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Should you ditch your calorie free beverages?
by: Meal Plans 101

If you ask those who drink diet sodas, they do so for one reason--to drink less calories, which could help avoid weight gain. But new research is challenging that theory. In fact, research from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio suggested the more diet sodas a person drinks, the more weight they are likely to gain. What gives? Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Why would diet soda make some people gain weight? There are only theories at this point but it may be as simple as people consciously eating more because they think they can. Maybe they are compensating in other areas, like ordering hamburger AND fries because there are no calories in the soda (rather than just hamburger). Of course, none of those options are great, but that's a different story.

The other thought is that diet soda may stimulate appetite causing people to overeat. There are still plenty of questions that researchers need to answer. For instance, are these results associated with all artificial sweeteners? Or just certain ones? Remember, also, that this research was done in rats, not humans, so until it's replicated in humans and on a much larger scale, don't run out to the store and buy high sugar, zero nutrient soda just yet.
Our recommendation? Avoid regular and diet soda and opt for water and tea. Both are calorie free, tea has a ton of nutrients, and they will help hydrate you without adding sugar, chemicals, or anything else into your body.

The same goes for meal planning. Don’t just jump from one magazine article weight loss idea to another thinking that you are going to lose weight. Plan out your weight loss. Write down what you are going to do for exercise. Write down what you are going to eat every day to lose weight. Then stick to it. Consistency is the key to permanent weight loss.

To help plan out your nutrition map and establish that consistency check out Meal Plans 101. It is specifically designed to help you map out your nutrition so that you can achieve permanent weight loss.

Food Labels Can Be Tricky
by: Meal Plans 101

·  The correct amount of calories to eat,
·  The nutrient ratios that work best for you,
·  Plenty of variey so you don't get bored with your meals,
· And much much more

Nutrition myths and lies! We’re cutting through the hype!
by: Meal Plans 101

Sometimes you have to say enough is enough. And this is one of those times. We received a tremendous amount of feedback after last week's newsletter, talking about some of the marketing mess we find ourselves in when trying to understand food labels. People were hungry for more -- our esteemed readers are clearly above the general consumer knowledge curve and don't want to be fooled by fitness and nutrition misinformation anymore.

So this week we have another myth that permeates through the media, publications, and even among health care professionals and trainers themselves. In fact, some of the Mohr Results Team was presenting at a fitness conference last week in London -- and right next door,
the speaker was presenting the exact opposite message!   That can always be a bit awkward to say the least!  But not when there's no doubt about the correct answer --and it's the one you're saying.

Here is the myth: exercising at a lower intensity burns more fat than exercising at a higher intensity because when you exercise at a higher intensity, you instead burn more sugar.

Alright, here is the most simple way possible to explain this.

1. When you exercise, your body burns a combination of fuels (carbohydrates and fat).

2. The lower the intensity, the more fuel that comes from fat. This is because fat requires oxygen to "burn" and when you start exercising too intensely, it becomes anaerobic (which means, without oxygen--hence your huffing and puffing for air).

3. As your intensity increases, your body starts to shift more towards using carbohydrates for fuel (think walking to running).

4. But, when you increase your intensity (walking to running to sprinting), you burn more calories per total time spent exercising..

5. You need to burn more calories to lose body fat.

6. Therefore, exercising at a higher intensity is the winner if weight loss is your goal. It does not matter if those calories come from fat or carbohydrates; it matters that you are using calories by moving more!

Here is where the confusion lies. I said in #2 that more fuel comes from fat when you exercise at a lower intensity. That does not mean you are burning more body fat -- you are not literally breaking down body fat and using it like gas in a race car. Fat as fuel and body fat are different. In fact, research continues to mound that higher intensity exercise is more effective than lower intensity exercise for fat loss.

Most people like to hear that low intensity exercise is better -- because it is easier! But it is not as effective. As Emeril says in his show, you have to "kick it up a notch."

In fact, saying lower intensity movement is better for weight loss is like telling someone sitting is more effective than exercising if they want to lose fat. Sounds goofy to recommend sitting for weight loss, doesn't it? But if the thought is that low intensity exercise burns more fat, let's take it to extremes and burn the most fat possible by sitting or sleeping. What a joke!

Of course weight loss requires smart nutrition to truly be effective--which is why we created Meal Plans 101!!   Exercise in and of itself has little effect on fat loss -- when coupled with nutrition, the pieces to the puzzle start to come together.