plateau – The Role of Leptin Hormone

Leptin Resistance When you PlateauWe’re now well into the third week of the challenge. You may have had a huge loss in the first week but now the loss numbers seem to be tapering off. What was working during the first week or two doesn’t seem to be as effective anymore, and at some degree, this is normal. However, when you plateau completely, it’s important for you to go over your detailed food logs with your trainer so they can help figure out what’s going on.

What is Leptin?

Leptin is a hormone secreted by your fat cells to tell your brain that there are plenty of fat stores, so it’s okay to burn fat as energy. Not dissimilar to insulin resistance, when someone is overweight, too much of the leptin hormone can desensitize the brain to where the brain no longer recognizes the signal that the body has enough fat storage to safely burn fat. Then as you start to lose fat, your body is now producing even less of the leptin hormone and your body now thinks you are starving, even though you may have plenty of fat stores left to burn.

What Does Leptin Have to Do with a Plateau?

When you plateau, it’s possible that your body is experiencing some degree leptin resistance. This is common on a low-calorie diet. Let’s say you’re consuming 1200-1400 calories a day and have been at it for four weeks. You’re working out, eating right, but now you have stopped losing the weight. It’s likely your energy is low as well, which means your workouts are now also less effective. These symptoms are likely due to your body’s metabolism shutting down to reserve energy because it doesn’t know you’ve got “enough” in the way of fat storage. Reducing calories might even work for a few days, but you will continue on this downward spiral of lowered metabolism and now, low energy.

How Do You Overcome a Plateau Caused by Leptin Resistance?

The good news is that even a small spike in carbohydrates may be all your body needs to get the leptin signals going again when you plateau. Here are some ideas:

  • A Cheat Day – Do NOT read this as an “eat whatever the flip you want” day. A cheat day simply means that you elevate your calories with healthy carbohydrates by roughly 300 calories on ONE day during the week to stimulate a spike in your leptin production. It’s just enough extra calories (glucose) to remind your body that you aren’t starving. Continue to eat how you normally should for the remainder of the week.
  • Fasted Workouts – If you workout in the morning, try working out on an empty stomach for a few days, but follow it up by immediately consuming about two servings of healthy carbohydrates (like oatmeal or sweet potato). Continue to eat normally for the rest of the day, and skip carbohydrates for your second or last meal if you need to make up for the extra morning calories. The rise in insulin after a workout is very effective in triggering a spike in the leptin hormone to signal your brain to burn more fat.
  • Intermittent Fasting (IF) – This should be discussed with your trainer first before trying. Taking up to 24 hours to fast and then eating one carbohydrate-rich meal works similar in concept to the fasted workouts but should be used cautiously. It may not be right for everyone.

When you hit a plateau, resist the temptation to continue to reduce calories. It might seem counter-intuitive to consume more calories, but oftentimes, it’s necessary to kickstart the hormone leptin to do its job of telling your brain you have plenty and to rev up your metabolism.

Sugar Cravings – 6-Week Challenge Hacks

When you start a major diet change, your body will go through some withdrawal . These withdrawals can be as minor as, “I wish I had a donut,” to, “Get me some chocolate, STAT!” If you are battling sugar cravings on the 6-week Challenge, it’s completely normal, and the good news is that it’s also temporary. Once your body adjusts to your new eating habits, it’ll be much easier to say, “No,” to the donuts in the break room.

Sugar Cravings – 6-week Challenge Hacks

  • Mix up a 50/50 mixture of cinnamon and erythritol (this is a sugar alcohol, though it’s neither sugar nor alcohol). Use a half teaspoon of this mixture to top cottage cheese, yogurt, or even a sweet potato.
  • Berries – Top some plain non-fat Greek yogurt with a few berries for a snack.
  • Sweet potato – These are good plain, too.
  • Make sure you’re getting some healthy fats in, like olive oil, coconut oil or avocado oil. These healthy fats help your body feel satiated between meals.
  • Herbal tea, or black tea sweetened with stevia or a little of the erythritol/cinnamon blend. Strong cinnamon teas like a Chai are great for cravings. Two amazing chai teas are Sweet Chai of Mine (Good Earth) or Oprah Chai (Teavana).
  • Chocolate protein shot can be used for chocolate cravings, or HALF of a Quest bar. Split it in half and put the other half away before you start eating or you’re likely to eat the whole thing.

The temptation to cave to sugar cravings is intense, but the intensity should scream loud and clear that you’ve got an addiction that needs to be crushed NOW. Caving will only draw things out and make it much more difficult. Try some of these healthier alternatives to help get you through the hardest part while your body detoxes from the sugar addiction.