By Team Best Life – TheBestLife.com

It may seem counterintuitive to take in calories before you head to the gym to burn them off, but eating a healthy bite beforehand can help you make the most of your workout. No matter what kind of activity you’re planning, you can use these tips to fuel up for fitness:

Eat when it feels best. Eating one hour before your workout is a good general rule, but everyone’s body is different. For instance, some people may feel uncomfortable or bloated trying to exercise after a snack or meal while others may be distracted by a rumbling tummy. Only you know exactly how much you can comfortably eat and how soon before your workout.

Keep track of carbs. Because glucose—a carbohydrate—is your muscles’ preferred source of fuel, you need to go into a workout with enough stored glucose (aka glycogen). If you eat a balanced diet, you should be all set. But if you’re hitting the gym hours after your last meal or snack, you might need a little carb boost; 15 grams should do the trick.
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Are you in the midst of training for a half or full marathon? If the answer is yes, I’m guessing that carbohydrate gels are a big part of your training routine. Even if the answer is no, there’s probably a good chance that you consume these gels, chews or other such supplements to get through your runs.

While these gels have a place in long distance run training, of late, runners have been overusing them, believing they need the supplements for even short runs. That overuse comes with some heavy consequences.

Here’s the deal: Our bodies are designed to run on either sugar or fat. Sugar, or glycogen, comes in very limited stores. Fat, on the other hand, is available in a nearly endless supply. The trick is to teach your body to access that fat. When you overuse carbohydrate supplements like gels, your body doesn’t get the chance to learn this and it fails to access fat for fuel.

The result of this inability to access fat in a race or a long run is what’s classically known as a bonk. The result of the inability to access fat on a regular basis is slower running and unwanted calories.

So when and where should you use gels and how do you break your dependence on them? You train your body to access fat by practicing runs in a glycogen depleted (GD) state.
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By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., TheBestLife.com lead nutritionist

A little calorie denial is OK, but if your denial’s deep, sooner or later you’ll pay the price on the scale. My recommendation: Take a few weeks to measure your food. Once you get portions under control, you’ll automatically cut back on calories. Rolling your eyes already? I know, so many people can’t stand the idea of measuring, but I’m going to make it a little easier by asking you to track just one type of food for a week.

Sure, you could measure and weigh everything that crosses your lips, but most of us aren’t getting fat off of fruit, vegetables, fat-free milk, fish and other healthy, low-calorie foods. It’s bread, potatoes and other starchy foods, as well as fried foods, sugary beverages, sweets, salty snacks, and too much butter, oil, mayo and other fats that get us all into trouble.

This week, I’m going to ask you to focus on one major waistline saboteur: starches. Your goal is to cut way back on white bread, white rice and other refined grain products and enjoy healthy starches like whole grains and sweet potatoes in moderation. (They’re more nutritious and make you feel fuller than refined grains.) For some people, the “in moderation” part can be tricky. That’s why you’ll get so much out of measuring and tracking servings this week; pretty soon you can put away the measuring cups and just eyeball your plate. In just a few weeks, you’ll emerge a portion pro, and you’ll love the results on the scale.
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Carbs: Are they good? Are they bad? It can all be very confusing. But one man is stepping in the middle of that gap, saying there can be a healthy balance that can yield optimum weight loss and fat burn.

That man is Robert Ferguson, MS, who is a weight-loss coach, CEO of Diet Free Life, motivational speaker and author. Recently, Ferguson has been speaking out about carb confusion- specifically concerning how too many can be a bad thing, and too few can be even worse.

In an article recently featured in First for Women Magazine, Ferguson discussed new science that’s showing our blood sugar has a sweet spot that results in optimal fat burning and peak metabolism. And he says this research is going to help women melt pounds away without feeling deprived.

The secret? Finding the right balance of fast carbs and slow carbs.
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As recommended by the USDA, an adult should consume between 4-8 servings of carbohydrates a day, depending on their age and gender. However, according to the Atkins Diet Foundation, there’s a bit of confusion as to how many carbs that actually is and the average person’s ability to determine it.

But is this even important? According to Atkins, the answer is yes.

The food and diet company – founded by Dr. Robert C. Atkins in 1972 - did some research recently to determine how Americans perceived carbohydrates, including how many carbs they were eating throughout the day and how often they considered the contents of their meals. They were hoping to clear up what they’re refering to as ‘carb confusion.’

The study concluded that Americans typically don’t monitor the food on their plates – as shown below – with six in 10 reporting they didn’t know how many carbohydrates they eat on a daily basis. Findings revealed that:
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