Monday Munchies for Frozen Yogurt!

Welcome to the first edition to…… THE MONDAY MUNCHIES!!

For all of you out there that love ice cream in the summertime this posting is for you.  If you live in DC or any other city dancing with the frozen yogurt craze, you can see those cute cups everywhere!

One of these cute places has moved into my neighborhood in a very convenient place to my home.  Instead of giving in like the hundreds of people I see walking around with their little cups full of goodness I decided to kick my habit and create my own fruity version that will keep my ass looking oh so cute in my new jeans.  While I havent yet created over a dozen flavors and toppings  I promise this is just as good and even a bit rewarding.

Greek Yogurt Smoothie #1

1 cup Greek yogurt  (lots of protein and good fat)

2 tablespoons heavy cream (makes it rich)

1/4 cup orange seltzer water (liquid so your blender doesn’t get mad)

1 cup frozen berries of your choice (use less if you are really watching your carbs, they can add up)

2 packets of Splenda, Just like Sugar, or Fiberfit

-Throw it all together. Blend. Eat.

This is my favorite at the moment when you want something a bit more sinful…yum!

Greek Yogurt Smoothie #2

1 cup Greek yogurt  (lots of protein and good fat)

2 tablespoons heavy cream (makes it rich)

3 tablespoons of cup cherry seltzer water (liquid so your blender doesn’t get mad)

1 cup frozen cherries

2 heavy sprinkles of cinnamon (more or less to your taste)

2 packets of Splenda, Just like Sugar, or Fiberfit

-Throw it all together. Blend. Eat

You can also check out Josef’s low carb ice cream recipes here!!

New Research: Aerobic Exercise May Make You A Fat STORING Machine

New research suggests that doing exercise in your “fat burning zone” will actually reduce the amount of fat that your body burns for the rest of that day.  A new study in the Journal of Applied Physiology had participants do 1 hour of cycling at 55% of their aerobic capacity only to find that “24 h fat balance was significantly more positive on [the exercise day] compared to [the non-exercise day].”

Local fitness expert Josef Brandenburg says, “this is what I’ve been telling my clients for years – aerobic exercise makes you fatter.”  Brandenburg hypothesizes that the body responds to exercise based on the type of fuel it uses.

In high intensity exercise like sprinting and weight lifting the primary fuel is carbohydrate.  Your body responds to carb-dependent exercise by making it easier for your body to replace those carbs (increasing your insulin sensitivity), and increasing your capacity to store carbohydrates (called glycogen).

With low-intensity, aerobic exercise – like that done in the study and during most people’s workouts – the primary fuel is fat.  Brandenburg thinks that burning fat as the primary fuel during exercise is the signal to your body to become better at storing fat, hence the results of the study.

He says your body responds by doing the opposite.  At the end of a resistance workout you are smaller and weaker than when you started it, but your body responds by doing the opposite – building you up in preparation for the next time it is stressed.

“Research in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition shows that resistance training shifts your body to burn more fat for the 24 hours after your workout unlike with aerobics.  I think that since body-fat is fundamentally regulated by the hormone insulin, the intense, carb-dependent exercise like resistance training makes you burn fat all day long because it reduces your insulin levels and improves your carbohydrate metabolism,” says Brandenburg.

To check out the study for yourself, click here.

For free info about what to do with this click here

Josef Brandenburg is 2010, Washington, DC  Personal Trainer of the Year Nominee for both Personal Fitness Professional Magazine and The Washington, DC Fitness Association, and author of “The Body You Want”. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a FREE copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here..

I’m worried because I’ve got too much energy!

That’s not something that you hear every day (or every life time – it makes most people happy), but the other week a client named Alyssa came in rather concerned because:

#1.  She was dropping fat too fast (she had dropped 2.5 inches off her waist in the first 2 weeks).

#2.  She had too much energy.

She was worried that maybe there was some kind of stimulant in the Atkins protein shakes that she had been drinking as mid morning and mid afternoon snacks.  I assured her that other than the coffee flavored ones, they have no caffeine whatsoever.

Low Energy & High Body Fat Are Actually Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Accumulating extra body-fat and having less energy are actually two sides of the same coin – insulin resistance.

If you are prone to gain extra fat, then you have at least some degree of insulin resistance.  Insulin resistance is when your cells can’t “hear” or don’t respond very well to insulin.  Usually this is only in your lean (non-fat) tissue.

Lets say that you had a healthy breakfast of bacon, eggs and spinach.  Your body will be running off of fat afterwards.  Then lunch rolls around and you have a sandwich.  The bread from the sandwich will unleash a flood of carbs into your bloodstream that must be dealt with.

In response your body will secrete insulin.  The insulin sends the fat that you were using for fuel before back to your fat cells for storage in an attempt to force your body to burn off the carbs because blood sugar is toxic if it gets too high.

The problem is that if your lean tissue (non-fat) has any level of insulin resistance then it doesn’t respond very well to the insulin and can’t do a very good job of taking in the carbs, so blood sugar remains elevated.

In this scenario your lean tissue is actually being starved by the act of eating carbs:  the fat that your lean tissue was burning is unavailable, and they can’t really do a very good job of taking in the carbs, so the lean tissue doesn’t have enough fuel.  Hunger is determined by how well your energy needs are being met.  So you are both tired and hungry.

Since your blood sugar levels remain elevated (because your lean tissue couldn’t handle the carbs), your body releases more insulin.  At this point the carbs (energy) gets sequestered away in the only tissue that can take them in – your fat.

Carbs make susceptible people fat, hungry and tired.

Josef Brandenburg is Washington, DC’s top personal trainer for busy people. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here.

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