food labels

10 Simple Diet Mistakes that make your Calorie Counting to be far Less Effective

Posted on November 21, 2017 by LetlerFit

Mistake #1: Calories are not created equally. 200 calories in chocolate is not nearly as dense as 200 calories in a colorful salad with protein. We need more good quality calories that bad quality calories in order to lose weight
Mistake #2: You are forgetting about macronutrients. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins make up calories. Carbs and protein yield 4 calories per gram while fats yield 9 calories per gram. The goal is to eat the correct amount of each eating 1400 calories out of your 1800 calorie day in just one macronutrient is not good. Each macronutrient has a purpose and requirement in our body.
Mistake #3: You are forgetting about Micronutrients. While a donut does contain carbs, fat, and protein (usually 1-2g), the calories are empty. When you consume food the goal is to look at food and think “What kind of energy is this going to give me? and what kinds of vitamins and minerals will it give me?” Vitamins and Minerals are equally as important as macronutrients….the good news is they do NOT directly add to the calorie count.
Mistake #4: Consuming too many calories. Trying to lose weight? At the end of the day weight loss is having less calories in versus calories out. Meaning we need to eat less than what our body burns in activities each day.
Mistake #5: Not consuming enough calories. Trying to gain weight? You need to be consuming more than what your body burns in activities each day.
Mistake #6: Most people do not know how many calories they should even be consuming. Advice: My fitness pal does a decent job at giving you calorie needs based on goals and activity.
Mistake #7: Overestimating calories burned while exercising. The calories the machine tells you, is wayyyyyyyy more than reality because it goes off of the machines RPM and not your body’s work.
Mistake #8: Assuming all lasagna at a restaurant is the same. Luckily most restaurants are registered with my fitness pal and give you calorie, macronutrient, and micronutrient breakdown. However, when a food from a menu does not pop up, it’s hard to find an exact match as recipe and portion size really make a difference.
Mistake #9: No Plan. Meal prepping is a must!! I know my entire week’s menu before it has even started…helps me stay focused and organized. Plus i control what goes into my food and then it becomes easier to track if need be.
Mistake #10: Drinking calories. Most people have no necessity for juices. Skip the liquid calories and go for water!

Learn more about the best online fitness program which includes comprehensive programs focused on shifting towards healthier eating habits, staying fit, and building a better booty. You’ll also find a variety of fitness apparel to help get you that extra motivation to take your goals to another level. Contact me today to learn more about the best fitness programs available to get your body in gear.

Get LetlerFit the Personalized Way

Posted on October 10, 2017 by LetlerFit

With the launch of the NEW LetlerFit.com I now officially publicly advertise my customized online training.

If you read yesterday’s blog post you know that I touched on the major differences between my e-book guides and personal training.

If you can check off any of the following I definitely recommend my online personal training:

Have any mobility limitations from past or current injuries
Have any diagnosed medical condition
Have specific goals
Want a training program that is 100% customized for your body and fitness level (everyone is different!)
want guidance and accountability

All of my clients begin with my online Needs Analysis (i’ll be touching up on this tomorrow). What may differ between one client and the next are the different packages available:

Just the program: This is for someone who has a good idea about how to perform the exercises and wants a program to cater to them and any specific goals or needs, but also does not want the coaching or accountability
Weekly Check Ins: Your program will come with a 60 minute weekly check in to go over any questions, video critiques of you performing your exercises, etc.
Unlimited Coaching: This is for the person that wants full access to me during the month of training to ask questions, record and send videos to, while still getting a personalized program

Are you ready to get LetlerFit? Fill out my Questionnaire and I will get back to you ASAP

6 Supposedly Healthy Foods You Should Be Avoiding

Posted on August 9, 2017August 9, 2017 by LetlerFit

The thing about the food and fitness industry is, marketing and advertising goes farther than science. It’s a sad reality, and is one of the reason so many people are quick to fall for gimmicks, nutrition labeling etc. Just today I went grocery shopping and was baffled at how the industry charges more or hides poison in their labeling. Here were the top 6 offenders that stood out to me today.

