RTB Fitness

Do you have an active morning routine?

The correct answer to this question is.......


D


Ghrelin is a hormone produced in your stomach and pancreas that is associated with stimulating hunger


It is termed the 'hunger hormone' because it stimulates appetite by signaling your brain to drive you to eat


Ghrelin levels are elevated before meals (when you’re most hungry) and suppressed after meals (when you’re no longer hungry)


If ghrelin levels are high, a ravenous monster emerges! If they’re low, you’ll not feel as hungry


Researchers from Beirut conducted a study to investigate the response of ghrelin after feeding meals of various macronutrient composition in healthy males [PMID = 16508254]


All subjects received, on separate occasions, a high-carbohydrate, a high-fat, and a high-protein meal. Blood samples (for the purpose of measuring ghrelin levels) were collected before and 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes following the ingestion of each meal


While ghrelin levels were suppressed after each of the meals, it was significantly lower 3 hours following the high protein meal as compared to the high carbohydrate and high fat meals


In fact, it was 50% lower after the protein meal as compared to the high-carbohydrate meal and 35% lower as compared to the high-fat meal


What this means is that the high-protein meal was satiating for a longer duration than a high carbohydrate and high fat meal (according to an objective hormonal measure of hunger)


A practical application to take from this study is to make sure that each meal that you ingest contains a source of high-quality protein

Reposted from

Start small and slowly progress. Create the habit of moving first, then you can challenge yourself in small increments.
Don't go for high intensity after your meals, since time and energy is needed to digest.
The main take away is to MOVE your body!

Ladies and gents, we tend to forget, get distracted, lose motivation or just don't have the tools or strategies to lead a fully healthy life. Leading a healthy life takes more than focusing on 1 or 2 aspects of it. In this post we are reminding you not to neglect your intellectual health.
Just like we take the time to train our bodies to get stronger, faster, more endured, and healthier. We need not to neglect our brains. Pick up a book on a topic you like, listen to a podcast, learn a new skill, get the experience, find a mentor. Those are only some examples. We live in a world where we have so much information available to us. Let's make use of it and grow together!

𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 - Occupational⁣
Occupational Health has many aspects, it can vary from job satisfaction to performing dangerous activities at work. Doing something you enjoy and being satisfied at your workplace is a huge aspect of our health. We spend most of our lives working, and if it's a task or job that we dislike or do just for the money then it will have a massive toll on our health. Having a good boss/leader is crucial for job satisfaction and enjoyment, as well as having supportive co-workers that you get along with. ⁣
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Your workplace should be up to date with safety regulations as well as ergonomic settings. Are you seated for a long time at work with a computer that isn't properly leveled or with a chair that does not provide the appropriate support for your long hours at work? If so, changes need to be made. You're slowly chipping away at your health. Small aspects like that add up and can cause problems down the line, even if you do not feel it today, it might catch up to you!⁣
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Main takeaways:⁣
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✔ Job Satisfaction. ⁣
✔ Proper Ergonomic set up at work.⁣
✔ Frequent breaks to get up and change posture if you have a seated job.⁣
✔ Have clear communication with your boss and colleagues about what they can do to make you satisfied work.⁣

90% of the battle is just showing up.
Patience and Consistent effort is the key 🔑

📸

𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 - 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡⁣
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Are you emotionally healthy? Emotional well-being includes the ability to manage our feelings and other behaviors. Using effective/positive coping mechanisms to deal with stress and adapt to change. This dimension focuses on awareness and acceptance of stressors and feelings, both positive and negative. ⁣
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Remember it is ok to talk about it if you're feeling down or if something is bothering you!⁣
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✔ Reach out to someone that you can talk to
✔ Be optimistic ⁣
✔ Learn time management skills⁣
✔ Exercise stress management techniques

Don't let this year be like every year. Make it happen.

