When trying to achieve weight loss in Tempe, gaining a balanced diet can be confusing. There is a lot to include and there are real moderated needs for protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and even calories. As most people know, quantity of calories is a major concern; but then, calorie quality is important, too.

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Good Calories, Bad Calories

All calories are not created equal; not all calories are evil—you need calories to live and have energy. A diet capable of supporting health and fitness is one that is packed with good calories. So what’s a ‘bad’ calorie? You might recognize it by another name—an empty calorie.

An empty calorie is a calorie with no nutritional value. It is a calorie largely based in fats and sugars devoid of vitamins, minerals, and important nutrients. When trying to achieve weight loss in Tempe, you should learn which calories are empty calories and try to avoid them.

Protein, carbohydrates, and fats are all macro nutrients. There are good sources of these needed dietary elements, but there are also a lot of bad sources that are nothing more than empty, useless calories.

Good calories and good sources of macro nutrients have necessary carbs, good fats, and proteins, and they also have micro-nutrients such as fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Useless, Empty Calories

The problem with empty calories is that they provide little to no energy, no restorative and constructive properties (for muscle, bone, and tissue), and add to fat stores. Very simply, empty calories have none of the necessary elements needed to support body function, workouts, and good health.

Fitness depends on having good sources of calories that also provide other needed elements and energy for working out. The right caloric sources will result in improved energy, enhanced muscle formation, and increased weight loss. Empty calories will negate these efforts, making it harder to achieve weight loss in Tempe.

How To Spot An Empty Calorie

In a hurried world it is easy to consume many empty calories throughout the course of the day and not even realize it. This can leave you feeling sluggish and thwart the best of fitness efforts. Many people trying to achieve weight loss in Tempe eat mainly empty calories and do not even know that they do it. So how can you easily spot an empty calorie?

First off, consider that all ‘junk food’ is empty calories. Avoid sugar-laden foods and refined grains (white flours). Eat natural sugars (fruits and vegetables) and whole grains. Avoid fried foods, candy, and sugary drinks (soda, but also sugary ‘energy’ drinks that are often nothing more than sugar and caffeine).

Also look out for beer and alcohol; these are sources of sugar and stored fats with nothing else to offer.

Depending on preparation, even good calories can turn empty quickly (fried foods and more). To really learn to quickly spot empty calories you need to get educated—talk to a nutritionist, your doctor, or your personal trainer. These professionals will give you the basics of good calorie consumption, help you balance out your diet and point you to reliable resources for more information about weight loss in Tempe.

Your health and well-being depend on your good diet. Reaching your fitness goals does, too. Many a person has found that simple dietary changes, a switch-over to good calorie sources rather than consuming empty calories, has made the difference between a stalled fitness campaign and reaching and exceeding fitness objectives.

Serving: Phoenix, Ahwatukee, Tempe, Chandler, Foothills and More!

A Tempe weight loss Expert Writes In the last few years, the term glycemic index has grown in prominence in Tempe weight loss and fitness circles. This is a relatively new tool for those that are seeking to improve their overall health and loose fat, and while there are plenty of Tempe weight loss and fitness experts that support incorporating the glycemic index in the diet, there are others that say that it’s not worth the trouble. In this article, we’ll learn more about the glycemic index, as well as its pros and cons, and what a Tempe weight loss professional can do for you!

Dawn Franklin’s Outdoor Bootcamp in Phoenix will help women of all ages reach their fitness goals. Serving women in Ahwatukee, Chandler, Phoenix and Tempe, Dawn’s Fitness bootcamp is a fun and interactive way to get in shape! Contact Us to get started today!

What is the glycemic index?

The glycemic index was developed by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto in the early 1980s. The purpose of his work was to discover the best kinds of foods for people that suffer from diabetes, a disease in which the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, the hormone responsible for breaking down foods like sugars and starches. Dr. Jenkins discovered that foods like potatoes, traditionally thought of as a complex carbohydrate, or food that was thought of as breaking down slowly, thus causing the blood sugar to rise slowly, actually lead to a rapid rise in blood sugar, which can be dangerous for a diabetic. This discovery prompted researchers to begin classifying foods by their glycemic index, or the change in blood sugar that happens after food that is high in carbohydrates is consumed.

How can it help me lose fat?

Following glycemic index diet, which encourages eating foods that have a low glycemic index and avoiding foods that have a high glycemic index, can work because eating foods that spike the insulin, or those that have a high glycemic index, and reduces glucagon, a hormone that metabolizes carbohydrates, making it harder to burn off fat. It sounds simple enough, and research has shown that it can actually work. A study was performed by researchers at the University of Sydney in 2006, in which 129 overweight young adults were split into four groups, and each group was given a different diet to follow for twelve weeks. Two diets were high in carbs and two were high in protein. In each group of two, one diet included foods with a high glycemic index and the other had foods that had a low glycemic index. Between the two high carb diets, those that followed the diet with a low glycemic index experienced nearly double the fat loss, with a very strong response in women. While those following the two high protein diets lost equal amounts of weight, there were differences in the level of good and bad cholesterol, with those following the low glycemic index diet coming out with better cholesterol levels.

The Negatives

To be honest, there aren’t any major reasons not to follow a diet including foods that have a low glycemic index, but there are some important things to keep in mind. First, the glycemic index is an average, and every body is different. It is impossible to predict how any given food will react in your body, so keep this in mind if you don’t see the results you wished for not happening right away. Secondly, the most important thing to keep in mind when changing your diet with the focus of losing fat is that you still need to burn off more calories than you consume – just because a food has a low glycemic index doesn’t mean that you can eat tons and tons of it. Finally, if you’re already following a Tempe weight loss and fitness program, throwing the glycemic index into the mix can make planning your meals much more time consuming and confusing that it needs to be.

The Bottom Line

Whatever your fitness level, a Tempe weight loss trainer will keep you motivated throughout your entire weight loss process. They will show you exciting and new exercise routines to keep boredom at bay! There is no better time than the present to hire a Tempe weight loss professional to make your goals a reality!

Serving: Phoenix, Ahwatukee, Tempe, Chandler, Foothills and More!