HOW NUTRITION PROS SURVIVE THE HOLIDAYS

nutrition pros, healthy holiday tips, holiday eating habits, holidays, holiday food, stay healthy during the holidays, q by equinox, nutrition, diet, health, body

Enjoy indulging (even more) with eight expert-tested tricks.

The holidays can present something of a conundrum for the hard-working athlete: Fitness devotees want to be able to relax and celebrate, but don’t want to set themselves too far back when a new training year is days away.

And according to experts, these concerns have merit when the holiday season is lengthy. “We often think in 24 hour periods of eating, but if you have a huge meal and eat an excess of calories on a certain day like Christmas, you’re not going to wake up the next day overweight,” says Ryan Andrews, R.D., a fitness and nutrition coach with Precision Nutrition. “However, if you do this continually over a month or more—some people start with Thanksgiving and end with New Years—well, that can add up to weight gain.”

Who better to ask about how to stay on track (and still have fun) than pros who make a living helping clients stay lean? Here, 10 tricks they rely on to survive the season:

1

Prioritize protein and veggies at breakfast.

“I always do this to make sure I’m not absolutely ravenous. A lot of people don’t eat before the big meal and then go overboard thinking they can have 4 pieces of pie instead of one.”

– Brian St. Pierre, R.D. a fitness and nutrition coach with Precision Nutrition

2

Halve your sugar content, and add some cinnamon.

“You’ll be surprised to see how good—and sweet—desserts still taste when you cut sugar by a 1/4 to a 1/2. Another trick is to add cinnamon. It enhances the sweet flavor and it improves sugar metabolism.”

– Jeffrey Morrison, M.D., Equinox Health Advisory Board member, founder of the Morrison Center in NYC

3

Alternate alcohol drinks with water and lime.

“The vitamin A in the lime will help your liver process the alcohol more efficiently.”

– Haylie Pomroy, nutrionist and founder of The Fast Metabolism Diet

4

Go vegan with some of your dishes.

“Then the choices on the table won’t all be full of creams, cheeses, and butters, plus it’s hard to overeat plant-based foods because they’re filling. Last year I took a cooking class and learned to make quinoa-stuffed acorn squash with crispy sage and a balsamic glaze—now it’s one of our holiday favorites.”

– Ryan Andrews

5

For dessert, choose an option with fat and sugar, rather than one with just sugar.

“The fat actually slows the rate of delivery of sugar into the bloodstream. Sugar spikes are what get us into trouble because the body naturally shuttles it out of the bloodstream and into the fat cells.”

– Haylie Pomroy

6

Mix a coconut-based egg nog.

“Trade the heavy cream for 1 part coconut cream and 1 part coconut milk. Coconut is full of medium chain triglyercides, a type of fat that’s more easily burned than others.”

– Jeffrey Morrison

7

Make pumpkin pie with almond milk and ground flax.

“Sub an equal amount of almond milk for evaporated milk and use an egg replacer. For each egg called for, just mix 1 tablespoon ground flax with 3 tablespoons warm water, then let it sit for 15 minutes. It acts as both a binder and an egg substitute.”

– Ryan Andrews

8

Detox the day after a big holiday meal by sipping 1-3 cups of  Bieler Broth .

“It contains adrenal-healing vegetables like parsley that help your liver process the toxins from alcohol as well as excess sugar so that it can be burned as fuel. The ingredients also aid in the production of bile salts, which help break down excess fats.”

-Haylie Pomroy

To view full article by Wendy Schmid please visit http://q.equinox.com/articles/2014/12/pro-holiday-tips?emmcid=emm-newsletter&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email%20member&utm_campaign=1214&emmcid=EMM-1214QWeekly12142015

HOW TO (REALLY) PREVENT A HANGOVER

how to prevent a hangover, hangover, drinking, alcohol, health, body, lifestyle, life, Q by Equinox

These expert tips will help you stave off post-party suffering.

New Year’s Eve has a striking contradiction: We stay up late to welcome the new year with buoyant toasts and our optimistic resolutions, only to squander our fresh start in bed with a headache and a case of the shakes. There’s only one way to completely avoid a hangover (hint: put down the bubbly and pick up the seltzer) and almost nothing you can do once you wake up and the damage is done. So, we talked to experts about what to do now to curtail the hangover pains and start 2014 off on the right track.

1

Choose Light Over Dark

The Expert: Alex Zimmerman, T4 National Manager at Equinox
The Tip: Stick to vodka and white wine and avoid dark spirits like bourbon, scotch and brandy.
The Science: It’s more than an old wives’ tale: Dark spirits have higher levels of congeners, the by-products of alcohol fermentation, which have been known to intensify hangover symptoms. You won’t be able to ward off a hangover entirely by drinking lighter booze (most of the symptoms are thanks to the ethanol, not the congeners) but you might feel just a bit better the next day.

2

Chase With Water

The Expert: Cassie Kipper, Fitness Manager, Tier 4 Coach and Registered Dietitian
The Tip: Have a glass of water between every alcoholic drink and, before you go to bed, chug a big glass of H20 with an electrolyte tablet.
The Science: Staying hydrated is the most important move you can make to help combat soreness and headaches that come with a hangover. Your secret weapon? Electrolytes, minerals that break into small, electrically charged particles when dissolved in water. These particles help regulate your body’s fluids and give your hardworking liver and kidneys a helping hand when it comes to cleaning out your blood stream.

