Ask Gilad

How Can I Avoid Eating Salt?

by Gilad

Question: If I quit using salt on my food altogether is that too much? I know the body does need some salt. 

Answer: Salt, like sugar, is an acquired taste. Salt, or sodium, is needed by the body, but in very small amounts, amounts that occur naturally in the non-processed foods we eat. Too much sodium in the body can result in high blood pressure, which unfortunately often goes unnoticed until it causes a stroke or heart attack.

 It would be virtually impossible not to get enough sodium in our diets...unless we were starving ourselves. Sodium is found in nearly everything we eat and is found in excess in processed and canned foods. Some of the worst culprits are:

CANNED SOUPS * FROZEN DINNERS * FAST FOODS * CHEESES * SMOKED AND PROCESSED MEATS * POTATO CHIPS * SALTED NUTS * CRACKERS * CATSUP * SOY SAUCE * PICKLES * OLIVES * MANY CEREALS * TOMATO JUICE * VEGETABLE JUICE * ETC.  

As you can see, it would be impossible to eliminate too much salt from your diet.

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Protein Shakes: Yay or Nay?

Question: Are protein shakes good for you?

Answer: A Protein shake can be a good supplement as it helps supply the muscles with protein. I would take the shake immediately after or even during a strong strength training workout. Keep in mind that a protein shake is a supplement not a meal replacement!

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Are There Good Carbohydrates?

Question: What is the difference between complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates?

 

Answer: The carbohydrates in your diet should be complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates should be avoided. Simple carbohydrates are sugars that are converted into glucose and absorbed by the blood too rapidly. They will give you an immediate shot of energy followed by a sudden loss of energy. Simple carbohydrates include sweets like candy, cookies and desserts and anything made with white flour...like sandwiches made with white bread, white rice, flour tortillas, etc. You may notice that after you have a lunch of a sandwich on a French roll you feel tired an hour later. That is because white flour has almost the same effect on the bloodstream as straight table sugar.  
Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are made up of starches and fibers, and break down into glucose slowly providing a consistent supply of energy for a long period of time. 
Foods high in complex carbohydrates include vegetables cooked or raw, potatoes, whole grain breads, pastas and cereals, legumes (beans, peas, lentils) seeds and nuts.

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How Many Days A Week Should I Exercise?

Gilad: How often should I exercise?

Answer: This is a general question so I will give a general answer.
No matter what kind of training you do, I recommend that you exercise at least 3 times a week. If your fitness level is high enough you should be exercising more often, maybe 5 or 6 times a week. But I do believe that everyone should take at least one day a week off from any exercise program. One day of complete rest for the body will vastly improve your performance on the other 6 days.

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How Can I Make My Workout Less Boring?

Gilad: I started a regimented exercise program 3 months ago and have managed to lose 20 pounds. I feel better than I have since high school. My problem is that I am starting to get bored repeating the same routine day after day. What should I do?

Answer: Your program can and should change from time to time based on your goals. You have lost the weight and met your first goal. Now it is time to have some fun. Set a new goal and change your routine. With a little imagination you will find that you can tailor your program to your changing needs.

For example, if your goal is running track, your focus would be on 3 or 4 track workouts per week and you would supplement these workouts with swimming, weightlifting, a bike ride or an aerobics class.
Be creative! Use the resources available to you and your healthy lifestyle will never get boring.

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What Does Being Fit Really Mean? (Part 2)

Two weeks ago Gilad responded to this same question by outlining the 5 components of fitness. (Read it HERE!) Today he explains how the body reacts to weight loss by diet only.

Question: I recently reached my goal of losing 35 pounds by altering my eating habits and counting calories. I didn't even have to exercise and I feel pretty good. Does this qualify as being fit?

Answer: Another important point to understand about dieting for weight loss is that if you lose weight that way once, and then, at a later date, try the same technique again, it will be much harder to do the 2^nd time.  Why? Simply because you've trained your body to react to what it perceives as 'starvation,' a decrease in the number of calories it gets each day. Our very clever bodies don't like that. They respond by activating their 'starvation response'.  Your metabolic rate goes down and consequently requires less food.  In this mode, your body will store anything it can as fat. So by repeatedly following low calorie diets you are teaching your body how to better store food as fat.

