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The Role Of Metabolism In Weight Loss

The Role Of Metabolism In Weight Loss

Published by on August 5, 2023

One reason people often use as an excuse for weight gain or limited weight loss is a slow metabolism. You hear it frequently in Honolulu, HI, but it’s common no matter where you live. Just what does that mean? What exactly is your metabolism, and how does it affect your weight? Metabolism includes all the changes and chemical processes in your body at the cellular level and the energy required.

The food you eat provides the calories.

Food provides the calories the body uses for energy. Your body uses energy for more than exercise. It uses energy to create cells, circulate blood, and breathe. Every function of your body requires energy. Your body even requires energy to convert food into usable energy. Cell replacement, elimination, growth, and tissue repair all use energy. Two processes make up metabolism, anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism stores energy to maintain the body, such as building cells. Catabolism breaks down energy for use. Digestion and changing food to a form the body can use is a catabolic process.

Your basal metabolic rate includes basic functions while resting metabolic rate adds a few more.

If you’re resting, the calories you burn to keep your body functioning is the basal metabolic rate. It accounts for about 70% of the calories you burn. Resting metabolic rate includes a few other functions, such as short periods of walking, eliminating waste, or maintaining body temperature by sweating or shivering. It is a slightly higher percentage of calories burned. Increasing your metabolic rate makes weight loss easier since you’ll burn more calories 24/7 without extra effort.

You can increase both rates by building muscle and reducing fat.

A pound of body fat only burns two calories daily, while a pound of muscle tissue burns six calories. Increasing your muscle mass increases the calories you burn daily. One study found that after a group followed a nine-month strength training protocol, their resting metabolic rate increased by 5%. If your resting rate was 1000 calories daily, it increased to 1050. It takes a deficit of 3500 calories to burn one pound. That means you’d lose a pound in 70 days without extra effort.

  • Boost your metabolic rate and improve your weight loss by eating more protein. Protein requires more calories to digest, so it boosts metabolic rate by as much as 30%.
  • Drinking 17 ounces of water also increases metabolic rate by 30% for an hour. Besides boosting metabolism, it makes you feel fuller so you eat less. Green and oolong tea or coffee also boost metabolism.
  • Get adequate sleep. Lack of sleep increases the risk of insulin resistance, boosts the amount of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and decreases your metabolism.
  • Eating a healthy diet, getting adequate sleep, and building muscle tissue are all healthy lifestyle changes that can boost your metabolism and make weight loss easier.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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Benefits Of Different Superfoods

Benefits Of Different Superfoods

Published by on July 25, 2023

There are many benefits you can reap from eating certain superfoods. Eating superfoods occasionally, or even daily, won’t prevent illness or do you a significant amount of good if the rest of your diet consists of highly processed food, but is a great addition to a healthy diet. Superfoods include foods high in nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Some have significant protein content, while others have healthy fat or fiber. Superfoods offer more benefits per calorie than other foods.

These superfoods are “berry” delicious.

Whether you choose blueberries, goji berries, acai berries, elderberries, or other types of berries, you’ll get a boost of nutrients with every handful. Blueberries contain potent antioxidants from the anthocyanin it contains. Anthocyanin is what gives the blueberries their dark blue color. They are high in vitamin C and dietary fiber. They can help prevent heart disease and type 2 diabetes, plus boost memory and delay age-related cognitive decline. Goji berries have 12 times the antioxidants as blueberries. Acai berries provide antioxidants and B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. Elderberries are also high in antioxidants and offer similar influenza-blocking benefits as Tamiflu.

Coconuts aren’t indigenous to the islands, but they flourish here.

You can include coconut meat, oil, or coconut water in your diet to reap benefits. However, you do have to be careful in some instances. While the oil is beneficial for gut health and weight loss, consuming it daily can increase bad LDL levels. The flesh provides vitamins A and E, plus protein fiber, and other nutrients. Coconut water is a good recovery drink after a hard workout. It’s the electrolytes and carbohydrates that help boost recovery and delay fatigue.

