Should you eat in the evening?
August 29, 2020
Written By: Coach Mairead So many online sources might tell you that not eating in the evening is the key to weight loss or your health goals. Is this true and how does it actually apply to you?
First of all, my answer for most things is that IT DEPENDS. Everyone and everyone's life and eating are totally different. There is no way to give you an exact black and white answer for most nutrition questions. Let's break this down to make some more sense.
Is eating later in the day bad for you? No. Calories do not act differently if they're taken in at 8pm instead of 5pm. Eating the same amount of food later in the day will not impact your health goals.
The exception is if you are someone who experiences reflux or poor sleep from eating later in the day. If that's the case, figuring out what timeline for evening meals works best for you is key. The goal isn't restricting food in this case, the goal is feeling good when you go to bed and having a good sleep.
Lots of people find they do see improvements in their health goals when they limit evening snacking if they are someone who often eats large amounts of treat food mindlessly. When that's the case, that improvement is from limiting this habit, and isn't related to the actual time that it's happening.
If you think evening snacking is a big issue for you and you want to change it, booking a Nutrition Consultation is the perfect time to address that and set you up with some strategies.
Are there people who would actually benefit from an evening snack? Of course! If you are someone who eats dinner earlier and goes to bed later, having a snack sometime in the evening can help you avoid waking up in the middle of the night or the morning feeling overly hungry. If you're someone who works out in the morning and doesn't like to eat in the small amount of time you have before a workout, an evening snack can mean you're not as hangry by the end of the workout. If you're someone who is very active and has super high energy needs, that evening snack could be the top-up you need to make sure you're recovering properly.
If you're curious about whether your meal and snack timing is ideal for you, let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com
or click here
to learn more about our Nutrition Services!
Written By: Coach Kelly Have you heard... "You’re too old, you’re too tired, you’re too X Y Z" to workout? WRONG! Did you know that the more you move, the less likely you are to experience injuries? The less likely you are to trip, slip or fall. If these things happen, you are less likely to be severely injured. We’ve worked with many different people over the almost 10 years that Degree has been around; hip replacements, knee replacements, strokes, members that experienced an injury outside of the gym but still came to class, etc. We often put ourselves in a box that “I can’t because…”. But, is that true? What if you just tried? Moving keeps us healthy and independent; movement also promotes recovery when done appropriately. So, how do you stick to a fitness routine? Why does it matter? And believe me, it really, really does matter. Keep it simple. I saw the most changes in my fitness/health when I ate well and exercised regularly. I didn't starve myself, I didn’t do any low fat things, I didn’t have to take any extra supplements. I just ate well, trusted the process and moved my body. Now, keep in mind things are different for me than they were 3 years ago; I have a 14 month old and a 3 year old at home. Am I tired? Yep! Do I always get a full nights sleep? Nope, never. Do I have more stress now than then? 100%. However, my why stays true. I want to grow old with power and strength. I want to keep up with my boys and beat them in races as long as I can. I don’t want to be at the Doctors office all the time (even though our local Docs are amazing!). I don’t want to be at the mercy of someone else for my own health. You have the amazing opportunity to keep moving. You have friends, family, jobs, groups and an entire world that wants you to feel good. To feel happy, healthy, strong, and not question if you can go for the bike ride, or be scared to take the stairs. The next best thing you can do if you’re stuck? Ask for help. When our cars break down we take them to the mechanic. When we need a teeth cleaning we go to the Dentist. When we have a tax question we go to the accountant. The world is saturated with health and fitness fads - most of which isn't always the best. Ask for help - Talk to a Coach that can help you leaf through what Google is telling you to find out what will actually work for you, and help you create a habit that works. Ready to get started? Email info@degreefitnessseaforth.com or call/text 519-441-7492!