3

Plan A Pre-Snack

The Expert: Marissa Lippert, nutritionist and founder of Nourish Kitchen + Table in New York City
The Tip: Have a green juice and a handful of nuts before you go out and, if you come home really tipsy, eat a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter before you hit the sack.
The Science: A green juice will help you hydrate and get antioxidants to give your body some love before you start drinking, and almonds will fill you up so you’re not drinking on an empty stomach (hello, headache). The toast with peanut butter has a balance of carbs and fat that can stabilize blood sugar to help avoid the shakes and headaches that come with alcohol’s sugar crash.

4

Pop Vitamin B

The Experts: Jeffrey Morrison, M.D. and nutritional health coach Melissa Wood of The Morrison Center in New York City
The Tip: Take B vitamins before you hit the town.
The Science: Your body works on overdrive to metabolize alcohol, a process that can deplete essential B vitamins and make it tougher to recover. Take a vitamin B complex with B-12 and B-6 that day to help avoid the fatigue and bad mood that can kick in the morning after.

5

Sweat Before You Sip

The Expert: Justin Jacobs, T4 Manager at Equinox Tribeca
The Tip: Hit the gym for a high-intensity workout this afternoon.
The Science: High-intensity training leads to a post-exercise metabolic boost, says Jacobs, which means your metabolism is working on overdrive for up to 24 hours after your workout session. This can help your body metabolize the alcohol in your system faster – even as you sleep – to make the next morning feel a bit better.

 

For full article by Merritt Watts please visit http://q.equinox.com/articles/2013/12/hangover-tips?emmcid=emm-newsletter&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email%20member&utm_campaign=1214&emmcid=EMM-1214QWeekly12142015

WHY TRAINERS LOVE THE LANDMINE

Personal training manager David Otey demonstrates the total-body prowess of this simple tool.

The benefits of this set-up go far beyond convenience. “The landmine utilizes torque,” says Otey. “Due to the space between your grip and the loaded plate, the intensity and muscular demand increases.” And as he explains, the design also ups the challenge on your core: “We often train our midsections to rotate, but the primary responsibility of the abs is resisting rotation; many of the exercises you can do with a landmine improve that skill.”

Otey proves his points with a challenging total-body workout (below). If it’s your first time using a landmine, he has one warning: “It’s deceptively difficult to keep the bar straight, so start conservatively.” (In other words, consider grabbing a lighter plate.)

For a strength-building session, perform 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps of each exercise in order, resting briefly between sets. To increase the calorie burn, complete the moves as a circuit.

 

 

(1) Front Squat: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold the end of the bar with both hands in front of your chest, fingers clasped and thumbs on tip of bar. Take a few steps back so your body is tilted forward slightly. Bend knees, squatting down low, then rise up to the starting position and repeat.

 

 


(2) Single-Leg Deadlift: Stand with feet together and hold the end of the bar with your right hand in front of your thigh, arm extended and palm facing left. Bend left knee slightly as you bend forward from your hips, extending right leg to hip height behind you as you lower bar toward the floor. Rise up to the starting position and repeat. Switch sides to complete set.

 


(3) Rear Lunge: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold the end of the bar with both hands in front of your chest, fingers clasped and thumbs on tip of bar. Take a few steps back so your body is tilted forward slightly. Take a big step back with your right foot and bend knees into a lunge. Step forward to starting position and repeat. Switch sides to complete set.

 


(4) Single-Arm Chest Press: Place the bar on the floor and lie to the left of it with right leg extended and left knee bent, foot on the floor. Grasp the end of the bar with right hand, palm facing left, and extend your left arm on the floor beside you, palm facing down. Extend right arm straight up, pushing bar toward the ceiling. Bend elbow to return to starting position and repeat. Switch sides to complete set.

 


(5) Kneeling Shoulder Press: Kneel on right knee with right foot on the floor in front of you. (Place a folded towel or yoga mat under your knee for comfort.) Hold the end of the bar with right hand in front of right shoulder, palm facing left. Extend right arm at a slight diagonal in front of you, then bend elbow and repeat. Switch sides to complete set.

 


(6) Landmine Anti-Rotation: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold the end of the bar with both hands, fingers clasped, at chest height in front of you. (Take a few steps back, if necessary, so arms are extended.) Keeping shoulders and hips squared forward, bring weight across your body to the right, then immediately bring it the left to complete 1 rep. Continue, rotating from side to side.

 


(7) Lunge to Standing Pivot Press: Stand facing the landmine with feet wide apart, toes pointing out, and hold the end of the bar with both hands in front of your chest, elbows bent. Bend knees and pivot right foot to the left as you rotate body and transfer bar to right hand; lunge to the left as you extend right arm. Reverse motion to return to starting position, then repeat sequence in the opposite direction (hold bar with left hand and lunge to the right) to complete 1 rep. Continue, pivoting from side to side.

 

For full article by Jeanine Detz please visit http://q.equinox.com/articles/2015/11/landmine-workout?emmcid=emm-newsletter&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email%20member&utm_campaign=1111&emmcid=EMM-1111QWeekly11112015