Sweet potatoes are often overlooked but have all the nutrition to qualify as a superfood.

Most people think of baked sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows or brown sugar, which isn’t healthy. Luckily, they taste even better grilled, baked, or broiled. They contain high amounts of antioxidants, fiber, manganese, pantothenic acid, vitamins A, B6, and C, potassium, and niacin. They provide heart-healthy benefits and can improve eye health, boost the immune system and boost memory.

  • A juicy tomato can help prevent certain types of cancer. Those benefits increase the longer you cook it. Cooking tomatoes cut about 10% of the available vitamin C but increases the lycopene that helps prevent prostate cancer. Tomatoes reduce the risk of metabolic disease, diabetes, and heart disease.
  • Kale is one of the superfoods often touted as a must for a healthy menu. It has fiber, vitamins K, C, and A, calcium, and potassium. Eating kale helps prevent cognitive decline and can help with weight loss.
  • Beets are classed as a superfood due to many of their nutrients. They’re high in nitrates with help lower blood pressure and reduce insulin resistance.
  • Drinking green tea with lemon several times a day can extend your life. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants. It also contains catechins that help promote weight loss.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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Food That Boosts Your Immune System

Food That Boosts Your Immune System

Published by on July 15, 2023

The healing sunshine and active lifestyle of people in Honolulu, HI, can help improve immunity, but food can boost your immune system, too. It’s not just what you eat that can help prevent illness, but also what you don’t eat. Sugar, for example, causes inflammation and competes with vitamin C for entrance into the cells necessary to fight infection. No matter how healthy a food is, if you lace it with sugar, it blocks the immune system. Other immune blockers are highly processed foods and excess alcoholic beverages.

Foods high in vitamin C are immune boosters.

As noted earlier, sugar blocks the benefits of vitamin C, so why is that important? It increases the white blood cells that fight infection. Hawaii has many fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C, which include papayas, mangos, pineapple, red bell peppers, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. If you want to boost your vitamin C intake, switch to apple bananas instead of Cavendish. The apple banana has about ¼ your daily requirement for vitamin C, while the cavendish banana has only 15% of the required daily amount.

Pile on the herbs and spices.

Herbs and spices not only make your food taste delicious. They add nutrients without adding extra calories. Adding garlic to your dishes or onions can help boost your immune system. They have antibacterial properties. It’s the allicin in garlic and onions that is the immune booster. Scientists are investigating whether garlic could be potentially used to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Sage, oregano, rosemary, honey, ginger, and clove all provide a boost to your immunity.

Make an immune-boosting parfait.

Berries are particularly potent for fighting off colds and flu. Choose elderberries, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries to boost your immune system. They’re antimicrobial, antibacterial, and anti-fungal. Recent studies show they also help fight viruses. Elderberries are the most potent for preventing the flu and were as effective as Tamiflu but work in different ways. The good news is you can give influenza a double whammy by using them together. Combine berries with two other immune boosters, yogurt, and almonds, and you have the perfect dessert to boost immunity.

  • Tuna and other fatty fish provide omega-3 fatty acids that can boost immunity. Other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids are flaxseed, walnuts, and chia seeds.
  • Nuts, shellfish, legumes, and seeds are just a few foods higher in zinc. Safe sunning for vitamin D and a boost of zinc-containing foods can improve your immunity.
  • The bacteria in your gut act like a second immune system. Eat foods that help it function at its best. Fermented food like kefir, yogurt, and pickles are a few. Eating foods high in soluble fiber act like probiotics, to feed the beneficial microbes.
  • Add a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to your menu for the benefits of the phytonutrients that can boost immunity. Drinking more green tea can also help, just as some herbal teas, like ginger tea does.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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Healthy Foods That Feel Indulgent

Healthy Foods That Feel Indulgent

Published by on July 5, 2023

When you think of healthy food, does your mind automatically turn to rice cakes and cardboard-tasting dishes that offer an unusual taste you can’t describe and don’t like? It doesn’t have to be that way. Healthy foods can tickle your taste buds and make you glad you’re eating. If you cut out sugar and foods with added sugar, your sense of taste will become keener. Fruits will taste sweeter. You’ll find they can do the trick in satisfying your urge for a sweet treat.