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💭... What if I can't do an exercise?⁣⁠
.. What if I get sick?⁣⁠
.. What if I only have 20 minutes?⁣⁠
.. What if I get off track?⁣⁠
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🤹🏻‍♀️🤹🏽‍♂️Life gets busy. Obstacles come up. You won't be "perfect" with your workout routine. We totally get it.⁣⁠
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💥Our mantra: Do whatever you can, whenever you can do it, in any way possible. Just keep moving.⁣⁠
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🔑 There is no "track" to get off of. There is only right now. Today.⁣⁠
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🤔So the question becomes: What CAN you do right now to get moving?

Credit -

Comment below on what you need to work on the most!!

There is far more to health than just physical fitness. When it comes to health and wellness most of us think that it's about eating right and exercising. There are so many other aspects to health than just physical activity and nutrition. We want you to take a look at the dimensions of health in the above picture and see what aspects you need to work on most.
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STAY TUNED, we will be diving deeper into each one soon.

We have heard it many times before, “I don't have the time” There are many ways to cut-down cooking time and eat healthy daily, but we will get into that in future posts. We always have the option to make smarter choices when it comes to our nutrition. We make the excuse of “I'm already going out to eat, might as well go all out” and that usually is followed by dessert and overeating in general. How many times has morning coffee at a coffee shop led to a breakfast sandwich or a muffin when you saw the menu? Just because you made one bad choice on your diet does not mean you have to sabotage the whole day by eating everything. Ask yourself. If I go on this diet today, am I able to sustain it for a long period? If the answer is No, then you shouldn't be going on that diet. Diets are not forever and they shouldn't be. The goal of a diet is to teach you good habits so you can start to build a healthy relationship with food. You have to make it a lifestyle and enjoy yourself and practice portion control to succeed. Most people don't struggle with weight loss, they struggle with keeping that weight off. Enjoy the foods you want and practice portion control. Have a dessert or cookies in moderation. Don't beat yourself over it and don't let it ruin your diet/day ⁣
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✔ Enjoy the foods you like in moderation - Practice portion control.⁣
✔ If you overate on one meal, don't mess up your whole day.⁣
✔ Ask yourself why am I doing this? Know your "WHY"⁣
✔ Know how much calories you're eating roughly (including snacks)⁣
✔ Make sure the majority of your calories are coming from whole foods (vegetables, fruits, and lean protein sources)⁣
✔ Be honest with yourself. Don't make excuses about not having time or complaining about places not having healthy foods. ⁣
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We live in a society that is always on the go, we try to use every minute engaged in something. This applies to our eating as well, rushed, distracted, and on the go. We eat too fast and we don’t focus on what we are eating. Think about your last meal, was it rushed? If you are eating right now slow down and put your phone down. Eating slowly and deliberately can help with weight loss, yet eating fast can cause weight gain over time. Eating slowly allows your body to recognize that you are full or satisfied. It roughly takes 20 mins for your body/brain to feel satiated, most of us don’t spend half that time eating a meal. Think about all the extra calories that you consume when you don't give your body enough time to send signals that you are full. “When you slow down, savor a meal, pay attention to tastes and textures, and appreciate each bite, you leave the table feeling satiated and satisfied … even if all you ate was a baloney sandwich.” Eating slowly allows this chain of events to occur properly. On the other hand, when we rush our eating, we don't chew enough, swallow too fast, and the food reaches the GI tract before all the enzymes and chemicals in our body (stomach, intestines) are ready to receive that food. ⁣
At the University of Rhode Island, researchers examined how eating speed affected the early stages of digestive processing. Slow eaters consumed less food per minute and overall than fast eaters. Fast eaters also took larger bites and swallowed before chewing properly. ⁣
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𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫: (pick 2 and work on them, then add 1-2 more tips after you master the first 2).⁣
✅ Eat-in a calm/comfortable environment with minimal distractions. ⁣
✅ Don’t eat while you watch TV, drive, text, pay attention to eating (be mindful)⁣
✅ Include foods with fiber in your meal, this allows for longer chewing time. Vegetables and fruits are a great example.⁣
✅ Put down your utensils between bites.⁣
✅ Take a deep breath after every 3-5 bites.⁣
✅ Use smaller plates or different utensils. (practice using chopsticks so you eat slower) ⁣
✅ Find a slow eater and become their best friend. We can be your friend :)⁣
Set aside 20-30 mins for meals.⁣
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Post inspired by Precision Nutrition⁣
#𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐫

