Christine Burke Fitness

A Bit About Sugar

Christine Burke — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:59:29 +0000

When most people think of “sugar,” they usually think of the sweet, white crystals in your kitchen cupboard. A lot of people tell me, “I don”t use sugar at all!” when what they mean is, “I don’t add sugar to my coffee or cereal.” When they start checking the nutritional information of the foods they eat, they are surprised to see how pervasive sugar is.

“Sugar” is actually the common collective term for simple carbohydrates, which include sucrose (the white crystals in your kitchen), fructose (found in honey and fruit), and lactose (found in milk). Both simple and complex carbohydrates (found in grains, potatoes, and veggies) are broken down in your body into glucose, the simplest sugar. Simple carbs are broken down into glucose at a faster rate than complex carbs, which is why sugar elevates blood levels quickly.

If you ever want a little motivation on cutting back on sugar, do a Google search on something like “bad sugar“. Sugar has been linked to inflammation (pain, chronic disease, degeneration), insulin resistance (diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity), compromised immune system, increased appetite and cravings, and exacerbating mental disorders. Wow!!! And we feed this stuff to our kids! How is it even legal? How are we to protect ourselves?

The fact is, your brain runs exclusively on glucose. Sugar can save a diabetic’s life. Sugar can release serotonins (feel-good hormones). If you are active, you should know that sugar can increase athletic performance. Sugar depletion (aka “bonking“) during an endurance race really, really sucks. Plus, when your body runs out of sugar, you start breaking down your muscles. So, I have a hard time buying into the black-and-white “sugar is evil” camp.

On the other hand, there is plenty of research and science to convince me that the EXCESS of sugar is indeed very harmful. I suspect that sugar is something like caffeine or alcohol… may be consumed in small to moderate amounts, especially if your overall health is good, but things get ugly when your overindulge or rely on them to handle stress. What, then, is a “moderate” amount?

The answer turned out to be complicated to research, so I think I’ll save this topic for another post. In the meantime, try increasing awareness of your sugar consumption by checking the nutritional label and looking up common foods for sugars. Remember that there are about 4-5 grams of sugar in a teaspoon, then ask yourself if you really want to eat that many teaspoons of sugar. A 12-oz can of soda typically has 10 teaspoons of sugar. A banana has about 3 teaspoons. Surprisingly, a cup of plain, UNSWEETENED, NO-FRUIT, nonfat yogurt also has 3 teaspoons of sugar. When you know how much you are consuming, you have a baseline to make adjustments.

Stay tuned for more about sugar! Kthxbai for now!

Try Customized Workouts at MyWorkoutCreator.com for $1

Christine Burke — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:33:44 +0000

One of the best trainers I know, Mike Deibler of San Diego Premier Training, just launched his new web site called MyWorkoutCreator.com. For the past few months, I’ve been working with Mike on this site so we could easily provide results-oriented, personalized workouts that were always fresh and budget-friendly for all of our fitness peeps.

MyWorkoutCreator.com is different from other workout sites because you get a customized workout with different exercises EVERY TIME you log in. You pick your goal (weight loss, lean & tone, muscle mass, etc), your level, and your equipment, and you get a workout designed for you, just as if you had a super-smart personal trainer with graduate degrees, years of experience, and multiple certifications!

Mike is offering a $1 trial to the first 100 people who sign up. Please check it out! There’s also a free featured workout and lots of fitness resources just for registering!

Recipe: Rosemary Shrimp with Butternut Squash

Christine Burke — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:40:44 +0000

I usually cook by throwing bags of Trader Joe’s food into a pot and hoping it comes out okay. This one turned out pretty good so I thought I’d share it. It’s under 300 calories (really!) and less than 2g sugar, with a ton of fiber and a little bit of fat to keep you feeling full.

Rosemary Shrimp with Butternut Squash, ~300 Calories

1 TBS butter
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 bag (12 oz) pre-cut butternut squash
rosemary to taste
1 (10 oz) bag frozen brown rice
1 bag (16 oz) large frozen shrimp, thawed & rinsed
1/2 bag fresh baby spinach
1 plastic basket cherry tomatoes

Saute the garlic in the butter until it turns golden brown. Add butternut squash and rosemary. Turn down the heat and cover the pot for a few minutes. Add the frozen rice, mix it all up, and then cover it until the squash is as tender as you like. It smells AWESOME at this point. Add the shrimp, spinach, and cherry tomatoes, mix and cover again until the spinach wilts.

Makes 4 servings (see photo for portion size) under about 300 calories and less than 2g sugar. Approximate carb-protein-fat ratio: 55-35-10

21 Days: Just a Little Sugar

Christine Burke — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:27:02 +0000

For the first 21 days of March, I will watch my sugar intake and see how it affects my mood and appetite. I won’t be avoiding completely… I will have a little sugar first thing in the morning in fruit or fruit juice, some sugar when I work out, and maybe a dessert once or twice a week.

Popular health and weight loss literature compares sugar to alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine in terms of addiction and mood alteration. Some experts will even tell you that sugar is “poison” and should be avoided at all costs. While I feel this is a stressful way to look at sugar, I do agree that Americans consume far more sugar than their health can tolerate. Over the next 21 days, I’ll post what I know about sugar, and I hope this helps you make better eating choices for your fit lifestyle.

If you’d like to watch your sugar intake with me, you will need to pay attention to the “Sugars” number on a nutritional label, under the “Total Carbohydrate” section. Other resources I like using for nutritional information are Calorie King and The Daily Plate at Livestrong.com.

Week of Grace: Anything Else?

Christine Burke — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:00:56 +0000

Did anything else happen in February that made you grateful?

Week of Grace is a 7-day journaling project, scientifically designed to you make you happier, healthier, and more productive. For 7 days, please take a few minutes a day to answer the gratitude question posted. Comment, tweet, email, tweet #weekofgrace, or even write your response longhand.