Start out with easy dishes, like banana ice cream.

Seriously, you can make ice cream without adding sugar or milk. It only takes bananas and any other ingredients you want to add. Slice the bananas into 1-inch coins and freeze them. Toss them in the blender and blend to a creamy consistency. You can use any type of bananas, add fruit, and even a few dark chocolate bits. Fruit ice is made the same way, except using a food processor rather than a blender. Frozen strawberry yogurt made at home is another healthy indulgence you and your family will love.

It’s all about texture and the salty taste.

Do you love fries? You can boost the nutritional value of fries and reduce the calories by making baked sweet potato fries with your favorite seasoning. Cut the sweet potatoes, toss them lightly in oil, and season. You can go simple by using salt, pepper, and if you like, garlic powder. You can bake it at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. They’re even healthier when baked in an air fryer. You cut the amount of oil used to a few tablespoons and cut cooking time in half.

If you love pasta dishes, improve their nutritional profile and cut calories with zoodles.

Zoodles are noodles made from zucchini. You also can substitute eggplant or zucchini strips, large portabella mushrooms, or butternut squash slices for lasagna noodles. If you want a delicious substitute for spaghetti, consider spaghetti squash. It’s hard to cut in half, but well worth the effort. Cut it in half, scoop out the interior, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle on garlic powder, and bake with the cut side down. Scoop it out when it’s fully cooked, and eat it, or top it with your favorite sauce. It’s divine.

  • Add more nutrients to your mashed potatoes. In a steamer, cook cauliflower and small red potatoes. Mash the two together for mashed potatoes with fewer calories and more nutrients.
  • You can increase the resistance starch in potatoes, rice, and other foods by cooking it, then cooling and reheating it. Resistance starch helps prevent insulin resistance, feeds healthy bacteria in your gut, and makes you feel fuller.
  • Marinate chicken pieces with the skins off, then bake. You’ll often find marinades from well-known chefs in the grocery store. Combined with a salad and baby asparagus, it’s a meal fit for royalty.
  • If you miss chocolate and want to include it in your healthy diet, freeze a half banana on a Popsicle stick. When the banana freezes, heat a few dark chocolate chips and dip the frozen banana. It’s a tasty treat that’s so good, you’ll swear it’s illegal.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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Is The Mediterranean Diet A Good Option For You?

Is The Mediterranean Diet A Good Option For You?

Published by on June 25, 2023

If you thought a Mediterranean diet was a strict diet with an outline of what to eat every day, you’d be wrong. It’s more of a term to loosely describe the diet of the 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean, just as the American diet describes the style of eating of most Americans. Since it encompasses so many different areas, the food varies, just as their economies, agricultural practices, and geography vary.

The Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease, strokes, and type 2 diabetes.

It includes whole grains, fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds. Animal products include fish, poultry, some dairy, and eggs. The main source of fat is olive oil and olives, but avocado oil, tahini, and grapeseed are also part of the diet. These foods contain heart-healthy fats. Certain spices and herbs are also used liberally in the Mediterranean diet. Garlic, well-known for its benefits for lowering blood pressure, basil, sage, rosemary, nutmeg, pepper, and cinnamon are all included. These all provide health benefits and flavor without increasing calorie intake.

Some of the benefits come from what isn’t in the diet.

The diet focuses on more fish and less meat. The fish includes fatty fish, high in omega-3 fatty acids. The meat is lean. Alcohol is consumed in moderation, but it mostly consists of a glass of wine. Processed food isn’t part of the diet. It includes whole-grain breads instead. Food with added sugar is limited. High-sodium food, refined carbs, processed meats, saturated fats, and sugary beverages are limited or eliminated.

The Mediterranean diet follows all the rules of healthy eating.

