HEALTH

Dieting mistakes can sabotage workout results

Can’t afford your own personal trainer? Here’s some advice from trainer Jose Ruiz:

Nutrition plays a HUGE role in how our bodies look and feel and also in the results we get from our workouts. It doesn’t have to be a hard thing to master, but for most people nutrition seems to be the only thing standing between them and their fitness goals. Here are some of the most common mistakes when dieting:

•Not eating enough: Not consuming enough food, or enough of the right foods, can hinder your fat loss goals in many ways.

•Eating too much: Eating too many calories or the wrong types of food can be just as bad.

•Not eating frequently enough: I cannot emphasize how important this is. Not just for metabolism, but for energy balance and to provide your body with a steady state of nutrients so that it can continue to change.

•Thinking in terms of 24-hour energy balance: Just because you may need to eat 200 grams of carbohydrates per day, it doesn’t mean that all your meals should contain the same number of carbs, because your body will only use what it needs at the time and store the rest. For example, you need more energy from carbs in the morning, when your body is going to be using them for energy throughout the day, than you do just before you go to bed when you will be sleeping and storing all that energy as fat!

•Not paying attention to meal and nutrient timing: This will make a big difference in the way your body burns calories and fat.

•Not consuming enough fats: Fats are essential for the production of nearly every hormone. They are important for metabolic function, skin health, immune health and many other things. Essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids, are largely responsible for many of these benefits. Fish oil, which contains the omega-3 acids DHA and EPA, can provide some outstanding benefits for anyone trying to get the best possible body for summertime.

•Not drinking enough water: And this does not mean only when you are thirsty. If you are feeling thirsty that means you are already starting to dehydrate.

TRAVEL

Sleep can be a challenge when flying

Try these tips to catch some ZZZ’s while flying this summer:

•Dress comfortably, in layers, as cabin temperatures change often.

•Skip coffee in the airport and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water (but not right before you want to fall asleep).

•Pack a small blanket and neck pillow. (Who knows where the ones they offer you have been?)

•Bring an eye mask.

•Put soothing music on your Ipod and consider noise canceling headphones.

•Fasten your seat belt above your blanket or you will be woken by flight attendants to check if you are buckled in.

Speak to your doctor ahead of time to discuss sleep aides. Be sure your flight is long enough if you take something that might call for 8 hours to get through your system.