Change is always hard especially if it involves effort and time commitment. You can make a lot of positive habit changes outside the gym that don't seem like much but can add up over time. There are so many ways to move, resistance training is not the only way. You're only in the gym 2-6 hours per week. What are you doing for the rest of the time? ⁣⁣
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Gradually start moving more and overtime start implementing more activity into your daily life! We have listed some examples above that you can slowly start adding into your regimen. ⁣⁣
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✔ Take the stairs instead of the elevator.⁣⁣
✔ Park far and walk to the store.⁣⁣
✔ Go for a 5min walk before and after meals.⁣⁣
✔ Walk your dog.⁣⁣
✔ Shovel the snow.⁣⁣
✔ Cut the lawn. ⁣⁣
✔ Clean your house.⁣⁣
✔ Play with your siblings, kids, or grandkids.⁣⁣
✔ Pick up a physical hobby.⁣⁣
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𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠! ⁣⁣

We all know how important moving and keeping active is but as we start to get older we start to buy into more bulls**t. Marketing companies start targeting supplements as this magical "fat burner" that will help you lose 10lbs in just one month. Then you see people buying these vibrating balls that you stand on that claims to burn 500 calories in 30 minutes. Just because these companies claim it's backed by research that doesn't mean anything if the population size of the study is 2 dead rats. ⁣⁣⁣
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Nothing replaces movement, NOTHING. Stop overcomplicating things with shortcuts and just move.⁣⁣⁣
#𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐁𝐚𝐫⁣⁣⁣
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Caption by raisetbar⁣⁣⁣
Picture credit: syattfitness

How many hours of sleep are you getting? 𝘛𝘢𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.⁣⁣⁣⁣
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The importance of sleep and getting enough of it has been well researched yet most of us still do not get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep is essential for our mental and physical health, and we should be getting between 7-9 hours of sleep. Getting adequate sleep helps improve memory, learning, attention, creativity, and decision making.⁣⁣⁣⁣
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"Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain.” We stay up late to watch our favorite TV shows. We wake up early to get to work or school on time." - Matthew Walker (Why We sleep) ⁣⁣⁣⁣
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💤 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 💤 ⁣⁣⁣⁣
A study by Arlet et al (2010): Participants trying to lose weight (in a caloric deficit) were studied, group 1 got an average of 7.7h per day, while group 2 had an average of 5.3h of sleep. Both groups lost weight (about 6.6lbs), yet group 1 lost 50/50 in fat mass/lean mass respectively, and group 2 lost 20/80 fat mass/lean mass respectively (swipe left for a visual). Group 1 lost a lot more fat mass vs group 2 lost a lot more lean mass (what you don't want to lose).⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Other aspects to consider between sleep-deprived and non-sleep deprived individuals is acylated ghrelin. It's a hormone that promotes hunger, so individuals that lacked sleep were hungrier than individuals that got enough sleep because of the spike in ghrelin. Furthermore, individuals that are more sleep-deprived have higher respiratory quotient. What does that even mean? For each calorie burned, the energy comes from carbs and less from fats in the body. That can be more problematic for individuals trying to lean out and lose fat mass. This means that someone who is trying to lose fat will take way longer to lose that fat if they are sleep deprived compared to an individual that is getting adequate sleep.⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Tips for sleeping better coming next post!⁣⁣⁣⁣
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References⁣⁣⁣⁣
1)https://www.strongerbyscience.com/sleep-
2)Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to red

🍁🍂🦃🥧🍂 Just in time for 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠. And if you're not celebrating this week, this is a great reminder for any occasion.⁣
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🤗This is one of our simplest, most effective, and sanity-preserving tools for holiday eating.⁣
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🚧This strategy helps you avoid overeating for two main reasons:⁣
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1️⃣PHYSIOLOGICAL: It takes 15-20 mins. for your digestive system to let your brain know that you’re satisfied. Slowing down a meal allows that to happen before you overeat.⁣
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2️⃣ PSYCHOLOGICAL: When you slow down, “sense into”, and savor your food, you feel content with much less. This means you’ll eat less but enjoy what you’ve eaten more.⁣
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😋Indeed, when eating slowly (and stopping at “satisfied” instead of “stuffed”) you can try all the delicious foods on grandma’s buffet without guilt or needing to “work it off later”. ⁣
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📸 precisionnutrition

The more consistent you're with building healthy habits the bigger the payout will be in the future.