Eliminating trans fats and food with added sugar will make your diet healthier. The increase in fruits and vegetables and focus on fish at least once a week makes this diet healthy for almost everyone. Switching to whole grain products increases health benefits. The diet can reduce the risk of high cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and helps prevent heart disease and stroke. It can aid in preventing obesity and diabetes. The olive oil in the diet may aid in keeping blood vessels free of plaque.

  • Fruit juice is limited to moderate use, but whole fruit consumption is encouraged. Coffee, tea, water, and approximately a glass of wine a day are drinks recommended on the Mediterranean diet.
  • Eating in restaurants is tricky, but still possible. Choose several vegetable dishes with your food. Since the diet is more a concept than strict rules, some include potatoes, while others don’t. If they have whole grain bread, use olive oil, not butter, to top it.
  • The Mediterranean diet improves brain functioning. A study of people over 50 who followed the healthy eating pattern revealed it reduced the risk of dementia by 90%.
  • The Mediterranean lifestyle of socializing during a meal also proves to have benefits. It reduces stress and can lower blood pressure.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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Links Between Nutrition And Hypertension

Links Between Nutrition And Hypertension

Published by on June 15, 2023

If you’ve ever received the bad news that your blood pressure is too high, a suggestion of medication and/or a change in diet usually follows. You might not be able to control hypertension enough through nutrition, but in most cases, making changes can create a significant difference. Always discuss the problem with your doctor and if you’re on medication, don’t switch your diet without discussing it also. Don’t stop taking blood pressure medication unless your healthcare professional tells you to do so. With that said, there’s a movement toward using food as medicine. There are links between what you eat and your blood pressure.

Food higher in potassium and magnesium can help lower blood pressure.

Bananas have often been called nature’s beta blocker because of the potassium they contain. It offsets the sodium in the body and releases the tension on the vessel walls. Other foods higher in sodium include Swiss chard, beans, apricots, and lentils. Bananas are also higher in magnesium, just as green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and yogurt. Magnesium prevents calcium from moving into the arteries and heart. Calcium causes the blood vessels to constrict, while magnesium helps the arteries to relax and lowers blood pressure.

Nitric oxide can help relax blood vessels.

Whether you eat beets or drink juice, it can help lower blood pressure. It’s the nitrates in the beets that provide the benefits. The body converts them to nitric acid. It makes arteries more flexible and relaxes them, making them wide, which lowers blood pressure. In 2015, a study showed that a group that drank a cup of beet juice daily for 4 weeks had reduced their blood pressure by an average of 7.7 mm HG systolic and 5.2 mm HG diastolic.

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation.

Beets also contain beta lain. It reduces inflammation. Inflammation is linked to high blood pressure. Food with omega-3 fatty acids is also anti-inflammatory. They include salmon, tuna, and other fatty fish. They also include plant sources like flaxseed, walnuts, and soybean. Omega-3 fatty acids decrease the levels of oxylipins. These cause blood vessels to constrict, increasing blood pressure.

Switching from a sugary treat to berries for dessert helps your body in two ways. Food with added sugar causes inflammation that can increase blood pressure. Blueberries, strawberries, and others that contain the antioxidant anthocyanin help lower blood pressure.

The amino acid citrulline in watermelon can help lower blood pressure. The body makes several changes to the citrulline, creating nitric oxide to increase artery flexibility and relaxation.

You’ll get beta-glucan, a type of fiber, from eating oats. It helps reduce a marker of oxidative stress that occurs in hypertension. Combine bananas with Greek yogurt, add fruit, nuts, and toasted oats for a heart-healthy dessert.

Good nutrition provides all the nutrients you need to maintain good circulatory health, helps you lose weight, and prevents weight gain. Losing as little as five to ten pounds can have a beneficial effect on blood pressure.

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Lose Body Fat By Changing What You Eat

Lose Body Fat By Changing What You Eat

Published by on June 5, 2023

If you live in Honolulu, HI, and consume a traditional Hawaiian diet, you’re eating healthy. However, the diet of most people has changed dramatically. The changing diet has caused a problem with health and obesity. You can lose body fat by changing what you eat. You don’t have to go back to a traditional diet, you can simply make better food choices that are more nutritious and lower in calories. The ancient diet was 18% fat, but today, it’s 40% fat. It’s no wonder the island is plagued with obesity and conditions directly related, like high blood pressure.

