3 Tips For Healthy Living on The Road With ESPN Analyst Paul Carcaterra

This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with my coach, mentor, and friend Paul Carcaterra.  I have known Paul for the last 15 years, and I’ve tried to model Paul’s best qualities in my own life.  He lives by his word.  He treats his employees like they are family.  And he tells it like it is, for better or worse.  I have always looked up to Paul, and he is one of the greatest people I know. 

In our conversation, I wanted to know how, while traveling for ESPN 100+ days a year, he stays in shape (Paul will be 45 this year).

Here are three tips from our conversation for surviving, and thriving, while traveling for work:

1. Pack Your Own Breakfast-Paul brings simple non perishable items with him while traveling for his breakfast.  Easy items like oatmeal, RX bars, and fruit are always in his carry-on.  Regardless of the hotel he is in, he always has one meal in his back pocket.

2. Enjoy Yourself, But Plank Ahead-Paul goes to some of the best eateries in the country, but before he does he plans ahead.  If he is in Iowa, and he knows he is going to be crushing some of the country's best BBQ, he makes sure the rest of his diet is on point in the day (no slip ups).  When he sits down to eat dinner, he enjoys himself.  The next morning, it’s back to work.

3. 40-45 Minutes Is All You Need For A Workout-When Paul first started traveling for work, he used to have fuckarounditis when it came to his workouts.  He would hit some triceps, maybe take a jog on the treadmill, but he was in the gym loitering around for over an hour.  These days, Paul has an intention of shocking his body and making 40 minutes in the gym a constant high intensity routine.  Body weight movements, dumbbells, treadmills, you name it, he’s getting after it.  If you aren’t going to give it your all, you might as well stay in your room and watch morning cartoons. As a bonus, Paul makes sure to workout first thing in the morning.  There are no excuses to not workout when everyone else is sleeping.  He also hates it when he has a workout hanging over his head for later in the day.

If you like these tips, give the rest of the podcast a listen by clicking the link below, or watching on the Floch Fitness Youtube channel.  If you like the podcast, please consider subscribing! I put out a weekly podcast that gives insight and information on all things training, health, and nutrition.

Thanks!

3 Carb Myths That Are Preventing Weightloss

With ketogenic and low carb diets in vogue, carbohydrates have gotten the worst rap out of the three macros (proteins, fats, and carbs).  It’s not uncommon for someone’s first step in weight loss is to cut their carbs.  Sure enough, that person loses some weight and concludes that carbs were the problem all along.  Not so fast my friend (In my best Lee Corso voice). 

The weight loss is most likely due to calorie restriction (reducing carbs without adding in extra fat or protein leads to a decrease in caloric intake leading to weight loss) and dropping of water weight (decreasing carbs causes the body to lose fluids, in the short term at least, due to osmolarity).  Reducing carb consumption in the short term will lead to some weight loss, but because of natural biological processes, the weight loss will not continue at the same rate, and the weight you have shed will most likely come back. Why? If we debunk some common carbohydrate myths, you’ll see.

1. Carbs make you gain weight. Weight gain is not due to carbs themselves, but from over consumption of large portions of any type of food, especially those that are high in calories.  Usually, when someone overeats on carbs it’s not even the carbs alone, but the combination with carbs and FAT.  I can’t tell you the last time I have seen someone sitting around eating entire white potatoes dry.  But slap on some butter/sour cream or deep fry those bad boys, and you can eat them all day. 

The type of carbs someone takes in is also very important.  Sugar is a carb (think gummy bears) but so is a sweet potato.  The difference is one is made up of starch and fiber, and the other is a refined sugar.  Refined sugars are much easier to consume, which allows a person to over consume them more easily without getting full.  Complex carbohydrates (like whole grains, potatoes, and some legumes) are much more dense and have fiber (which makes you feel full) along with vitamins and minerals.  So no, carbs won’t make you gain weight magically.

2. Don’t Eat Fruit, It’s Got Too Much Sugar: Most of the time, I don’t have a problem eating most fruits, as long as there's some kind of portion control.  That being said, most fruits are almost impossible to over consume like apples, oranges, berries, and other high fiber fruits (tropical fruits are another story).  People run into trouble when they cut out the whole chewing and digesting steps and go right to juicing.  Juicing strips the fruit of the fiber and condenses the sugar from multiple portions.  For instance, it takes 36 oranges to make a gallon of orange juice.  That’s three oranges for an 8 oz. glass.  Imagine sitting down and eating three oranges, it would make you pretty full, right? Not only is an 8 oz. glass of orange juice not satiating, it spikes your insulin and causes you to crave more sugar.  Portions of fruit are fine, stay away from juicing.

3. You Shouldn’t Eat Carbs At Night: All carbohydrates are processed by your body the same way, no matter what time of day it is. There is no evidence to support that eating carbohydrates at night will promote unwanted weight gain. In fact, if you have issues with sleep, consuming complex carbohydrates with dinner two hours prior to bed can improve sleep for individuals.

I hope that clearing up some of the confusion allows you to utilize carbohydrates for what they are, a nutritional tool for better health.

Looking to lose some weight and don’t know where to start?  I’m here to help.  Click the link below to set up a free assessment and let’s move toward a healthier diet and lifestyle together.

Stop Making These Dieting Mistakes...

