health

FU IIFYM

This week’s episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast kicks off with a ton of exciting Elemental Training Tampa news. Shannon and I talk about a pair of diehard ETT personal training clients, the date for our next group training session and recent/future equipment purchases. You may not realize it but if you’re reading this you are a part of the ETT community. First off, THANK YOU and please feel free to check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

In addition to our ETT updates, Shannon and I go in-depth on a crucial vitamin that most Americans are deficit in, Vitamin D. Known to most people as the “sunshine vitamin”, vitamin D plays a large part in variety of bodily functions including creating strong bones. Thanks to an infographic provided by the great Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Shannon and I let you know about the possible reasons behind the current deficiency statistic, the possible side effects of being deficit and what you can do to avoid this deficiency.

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Image courtesy of foundmyfitness.com

Last but certainly not least, we dive into the topic that spawned the title for this week’s podcast. I heard about the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) diet from friends of the show Vinnie Tortorich and Anna Vocino. They were discussing a Yahoo article that was singing the praises of a diet that lets you eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your prescribed daily macronutrient count. That’s right. IIFYM claims you can eat fast food and still lose weight. We debunk this calorie counting fad diet and give our opinion on the best approach to eating healthy.

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Image courtesy of memecrunch.com

Thanks to you listeners, the podcast recently surpassed 1000 total downloads. I know of other podcasts that would immediately shut down if they had an episode that got only 1000 downloads, but we’re excited about this milestone. Primarily because it means you’re listening and more importantly you’re sharing the podcast. You can’t imagine how much that means to us. We deeply appreciate your support. If you haven’t done so already, please leave us a rating and/or review on your preferred podcast app (an iTunes rating/review would be especially awesome). Thanks again and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fu-iifym/id1121420986?i=1000375192544&mt=2

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/fu-iifym

The Return of the Macros Game

In my opinion, we have a lot of silly holidays in the United states, but Labor Day is not one of them. Labor Day is a celebration of the decades of hard work American laborers put forth to make the United States an economic powerhouse. Hopefully you get to enjoy a paid holiday thanks to all that manual labor, and what better way to spend your holiday than listening to a new episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast. NOW THAT’S A SEGUE!

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We kick off this week’s episode talking about the recent weather event we had to deal with. Hurricane Hermine screwed with several ETT personal training sessions, but luckily we were able to complete most of them without incident. We also discussed my new favorite Peloton cycle instructor Jessica King (pictured above) and get into a pair of nauseating smoothie stories. The smoothie stories are especially troubling because one deals with people catching Hepatitis A from contaminated fruit sold at a national smoothie chain. We go into more detail in the episode but if you’re looking for more information about this story check out this news article from the CDC.

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Last but certainly not least, everyone’s favorite nutritional trivia game makes it’s long awaited return to the podcast. That’s right! The Macros Game is back, and we’ve got a special Labor Day edition for you. Shannon quizzes me on the macronutrient content of several Labor Day cookout staples. Make sure you play along at home and send us your scores. In addition to your scores, we would really appreciate you all giving us a rating and/or review on iTunes. Help us spread the good word of fitness and share the podcast with anyone and everyone. We appreciate the support and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-return-of-the-macros-game/id1121420986?i=1000374926964&mt=2

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/the-return-of-the-macros-game

 

What’s on the Menu

This week’s edition of #whatiatewednesday focuses on the importance of bacteria. I imagine that when most people think of bacteria, they think of something dirty like the bathroom door handle or the floor of a fast food restaurant. The strains of bacteria I’m referring to are contained within our bodies and our food. Maintaining the appropriate amounts and types of certain bacteria within our gut can affect our mood, cognitive function and longevity (source). One dietary source of “good” bacteria that I pack in my lunch everyday is greek yogurt. I combine 1 cup of full fat Greek yogurt (20g of protein + beneficial strains of bacteria) with blueberries (antioxidants + phytonutrients) and ground flaxseed (omega 3 fatty acids) to create a nutrient dense mini meal that satisfies all the macronutrient categories and helps me maintain a healthy gut.

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Our First Cryotherapy Experience

If you’ve been a regular listener of the Addicted to Fitness podcast, you’ve heard me mention that I was going to take the podcast to my first cryotherapy session. Well the day has finally arrived! I hope most of you were curious enough to google cryotherapy if you weren’t familiar with it, but for those that didn’t, I’ll give you a short synopsis.

Cryotherapy was first used in Japan in the late 1970’s to help individuals with arthritis. Individuals would step into a open top chamber, like the one in the pic below, and be exposed to rapid, short-term freezing temperatures to drop the surface temperature of their skin. A short list of the benefits produced by this form of cold therapy include reduced muscle soreness and joint pain, reduction in pain sensitivity and a massive release of “feel good” endorphins (source). This episode goes into more details about the benefits of this innovative form of therapy, but if you’re still looking for more information, the cryotherapy center I used, Chill Therapy, has a ton of great information on their website and/or Instagram feed.