Traditional Hawaiian foods are healthier options.

Before WWII, spam didn’t exist in Hawaii. The military shipped it to Pearl Harbor for soldiers. They brought so much to the island that there was a surplus after the war. The government allowed stores to sell it. Locals embraced it due to the low cost. It’s high in carcinogens, sodium, preservatives, and fat and has little or no nutritional value. Eating less processed foods, including traditional foods like poi, breadfruit, and fish, can help you lose body fat. Just switching from potatoes to breadfruit can help you lose fat while boosting your heart health. It also has a low glycemic rating.

Fat-burning foods are thermogenic.

Thermogenic foods require more calories to digest than most other foods. A few are close to a sum of zero. High protein foods, for instance, require about a third of the calories contained in foods for digestion. They also fill you up and keep you feeling full longer. High-protein foods often contain L-arginine, a metabolism booster. It helps boost HGH, which helps burn fat while increasing your energy level. Eggs, white albacore tuna packed in water, fava beans, and nut butter with only one ingredient, the nut, are high in protein and thermogenic.

Bananas contain potassium and can help burn fat.

If you want to lose weight, foods high in potassium provide benefits. Potassium does many things in the body. It’s a natural diuretic. It helps muscles recover, reduces the risk of heart problems, and helps create glycogen from glucose. Glycogen is held in the muscles and liver. If you don’t have enough, glucose goes directly to fat storage. When you eat foods high in potassium and combine it with exercise, you’ll burn fat while building muscle. Potassium also helps control sugar cravings. Foods high in potassium, besides bananas, include leafy greens, salmon, kale, and avocados.

  • Don’t forget healthy fat. It can help you lose fat. Food containing omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, grass-fed beef, and walnuts, help prevent insulin spikes. Coconut oil contains an MCT that helps shed belly fat.
  • Food high in magnesium helps boost muscle contractions during exercise, but they also help reduce insulin levels and keep your burning fat at its best.
  • What you drink makes a difference. Sugary drinks should be off-limits if you want to lose fat. Instead of soft drinks, switch to green tea, coffee, or water. All three fill you up and boost your metabolism. Green tea has well-known fat-burning properties.
  • Include beets in your diet. The betaine in beets boosts fat burning and reduces insulin resistance. Increase food with pectin, such as green beans, apples, and strawberries. Pectin blocks fat accumulation.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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Complete Strength Workouts Without The Gym

Complete Strength Workouts Without The Gym

Published by on May 25, 2023

It takes more than the occasional run to stay fit. It requires all types of training, cardio, flexibility, strength, and balance. Most people know how to do cardio and flexibility stretches at home but wonder how to do strength workouts without the gym and all the equipment. It’s easy to do, and we use a virtual approach to show how to turn your home into your own private workout arena. Getting to the gym isn’t always easy, so it’s the perfect way to get fit.

Strength-building exercises use resistance to build muscles.

Strength training uses resistance to tax your muscles and cause microtears. As the microtears heal, they form additional muscle mass that’s stronger. You need strength training to be fit but need to rest the muscles for 48-72 hours between strength workouts, providing time for the muscles to heal. Strength training helps you lose weight in several ways. It burns calories while you do it, continues to burn them after your end, and builds muscles requiring more calories for maintenance than fat tissue.

You have all the equipment you need for bodyweight exercises.

Gravity is your tool when you use the weight of your body for exercises. You’ll build strength and boost your fitness when you use the basics, push-ups, squats, lunges, planks, and sit-ups. These are versatile and can be modified for physical limitations or increased intensity. Modifying them also allows you to target specific muscle groups and work the muscles on different planes. You can combine bodyweight exercises to create a circuit that also provides an endurance workout. Learning the proper form is more important than the number of reps. Work on it first, then challenge yourself by adding reps.

An inexpensive tool for strength-building is the resistance band.

