That One Fitness Guy

Some Healthy Alternatives To Butter

Some Healthy Alternatives To Butter

Published by on January 9, 2017 | Leave a response

Although it’s not the absolute worst food out there for anyone on a diet, we often get asked “What are some alternatives to butter I can use in my daily meals”?. A tablespoon of butter provides about 100 calories and no carbs. However, where it becomes bad for potential fitness buffs is when you consider the saturated fat. That same tablespoon of butter has 11 to 13 grams by itself which (while some fats are good) can end up causing trouble if every meal you cook happens to have at least one tablespoon of butter included.

Some Healthy Alternatives To Butter

Let’s do some math, let’s say we make eggs for breakfast with butter as our cooking agent, some garlic butter sauteed potatoes and chicken breast for lunch, and create a vinaigrette reduction which, for some reason, we decided to also use butter in. With just three square meals a day, you’ve increased the average tablespoon of butter in each meal to 3 tablespoons a day or 39g of saturated fat. In a week of “good eating” you’ve hit a total of 273g from just the butter alone!  Your healthy meals don’t seem so healthy after all do they?

So what can we switch in to keep the nice calorie pump without gaining carbs and not sacrificing all the flavor? Here’s some great & healthy alternatives to butter you can try that shouldn’t immediately change how everything tastes.

  1. Olive Oil – When in doubt, do like the Greeks do! For every tablespoon of butter your recipe calls for, try adding 2 1/4 teaspoons of Olive oil instead. While the flavor is a little stronger, the cooking ability in eggs and even cakes matches (and in some cases exceeds) what you’ll find with traditional butter.
  2. Apple Sauce – Primarily to be used during baking, can be used to change out half or the whole amount of butter needed within a recipe. This change will of course adjust the way your protein cookies may taste but also cut calories and saturated fat at the same time. For best results, replace half the amount of butter if you want to keep the consistency similar or the whole amount for a denser baked good.
  3. Earth Balance Butter Spread – While the name butter may be in the title, this is actually a vegan butter that you can use in exactly the same way. It does have a sweeter taste to it so be cautious not to overuse in a more savory dish. The benefits of this butter is that it has similar calories per tablespoon weighing in at 102 calories, but the fat gained is not from saturated sources. An easy win win to keep that buttery flavor while also losing some of that extra saturated fat.

Outside of these options there are of course different nut oils, canola oil variations and all sorts of things to switch out that stick of butter and make your fitness goals even more of a reality. So what are some alternatives to butter you use in your diet? Share in the comments below and until next time, think healthy, be healthy.

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How Unrealistic New Year Goals Can Kill Workouts

How Unrealistic New Year Goals Can Kill Workouts

Published by on January 8, 2017 | Leave a response

It’s a brand New Year and we all know what that means; time to make a fitness goal that won’t ever happen! That isn’t to say it isn’t possible but when we set an unrealistic New Year goal that we have no way of hitting in the short periods of time we give ourselves, we actually hurt our diets and workouts rather than help them.

How An Unrealistic New Year Goal Can Kill Workouts

Say for example, as the bell dings midnight, you look at your significant other and proudly proclaim “I’m gonna lose 20 pounds a week this year by going to the gym twice a day!” Now, outside of the health risks associated with such a goal, there’s also a psychological toll that this takes on as well. Have you ever been in a gym and pushed yourself to do as many reps as you can then quit because your muscles feel sore and realize a little later that you could have done more?

That is the single most important part of your fitness regime taking over and stopping your progress by preserving your well being; your mind.

The problem with an unrealistic New Year goal isn’t that it is out of reach so much as it affects our psyche so heavily. Whenever you set a goal for short periods of time, each day that you aren’t any closer to that goal, your mind begins to make it seem like it’s impossible. This makes you feel lethargic to the goal and your “daily” gym goal becomes, every other day, bi-weekly, weekly, and eventually not at all. Your mind needs to see results to make something seem worthwhile. The reason you give up during a gym session isn’t because you’re physically weak but mostly because you don’t have a personal trainer to push you past your limits and truly motivate you beyond the gains your eyes have seen.

Without proper motivation, your mind stops you before you can even begin so, as with any good workout, it all begins with your mind. To combat the unrealistic New Year goal, try this instead:

  • Pick a goal that you can accomplish in the short term. Try adding an extra rep to your usual workout that has started to feel easier every week or cut meals down to not having as many slices of bread. These smaller goals make progress almost immediately evident as you receive positive feedback and can continue increasing your fitness goal levels as time goes on.
  • Don’t set a short time frame, you have a whole year! If you want to lose, say, 10 pounds, set a date a little further out. Why not set it for the summer and check your progress monthly after going to the gym regularly. This is a great motivation as you’ll not only see HUGE leaps but also feel better and want to continue going once the summer is done. In fact, people find the most success after taking these small steps and hitting the goal early then stepping it up so by summer they’ve lost 50 lbs!
  • Remember, when you step into the gym or begin your diet, you’re doing it for yourself and your own well being. Regardless of what you posted on Facebook or Twitter, your fitness goals begin with you and although your mind controls how many reps you do or how many cheat meals you sneak in, it all begins with you.
  • Plan out your New Year goals with your personal trainer. Nothing is better than having someone watch and monitor your goals as time goes on. Your personal trainer can tell you what has and hasn’t been working and can help you refine what you do. They can also tell you that a goal is unrealistic and maybe give you a better target to go for.

With all this in mind, pushing yourself to make the change is a good step in the New Year, just remember that setting an unrealistic new year goal will almost always backfire if you’re not ready for such a drastic change. Check your mental state, check your daily routine, and then decide if that goal is doable or if you’ll become discouraged before you’ve even given it a fighting chance.

Until next time, think healthy, be healthy.

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Are You Taking Part In Dry January?

Are You Taking Part In Dry January?

Published by on January 7, 2017 | Leave a response

It’s not often I’m surprised by some of the news the media focuses on but “Dry January” may be one of the most surprising yet. Dry January, if you don’t know, is an annual tradition some citizens of the world partake in to “detox” from the heavy drinking often accompanying the holidays. While for them it may serve a holistic purpose, for us fitness junkies, it serves a whole different meaning.

Are You Taking Part In Dry January?

If you’ve followed the newsletter or this blog, you’ll know that Alcohol does the opposite of what we are trying to accomplish as it takes far longer to metabolize than anything else you intake on a regular basis. Because of this, it’s usually a good idea to avoid it completely or deal with a longer workout each and every session. For those that do partake though, Dry January may not be the worst idea.

While completely abstaining for a month may do wonders, abstaining AND doing high intensity workouts is a better idea and will probably keep your mind from getting back into the drinks too quickly. The media encourages you to drink Mocktails that are typically filled with high levels of sugar and carbs to curb that appetite but really, you’re stronger than that and those will end up hurting you in the end. Instead, why not increase your water intake and try some old fashioned green tea?

Green tea is a metabolism booster and combined with high intensity fat burning exercise will burn those calories you’ve accumulated from the booze, cut the extra water, and may even get you feeling so great, you’ll try a Dry February or even March! Dry January is certainly a novel idea but moderation is the true key to a fit body in 2017. Fitness comes from not only mental acuity and physical strength, but also strong willpower.

Who here is planning to join in on this month of ditching alcohol? Leave a comment below to let us know but until then, think healthy, be healthy.

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