Have a plan when you eat

321go • January 10, 2024

You are probably thinking that this is going to be about meal prepping but it’s actually not.

It’s more about what order you should eat your food when you are eating. It may sound strange but the order in which you eat your foods can have a profound effect on how your body responds in the way of digesting it.

Research has shown that the most that is affected is your after meal blood sugar. Other factors come into play as well but this what’s been studied the most.

What the research has shown is those who consume the protein dense foods first before the rest of the food have a lower blood sugar after. The conclusion to this effect is that protein digests the slowest out of any macronutrient so by consuming protein first, it slows down the absorption of rest of the meal and thus, minimizes the effect on blood sugar.

Personally, I follow this protocol for every meal but I structure it in a different way. Below is the hierarchy in which I consume my foods.

Protein – this helps minimizing the effects on blood sugar for after the meal
Fats – Fats are also slow digesting so this will further slow down absorption of other foods in the meal.
Vegetables/Low-Glycemic foods – Vegetables are high in fiber which minimizes the production of the hormones including ghrelin that are responsible for telling you that you are hungry.
Fruits -Although have high fiber, they are considered high glycemic but by this point, I’ve consumed foods that are both slowing down the absorption of the fruit so it won’t have a huge impact on blood sugar levels.
Refined Carbohydrates(If any) – I always leave the least nutrient dense foods last because by this point, I’m feeling pretty full so there won’t be much room to consume the refined carbohydrates!

In my opinion, the whole food diet approach is the best approach to eating since it will ensure I eat adequate amounts of protein, healthy fats, and fruits/vegetables to meet all my nutrient needs on a daily basis with minimizing exposure to preservatives and other additives that are harmful. Of course, there is room for flexibility around holidays and special gatherings but its really about what you are consuming 80% of the time.

As always, if you have any questions that are fitness and health related, I’m here as a resource to help you get healthier!

Coach Evan

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Don't Focus on Just Calories for Weightloss

February 11, 2025

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and deleteI preach this all the time about how we need to shift our focus from just looking for the amount of calories in the foods that we are deciding to eat to evaluating the nutrient profile and the amount of ingredients instead. Now, it's not inherently a bad idea to know how many calories you are consuming when you are trying to lose weight HOWEVER, when you look at the foods that are very nutrient dense and don't have many ingredients, usually those foods naturally have a lot less calories than the ultra processed foods you see in the grocery store(chips, cereals, etc.) with a few exceptions like olive oil(120 calories per tablespoon). It's not even just about the calories though. You want your body to function optimally right? You want energy. You want to maintain muscle mass. You don't want to suffer from indigestion. You want a strong immune system. You want to optimize the way your body burns body fat. The fact of the matter is that whole foods naturally will help with all of these because in order for your body to be in the best possible place, it needs the resources to do so. It needs a certain amount of macronutrients and micronutrients in order to function the way that it needs to so you can feel your best! This is what whole foods eating does! So long story short, focus on the QUALITY of the calories. Not just the calories. Consume single ingredient foods that are high in nutrients and you will not just see changes on the weight scale, but you will also feel better!

Meaningful Goals = Meaningful Results

By EA Fitness & Performance • January 3, 2025

It’s that time of year again. New Year’s resolutions. Packed gyms. New Year, New me. Lot’s of people have really good intentions of using the New Year as a way to refocus and reshape what they are doing in their lives within their health, career, and just overall personal development. A couple of issues that lead to north of 90% of failure of resolutions within the first three weeks of the New Year include: 1)Not enough meaning behind the goal. -Let me give you an example. The person that just says I want to lose 20lbs with no other reason probably will fail. You need a strong WHY. WHY is it important for you to lose that 20lbs? The why is what is going to get you through the days when you feel tired and unmotivated to take action required to reach the goal. In this case, not losing the 20lbs. Reality is that your extreme feeling of motivation in the beginning of the year will wear off. It’s human nature to stop doing something if there isn’t a good reason for it, which is why finding the deep meaning of your goal is extremely important to long term success. 2)No daily habits established -You need to know clearly what you are going to do and create a path that will lead to the success of your goal. It won’t go perfectly all the time but having a clear understanding of what you need to do is crucial for success on your journey! 3)Not embracing the process -You should embrace the actions you are taking to reach your goal. You should embrace all the things you are going to learn about yourself during this journey. This doesn’t mean you will enjoy every minute of it. What it does mean is that you get some joy out of the daily things you are doing to reach your goal instead of just focusing on the result(which you will get if you learn to embrace the process first). If you are thinking about your fitness goals, thats okay. Start with creating a meaningful goal, then establish daily habits, then when you are on your fitness journey, embrace the process and the results will follow! If you are struggling at any point of your fitness journey, feel free to reach out to us and we would be happy to get you on track! Evan