Building strength involves challenging the muscle to move against resistance and resistance bands provide that. They’re inexpensive and can be stored easily. Bands come in a variety of resistance levels, but those with a bigger range are the best. They let you increase the resistance more as you get stronger. Chest presses, rows, bicep curls, and leg extensions are three exercises you can do. You can even use them for stretching exercises.

  • If you like dumbbells, but can’t afford them, make your own. Fill plastic screw top water bottles with water or sand. You can adjust the amount of water or sand as you get stronger. Detergent bottles with an offset handle make a good kettlebell.
  • Homemade kettlebells make a useful strength-building tool. Detergent jugs and gallon milk jugs can double as kettlebells when filled with water or sand. The offset center is the key.
  • Combine weight with bodyweight exercises. Fill a backpack with books or heavy objects. Wear it as you do squats, burpees, or push-ups.
  • Some strength-building workouts don’t require a lot of space and you can do them while listening to TV. Television. Combine 30 seconds of a basic plank, 30 seconds of a side plant on each side, and 30 seconds of a reverse plank.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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Healthy Meals That Are Great For The Whole Family

Healthy Meals That Are Great For The Whole Family

Published by on May 15, 2023

Staying fit and eating wholesome, nutritious meals is a goal of many people in Honolulu, HI. Focusing on nutrition every time you eat can help prevent many of the serious conditions seen today. One way to ensure that happens is by serving and eating healthy meals. It can be quite a challenge, but one that’s well worth the effort. Nutritious meals can also be delicious. They can have eye-appeal, mouth-pleasing textures, and are perfect for both adults and children. Planning a week’s worth of meals and snacks makes it easier to keep your family on track to good health. Here are some ideas.

Start with pre-prepped vegetables.

Create bags of prepped vegetables ready to use for snacks and meals. Prepare celery, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and other vegetables. Slice them and store them in bags. They’re snack ready and easy to use for cooking. Combine them with lean sliced meat, mushrooms, bell peppers, or onions for stir fry served with brown rice. Sauté them with spinach, then scramble in eggs and top with feta cheese. Fill a pita, add lettuce, tomatoes, and other fixings, and you have another delicious meal that’s fun to eat.

Prepare fruit ahead.

What’s better than a cold cube of watermelon on a hot day? It’s hard to beat and kids are more likely when it’s in the fridge ready to eat. Prewash berries and grapes. Store grapes on the stem, which are indicators of their freshness. A green stem identifies fresh grapes, while a brown, shriveled one indicates you need to consume them quickly or pop them off the stem and freeze them. Frozen grapes make a refreshing summer treat and tasty ice cubes for cold water. Use the prepared fruit in salads, smoothies, or frozen and blended as an icy dessert.

Have a source of protein ready.

One of the cheapest protein sources is beans. They’re easy to rehydrate and store for a long time while dehydrated. Use a variety of beans for dips and salads or as a filling for healthy burritos or tacos. Boiled chicken provides several meals. The broth makes delicious soups. It’s the perfect way to use leftover veggies. Shred or cube the meat for chicken salad and other meals. Have lean burger patties frozen and ready for a quick meal. Thinly slice leftover beef and use it for stir fry, Kung pao, fajitas, or other healthy beef recipes and serve with quinoa or brown rice.

  • Find the best combination of healthy foods that your family loves. You’ll be surprised at how creative you can get. You can boil eggs ahead for snacks or egg salad for a quick meal.
  • Eating is fun when you try something new, like aquafaba. It’s the liquid from cooked beans. Use it in recipes as a replacement for egg-white, or whipped for meringue, chocolate vegan mousse, mayonnaise, or vegan butter.
  • Serving fatty fish once or twice a week can boost omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon steak, salmon stuffed avocados, salmon patties, and salmon pie are delicious additions. Tuna salad and tuna melts are also kid favorites.
  • Cut out white bread and use whole grains. Instead of pasta, try spaghetti squash or zoodles. Kids love the idea of these fun vegetables and willingly eat eggplant lasagna, spaghetti squash spaghetti, or creamy zoodles and meatballs.

For more information, contact us today at Hawaii Fit Camp!

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