Fit and Active brand popcorn versus the generic brand popcorn: Fit and Active brand was almost a dollar more expensive and when you compare the labels…the EXACT same thing. Just because something is labeled fit and active or something along those lines does not necessarily make it any better.
Sugar: A bunch of BS, and WORSE for you! Your brain gets the same stimulation only instead of being natural, it’s synthetic, can mess up insulin regulation, and most are metabolized in to carcinogens…cancer causing agents. Go for REAL sugar, avoid the sugar alcohol. Even in moderation, real sugar is better than fake. Same goes for regular vs diet sodas
Arctic Zero Ice Cream: People love it because it is low calorie, has minimal protein, but just like sugar free labels are ridded with sugar alcohols. Limit sugar alcohols as much as possible (generally anything that ends in “ol” ie. sorbitol, erythritol, maltitol)
Low Fat anything: Your body NEEDS healthy fats. Low fat labels are usually a guise for companies to add sugars and MORE sugar alcohols in order to make the food tastier since removing fat makes food less appetizing. Whole fat is totally OK!
Organic Tostitos: While the ingredients may be “cleaner” they have more sodium and do in my opinion more harm because people consume more of it thinking it’s healthier.
Organic Granola: uhmmmm 36g of sugar per serving and only 8g of protein? what?! READ your labels!! Ideally there will be no added sugar.

Have you watched any Netflix health docs lately?

Posted on July 17, 2017July 17, 2017 by LetlerFit

What the Health?, Forks Over Knives, Fed Up (personal fave), Food Matters, Vegucated, are just a few of the Netflix documentaries you can find on food. There are plenty more, but those are the ones I’ve seen recently. I must admit I have a love-hate relationship with most of them leaning more towards the hate than the love.

Here’s what I do love:

I love how they are bringing awareness to fruits and vegetables and how we need to increase the amount we are eating. The majority of us don’t even get half our recommended daily dosage.
I love how they shed light on the atrocities of the meat slaughtering industry, because regulations NEED to happen. The real animals are us humans, who choose not to find more humane ways to put down the meat that we do eat. Personally I am a vegetarian, I believe in doing my part, but I also do not believe everyone needs to go vegan. I’m a realist who believes it should be a personal choice as to whether or not someone decides to consume meat, and because I am a realist I know not everyone will remove or decrease the amount of meat in their diet, which is why more humane treatment of animals needs to be put in place.
I love that they shed light on the amount of garbage they are adding to meat, poultry, and farm raised fish.
I love how are they are raising awareness to the amount of added sugar the majority of us eat without realizing it
I love that they bring awareness to how food can help prevent more health issues than the pharmaceutical companies want you to believe. YOU NEED A BALANCE PEOPLE!

Here’s what I don’t like

How EXTREME and one-sided they are. The ones pushing people towards veganism more so than the ones warning people to stay away from wheat and sugar. At least the one’s I have seen about wheat frequently give the disclaimer that the negative effects of wheat more so impact the gluten intolerant. The documentaries about sugar also frequently express the need more consuming added sugar in moderation. However the ones that promote veganism, never once touch base on the idea of grass-fed or organic meat and poultry alternatives that are worth the investment due to significantly less pesticides, etc.
I do not like how they neglect to go over the differences between complete and incomplete proteins and how animal proteins are complete proteins where as plant based protein usually requires 2-3 different sources to reach the complete protein status.
I do not like how they neglect to mention that for athletes looking to get stronger, IGF1 only found in red meat is a legal and natural “steroid” in the sense that is helps our strength gains. I’m not saying you won’t get stronger if you only eat vegetarian or vegan because that is not the case. The gains can come faster though with the help of red meat, but I opt out of that natural boost.
I don’t like how they neglect to talk about the dirty dozen (aka the most contaminated fruits and vegetables) that everyone should prioritize as buying organic because of the amount of pesticides found in them.
- Peaches, Apples, Bell Peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Pears, Grapes, Spinach, Lettuce, Potatoes
I don’t like how they do not touch on the subject of how easy it is to also be overweight and have health issues has a vegetarian or vegan. I personally know way too many overweight, anemic, or overall unhealthy vegetarians and vegans

