Trainer Tip of the Week

The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels is with us again this week to share another slim-down secret.

“Always look for foods that are whole, meaning foods that came from the ground or had a mother. Then you'll get a healthy balance of protein, fat, and carbs throughout the day, and you’ll be getting the most nutrition for your calories!”

Sounds so simple, right? But American households spend 90% of their food budget on processed foods, according to Readers’ Digest.

Sticking to whole foods will help you avoid partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colorings, preservatives, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, salts, artificial flavors and trans fats.

Trans fats
Research shows trans fats cause 30,000-100,000 premature heart disease deaths in the US each year.

Replacing trans fats with good fats could cut your heart attack risk by a whopping 53%, according to RD.

But be careful. A food that claims to be trans fat free may in fact contain up to 0.5 grams of partially hydrogenated oils, a source of trans fats, according to WebMD.


Refined Grains
Studies show those who eat more whole grains have 20-30% less heart disease. But don’t take packaging at face value. WebMD warns a food that trumpets itself as containing whole grains may actually have more sugar than grains. To find the sugars, look for ingredients that end in the word ‘ose.’ Research suggests high-fructose corn syrup upsets the metabolism and raises the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Salt
75% of the sodium we eat is hidden in processed foods. And too much salt raises your blood pressure. So stick to 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day – less than a teaspoon of salt.



So go to Mother Nature for your next meal. She knows what's good for us.



My major downfall is Cool Whip Free:

Ingredients: WATER, CORN SYRUP, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (COCONUT AND PALM KERNEL OILS), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE (FROM MILK), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, XANTHAN AND GUAR GUMS, POLYSORBATE 60, POLYSORBATE 65, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, BETA CAROTENE (COLOR).

The first ingredient is water. That’s good … right??


What evil packaged food do you avoid?


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“Trainer Tip of the Week”