The problem is that there is an abundance of information on the internet about the “perfect diet,” which causes people to feel overwhelmed by options. At Floch Fitness, I have helped hundreds of people attain and maintain weight loss, and I want to help you too!

Here are my most common dieting mistakes…

1. Inconsistency

Unfortunately, eating really well during the week doesn’t make up for binging every weekend. Most clients I work with are frustrated because they work really hard to stay on track Sunday - Thursday, then “let it rip” on the weekends.

You really need a plan that that promotes consistency. Have a treat on the weekend, then move on. Don’t go completely overboard and have to start over on Monday.

 2. Too Restrictive

You don’t have to cut any food group out of your diet to see lasting results. If your diet has more foods on the “can’t” list than the “can” list, it isn’t sustainable. Focus on what you can have; healthy substitutions add up and can make all the difference.

Here’s the truth: there isn’t a quick fix. It’s hard work. It takes time to change your habits and take control of your health.

 3. Not Tracking Accurately

Tracking progress shows success, and success leads to motivation. I know that clients are 50% more successful when they track their food, yet this is one of the toughest things to get clients to do.

If you are just starting, jump on a scale and test your weight and body fat percentage. Grab a tape measure and at least measure your waist circumference (around your belly button). Then download MyFitnessPal and just take an inventory of what you are eating.

Do this for two weeks, then retest your weight and body fat. See what you can accomplish by just starting to track!

 4. No Support

We understand it is tough to do by yourself, which is why I have spent the last 10 years working with and learning from clients on what works, and what doesn’t.

When I look at people who were initially successful but then slip back into old habits, they tell me it was gradual. They found themselves with their clothes getting tight again and want something that is simple and sustainable.

If you know you have a competition or race coming up, you are more likely to train harder. When you have a nutrition coach providing support and accountability, you are more likely to be successful.

 5. Becoming Paralyzed/Getting Stuck

The internet and social media have created thousands of overnight "nutrition celebrities" and "experts". With so much conflicting information, and endless options, its easy to become overwhelmed and just go back to what we were doing before - and if we are trying to lose weight, what we were doing before probably wasn't working. Don't let your fear of choosing the wrong plan overwhelm you to the point of inaction. The truth is, the science behind nutrition and behavior modification goes well beyond a picture of someone with abs or a 7-day detox. Don’t fall into the “Diet Fad Trap!”

If you are falling for one or more of these mistakes, Floch Fitnes is here to help! Click the link below to set up a free assessment and we’ll put together a nutrition program that is tailored to your needs. Don’t wait, sign-up today!

Are You Eating Enough???

If you don’t eat enough, you could be hindering weight loss…

Your Weight Isn’t Budging- This is one of the most paradoxical symptoms of someone who is undereating and it often goes hand in hand with overtraining. Most clients that I work with are active (workout 4-5 days per week at least 1 hour per training session). These individuals are also active in their daily lives, and tend to eat pretty clean. It’s not until we take a 5 day food log they we determine they are on an extremely low-calorie diets (around 1,000 to 1,200 calories per day). The combination of high intensity exercise and extremely low calories leaves clients perplexed.

For good reason, they are extremely frustrated that their weight isn’t changing; for some of these clients, their weight has actually been increasing since they dropped their food intake and started working out more. Many of these clients are also eating a very low carb diet with the goal of losing weight quicklys (we’ll talk carbs later this week).

We’ve been trained to believe that the body is a machine, and we can input and output our calories in a way that will cause weight loss. So it’s understandable why these clients would expect to see weight loss from a significant caloric deficit like that. But the fact is, they simply can’t lose the last 15 to 30 pounds no matter how little they eat. Why is this?

While a short-term, moderate caloric deficit can lead to sustainable weight loss (think 300 to 500 calories per day), much larger deficits induce changes in your body’s metabolism in order to keep your body in a homeostatic balance. Your body does not like major, drastic changes, and it will make modifications to your thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormones in order to reduce your overall caloric output.

This leads to a whole host of other problems including sleeplessness, lack of sex drive, injury, and so much more.

If your weight loss plan just isn’t working, you are chronically fatigued, always injured, or need to take a serious look at your diet, I am here to help. Click the link below to schedule a free assessment today and let’s work together to bring out the best version of you!

Easy Breakfast Option...

Breakfast. No other meal brings so much polarization to the nutrition clients that I work with. Many aren’t hungry in the morning and others say that they just don’t have time in the morning to get a meal in. Luckily, there are some awesome healthful options out there that take less than 2 minutes to prepare.

Pictured here is a product from RX Bar called RX A.M. Oats. Here’s the nutrition label:

As you can see, at only 250 calories, it provides a solid balance of proteins, fats, and carbs first your first meal of the day. If you are looks to cut cals, you can stick with adding just water and maybe some berries to liven things up. I am more active and need more calories so I opt for a more calories dense option where I add 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter (23g) and 1/4 cup of lactose free milk. This brings the calories total up to 520cals and bumps the protein up to 23g per serving. So, if you are someone who struggles to keep weight on, or are in a mass gaining phase, this would be a great option for you. Oh, and did I mention they taste great! Give it a try as RX A.M. Oats are available at most grocery chains or on Amazon.

If you need a personalized touch and accountability to your nutrition, I’m here to help!

Click the link below to set up a free nutrition assessment and let’s get you moving toward the best version of you!