Overall for people who do not have extremist personalities and tendencies I would recommend educating themselves with these documentaries, however also keeping in mind that there are 2 sides to every story. I wish they would make them with less of a bias. I believe they’d have more success reaching larger audiences if they did. I also believe they would make meat-eaters understand the POV of vegans and vice versa. We all know that vegan or meat eater that tries to make the other side feel like terrible people for choosing to eat or not eat meat. We need to educate people on both sides and THEN let people decide and respect their decisions! The lesson continues to be that everything in MODERATION is key!

New Nutrition Labels

Posted on May 24, 2017 by LetlerFit

A while back I did a post on how to read nutrition labels, but that post will soon be irrelevant as nutrition labels are changing for the better!

There are 6 key “things” that will be rolling out from summer of this year all the way until July of 2018!

Serving: “The number of “servings per container” and the “Serving Size” declaration have increased and are now in larger and/or bolder type. Serving sizes have been updated to reflect what people actually eat and drink today. For example, the serving size for ice cream was previously 1/2 cup and now is 2/3 cup. There are also new requirements for certain size packages, such as those that are between one and two servings or are larger than a single serving but could be consumed in one or multiple sittings.”
Calories: Soon will be bigger and bolder
Fats: “Calories from Fat” has been removed because research shows the type of fat consumed is more important than the amount.”
Added Sugars: ““Added Sugars” in grams and as a percent Daily Value (%DV) is now required on the label. “Added Sugars” include sugars that have been added during the processing or packaging of a food. Scientific data shows that it is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10 percent of your total daily calories from added sugar.”
Nutrients: The lists of nutrients that are required or permitted on the label have been updated. Vitamin D and potassium are now required on the label because Americans do not always get the recommended amounts. Vitamins A and C are no longer required since deficiencies of these vitamins are rare today. The actual amount (in milligrams or micrograms) in addition to the %DV must be listed for vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium. The daily values for nutrients have also been updated based on newer scientific evidence. The daily values are reference amounts of nutrients to consume or not to exceed and are used to calculate the %DV.
Foot Note: “The footnote at the bottom of the label has changed to better explain the meaning of %DV. The %DV helps you understand the nutrition information in the context of a total daily diet.”

Direct Source

Grass-fed, Free range, Wild Caught Labeling

Posted on August 24, 2015 by LetlerFit

As discussed in my previous post, the food labeling industry has all sorts of labels without offering explanations. We go to the store and see organic, grass-fed, cage free, free range, wild caught labels, but many of us don’t exactly know what they all mean. Because organic labeling was already discussed, today I will be touching up on grass-fed meats, Free Range/Cage Free eggs, and wild caught fish vs their counterpart.

Wild caught fish are simply fish that are found and caught in the wild. Compared to farm raised fish they are a more natural source of omega 3s, have more calcium, iron, zinc, and potassium. They also contain less fat and depending on the type of wild caught fish, they may also have less calories.

Farm raised fish are fed unnatural diets, including antibiotics to combat the diseases many of them obtain because of their enclosed, dirty environment. The pink in farm raised salmon, for example is an artificial coloring.

Grass-fed meats come from pastor that was fed their natural diet of grass and contain more omega 3s, less fat, more vitamin E and conjugated linoleum acid (CLA) compared to conventional meats that are filled with steroids and pesticides. PLEASE NOTE: Grass-fed meat is not the same as organic meat as organic meat can come from animals fed a grain diet (better than steroids, but not as clean as grass-fed meat).

Eggs are in my opinion one of the most complicated because you can have free range, cage free, vegetarian fed, or omega enriched eggs, and they do not necessarily mean the same thing.

vegetarian fed hens, while their diet is clean, their environment may not be. Below is a useful chart that helps you understand the labeling.

conventional eggs for the most part come from hens that are not only fed unnatural diets, but are also kept in horrid living conditions.

Wether your an animal lover, health nut, or curious about what the different labels actually mean, the choice is up to you!