Written By: Coach Kelly Coach Kelly here - I’m here to talk today about what fitness really is, and what really matters. It’s not how much you weigh; It’s not your clothing size; It’s not have a 400lb deadlift; It’s not having 6 pack abs… Before we dive into it, I want to share my personal experience with fitness and how I’ve made it a non-negotiable. Something I’ve carried with me through highschool, college, working long hours as a home-care PSW, joining a gym (Degree!), managing the gym and then running it. In all those years this included job changes, moving, having two babies close in age, and all the ups and downs that life throws at us in between. I got into fitness because my sweet Mother was doing Pilates videos (the VHS kind) at home. It looked fun, I liked hanging out with my Mom so I gave it a try. That was the catalyst. I felt empowered; I felt strong. I was never athletic in high school, I didn’t play sports until grade 11 when a friend of mine introduced me to cheerleading. That became a big part of my life. Through this as well, I tried allll of the things to lose weight, get smaller, find my 6 pack… you name it. I tried the low fat everything fad; I tried the ice cold water with lemon first thing in the morning; I tried the Raspberry Ketones; I tried not eating after 8pm; I tried cheat days etc... And guess what? Nothing changes. Literally nothing. I was spending money on things that didn’t work; I was letting the magazine covers and the celebrities tell me that to be fit I needed to be smaller, I needed to weigh less. Before we get into what actually worked, let’s talk about what doesn’t and get Myth busting Myth 1 Your weight is the most important factor in your overall health and fitness. WRONG! Your bodyweight is simply everything that you are; your bones, muscles, organs, blood, hair, eyeballs, if you’ve gone to the bathroom or not, the food you’ve eaten, the water you’ve drank. You’ve probably heard of BMI (Body Mass Index). This is troublesome as it only measures your height compared to your weight. The shorter you are and the more you weigh, the higher your BMI, thus, we are labeled overweight when we really might not be. The taller you are, and the lower your weight, your BMI is lower, thus, we are labeled as healthy, when we really might not be. The markers that we want to look at (unless there is a medical reason to look otherwise) are things like muscle mass, body fat percentage and other non-scale markers like how stressed you feel (or not), how are you sleeping at night, are you happy? Our genetics play a massive role in our body type; understanding this can also help us work with our body instead of against it. There is a point at which your body will be at a weight it is likely to stick around unless drastic changes are made. For most of us the changes needed are simply unrealistic and. There are many important factors to your overall health & fitness, but bodyweight usually is not the one we need to focus on. Book your Intro Meeting by CLICKING HERE , or reply directly to this email if you're feeling overwhelmed, stuck or frustrated in your fitness journey. We can help!
Written By: Mairead, Registered Dietitian For many of us, fall brings a return to routine and a change in schedule. Maybe you have kids heading back to school, or maybe you have a more consistent work schedule after a summer of fun plans. Or maybe that old back-to-school energy just has you wanting to set some goals. Whatever it is, fall is the perfect time to get back on track with your fitness and nutrition goals! Check out these 5 ways you can work on getting back on track this fall! 1. Make sure you're drinking your water! Drinking enough water is a small step in the right direction. If you've had a busy summer, maybe hydration hasn't been top of mind! For most normal healthy people, aiming for 2-3L of water a day is a reasonable goal. If you're well below that, try aiming for just one extra glass a day and increasing slowly from there. Bonus: one small healthy change often leads to others. Drinking your water could get the ball rolling! 2. Do some meal planning! Meal planning doesn't have to be rigid or complicated. If you're constantly standing in front of the fridge at 6pm wondering what to eat, meal planning can fix that. If you're constantly stuck throwing out random ingredients you didn't know how to finish, meal plannign can fix that. If you bring home groceries but then don't know what to do with it, meal planning can fix that. If you're eating more take out than you'd like because you didn't have a plan, meal planning can fix that. Even thinking a day or two ahead can help you cut the stress at meal time! 3. Get realistic about what you can manage! Before you start overhauling everything, take a second to look at what this season really looks like for you, and what kind of health and fitness goals could be achievable. Maybe a return to routine means you can workout every day of the week now - fantastic! Maybe a change in routine means you need to explore different times to get to the gym and other ways of moving your body - also fantastic! Maybe you're home more this fall and will be cooking more - amazing! Maybe you're going to be busier and need to expore quick and healthy meal ideas - also amazing! Figuring out how to match your goals to your real life right now is key to actually making changes that stick. 4. Shop your kitchen! If your summer was busy, it's time to take stock of what's in your kitchen. Check your fridge, freezer, and pantry cupboards. Is there anything that should be used up that you can plan meals around in the next couple weeks? Are there staple items you count on for easy meals that you need to restock? Could you cut your grocery spending down for a week or two by trying to use what you have so nothing goes to waste? If you have the time for it, this is the perfect time to take stock of what you have and make the most of it! 5. Book a check-in or ask for help! Sometimes we just don't know where to start or what to do. Sometimes we're so busy living our lives that it's hard to see possible solutions to our health and fitness struggles. That's when it's time to ask for help. This might mean asking a friend for meal planning ideas or to set a regular time to go for a walk. It also might mean booking a No Sweat Intro at Degree to learn more about programs, checking in with your coach if you're feeling like something needs to change, or meeting with a Registered Dietitian to set some nutrition goals that will work for you in this season. There's nothing wrong with needing a bit of help! Looking for more personalized nutrition advice? Let's chat! Email mairead@degreefitnessseaforth.com for more information about our Nutrition Programs, or click HERE to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!