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I want to thank Brian from Chill Therapy for agreeing to let us podcast from his facility. I said it on the podcast but I’ll say it again, he runs a top-notch, state of the art facility and I can’t wait to go back. I truly enjoy trying out the newest health and fitness trends like this and I love taking you all along for the ride. If you have a suggestion on the next “hot thing” we should try on the podcast, please leave us a comment below. Also, if you have an extra second this week, please leave us a rating and review on iTunes. I hope you enjoy this episode and stay healthy this week folks!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/addicted-to-fitness-podcast/id1121420986?mt=2#episodeGuid=efc715e4012aa8ca06766c0418a7a2f0

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/our-first-cryotherapy-experience

Bone Broth, Plant Protein & Meal Prep

Guess who’s back, back again. Shannon’s back, tell a friend.

Sorry about that blatant and tacky rip off of the great Marshall Mathers, I’m just excited about Shannon’s return to the Addicted to Fitness podcast. She returns just in time to help me review a pair of beef related food products. I try a cup of beef bone broth, procured from Growing Rootz (a Tampa natural & organic food purveyor), while Shannon sips on a fruit and veggie smoothie containing Great Lakes beef collagen protein powder. We analyze the nutritional benefits of both products and let you know whether or not they’d be a good addition to your daily diet. After talking a whole lot of bull (get it), we go to the other end of the spectrum and discuss our favorite plant based protein sources. In addition to our preferred plant proteins, we list off a ton of favs given to us by listeners on Facebook and Twitter. Last but not least, we dive into our weekly ritual of meal prep. Shannon describes what we do every Sunday to help us maintain our nutritious diet day in and day out and we recommend a company that will help eliminate some of the burden of meal planning & grocery shopping.

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I’m happy to report that after only two episodes this month, we have already surpassed the download numbers for June and July. That means you’re listening and more importantly you’re sharing the podcast. You can’t imagine how much that means to us. We deeply appreciate your support. If you haven’t done so already, please leave us a rating and/or review on your preferred podcast app (an iTunes rating/review would be especially awesome). Thanks again and stay healthy this week peeps!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bone-broth-plant-protein-meal/id1121420986?i=1000374410575&mt=2

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/bone-broth-plant-protein-meal-prep

What’s on the Menu

I’m back with another #whatiatewednesday post for you all. If you haven’t been living under a rock the last few years, someone has probably told you that avocados are good for you because they contain “healthy” fats (monounsaturated & polyunsaturated to be exact). But you may not know that 1 avocado has more potassium than a banana and 4g of protein with all 8 essential amino acids (source). They also include other important micronutrients like vitamin A, C, iron and calcium (source). These nutritional facts make them an important component of anyone’s diet, especially non-meat eaters. As you can see I like to dress mine up with a little red pepper & olive oil. I’m pretty fancy.

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From the Vault: Obesity is Beneficial to your Health?!

Not only is Shannon still recovering from her persistent cold but I’m smart enough not to make her podcast on her birthday, which was yesterday. Even though I gave her another week off I didn’t want to rob you all of her soothing voice, which is why I reached back into the ETT Wrap Show vault and pulled out Shannon’s podcast debut for this week’s episode. In addition to Shannon’s lovely voice, you’ll hear us discuss my personal weight loss story, mauy thai with Duane “Bang” Ludwig and a ridiculous news article that explains the “benefits” of being obese.

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I’m truly grateful for all the great feedback we’ve been receiving about the Addicted to Fitness podcast. We have a ton of great podcast topics in the hopper, but we’d still love to have your input on what we should address on a future episode. Also, we still need a few more reviews to get rated on iTunes so do us a solid and give us a review and when you share this episode, tell your friend to do the same. Thanks peeps!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/from-vault-obesity-is-beneficial/id1121420986?i=1000374139966&mt=2

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com

Peloton Cycle Review

The day has come. I didn’t think it was going to happen this early in the history of the Addicted to Fitness podcast, but it has. I’m referring to the first episode where I have to fly solo because Shannon has come down with a nasty cold. While Shannon recovers, I perform a live product review of our newest piece of exercise equipment, the peloton cycle. We’ve mentioned peloton on the past few episodes, but if you aren’t familiar with them, check out their promo video below.

I huff and puff my way through all the options the peloton cycle has to offer. Scenic rides, live spin classes, on-demand videos featuring DJs and exercise videos you can do off the bike. The big 20″ touchscreen display allows for easy user interface, and you can even chat with other peloton users. I won’t lie to you, the financial investment for the bike is substantial, but when it comes improving our fitness, I believe it’s money well spent.

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Reviewing fitness products is something I’d like to incorporate more into the podcast. If you have a product you’d like us to review, leave it in the comment section below. While you’re at it, please leave us a rating or review and share the Addicted to Fitness podcast with a friend. Thanks peeps!

Links to this week’s podcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/peloton-cycle-review/id1121420986?i=1000373856778&mt=2

Android: http://subscribeonandroid.com/addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com