What you want to do instead is alter your fat to muscle ratio so you get more active muscle tissue busily burning calories.  Muscle tissue, unlike fat, actually burns calories while at rest. This means that increased muscle mass raises your metabolic rate so you can become a lean, mean fat-burning machine instead of a fat-storing body that is expecting to be starved.

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What Does Being Fit Really Mean?

Gilad: I recently reached my goal of losing 35 pounds by altering my eating habits and counting calories. I didn't even have to exercise and I feel pretty good. Does this qualify as being fit?

Answer: Some people equate fitness with losing weight and being slim. But slim people can be unfit. Other people equate fitness with lots of muscles. But muscular people, too, can be unfit. Some people think fitness means being able to do 100 push-ups or run a marathon or compete in athletic events.
What does it mean to be a fit person? It means that you possess each of the 5 components of fitness: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and low body fat.
You felt a sense of accomplishment when you reached your weight loss goal. Now it is time for you to discover the joy of an active lifestyle.

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Why Should I Continue To Workout?

Gilad:

I would like to be the good-looking, confident, successful guy that is in great shape, but I just can't seem to get it done. Everything I do is a chore. Exercising makes me uncomfortable. I just don't have much confidence in myself. Why does everything have to be so difficult?

Answer:

Finding out you have the perseverance to stick with an exercise program is a powerful discovery. It means that you possess a tool that can get you through some of the toughest times of life. You see, the strength you develop by sticking to your exercise routine, (even if you don't feel like doing it that day, or even if there are other things you would rather be doing) is the same strength that gives you control over other areas of your life.

Exercising regularly gives you a wonderful sense of self-control and boosts your self-confidence and self-esteem. Let's be honest, it takes self-discipline to exercise regularly...especially in the beginning when it feels uncomfortable, and your muscles get sore easily, and you think that everybody else is so much more advanced than you are.

But people who have done it - people that have gotten past this first stage - all have similar stories to tell. People who set and achieve physical goals discover time and time again that by tapping into their powers of perseverance and strength to do so, they suddenly realize greater success in other areas of their lives, whether it's building a stronger marriage or advancing in a career.  

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Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Coping with Sweet Tooth and How To Overcome Your Downfall

Gilad: I try desperately to eat healthy but 50 years of habits are hard to break.  Typically for dinner I will prepare a big salad, some type of lean meat, fish or chicken, a vegetable and starch.  Everything is good until later in the evening when I start to crave cookies or ice cream.  Do you have any tips to get me out of this cycle?

Answer: There are some very simple practical things that you can do to help yourself. 

You sound like you are using fresh ingredients in your meal preparation, but dinner is not the only meal you eat during the course of a day.  Avoid processed foods as much as possible because they are major sources of excess sugar, salt and preservatives.

Do not add salt when you are cooking.  Never add salt until you have tasted your food and are certain that it needs some....and then use 'lite' salt that is only half salt and half potassium chloride.

If you cook or bake at home try reducing the amount of sugar in your recipes by half.  The resulting product will still be delicious and, in most cases, you won't be able to tell the difference.

And finally, if cookies and ice cream are your downfall, don't keep them in the house.  Resist the urge to buy them when you are at the grocery store.  Try substituting fresh fruit.  Make sure you have plenty on hand.  Fruit is just like a dessert but with all those extra vitamins and minerals along for the ride.

Keep in mind that your food is the fuel your body runs on.  When you are deciding what to eat think to yourself, "What food will give me lots of energy and make me feel good if I eat it?"  The more you ask that question the better you will eat. 

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Discover Your Inner Athlete

Gilad: I have always wondered what it would be like to be in good shape but I have never been the athletic type. I need some motivation about how to start an exercise program. Can you help?

 

Answer: I believe we are all 'natural athletes', and our bodies are just waiting for the opportunity to exercise their innate physical abilities. However, somewhere along the way, many of us have forgotten these abilities because we didn't use them.

I make it a point to observe people that are just starting to exercise or participate in sports for the first time in their lives. It is beautiful to watch people that are setting and achieving goals for the first time.

Whether we build a castle on a hill or grow a rose in the back yard...whether we win an Olympic gold medal or make the cut on our bowling team, it's all about achievement! And achievement is about putting energy into motion!

Now get out there and discover your 'inner athlete'!

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Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.