In order to see results it takes months/years to see significant progress that's why most people give up so fast because they want it right away. Health shouldn't be seen as an expense since it is the only thing that will keep you going in the future so you can still do things you love.
There are no shortcuts. Trust the process and don't give up.
📸 rpstrength

Can't stress this enough. Too many people neglect sleep and other areas of health. They're too focused on improving one aspect of health while the other areas start to deteriorate. ⁣
1) Sleep⁣
2) Nutrition ⁣
3) Stress Management⁣
4) Exercise ⁣
Are all equally important. They all feed off each other. When life gets busy the first thing people drop off is sleep. Focus on all dimensions of health and stop neglecting sleep. I talk about sleep so much, I might as well get it tattooed on my forehead.⁣
and please sleep!⁣
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📸 officialstrongerbyscience⁣
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Tag a client/friend that doesn't sleep enough!

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 - This is strictly based on anecdotal evidence.⁣⁣
We have been experimenting with cold showers lately and have been finding it helps with alertness in the morning. Doing something extremely uncomfortable in the morning makes the day a lot easier. That is one of the reasons why we continuing taking cold showers every day because it's hard and painful. Things in life are not always "fun", sometimes you have to do things that you don't want to do but have to do (exercising, errands, etc). Being stuck in your comfort zone can be detrimental and prevents us from living our life to the fullest. Sorry for turning cold showers into a philosophical post! Try it out and let us know how you feel :)⁣⁣
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And NO cold showers DO NOT -⁣⁣
-Increase calorie and fat burning or everyone would be lean.⁣⁣
-Increase testosterone production⁣⁣
-Increase muscle recovery (referring to cryotherapy)(1) ⁣⁣
-Increase immunity⁣⁣
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There is no credible scientific evidence supporting any of those claims. There are millions of articles online claiming these things but they have no references to peer-reviewed articles. Cold showers aren't the holy grail but they do help! ⁣⁣
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If you have any questions, feel free to shoot us a dm!⁣⁣
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References⁣⁣
1) Post-exercise recovery of contractile function and endurance in humans and mice is accelerated by heating and slowed by cooling skeletal muscle.⁣⁣

Caloric Deficit
One way to create a caloric deficit is by eating LESS total calories than your body burns or INCREASING energy output via exercise/physical activity. It is recommended to use a mix of both methods! Like we have stated in our previous posts - There is no secret diet or program. Find a safe diet/program YOU enjoy and can adhere to.
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Every diet works. They work by creating a caloric deficit. There’s nothing magical about any of them. Understanding this is powerful because you realize how incredible flexible dieting is. Allow me to explain.

You can lose weight on keto because you can’t eat carbs and you thus end up consuming fewer calories overall.
You can lose weight when intermittent fasting because you’re only eating for a few hours a day and you thus end up consuming fewer calories overall.

Each of these diets has rules to follow. With flexible dieting, you still have rules (adhering to daily macros), but you can customize it (food choices, meal frequency, etc.) to be as enjoyable as possible. Or to suck the least.

credit - bretcontreras1

When starting an exercise program most people tend to overcomplicate their exercises or do too much volume and end up being sore for a whole week. They end up digging them self into the ground and get burnt out. 90% of the time your program should focus on the fundamental movement patterns. Stop doing 2 hours of arms and core and do the exercises that will benefit you. ⁣⁠
Make sure you choose variations based on your training age and history. For example: If you can't get into a hinge don't try to deadlift 200lbs. Master the dowel hinge and how to effectively use your glutes. Pick exercises based on your skill level. ⁣⁠
Examples: ⁣⁠
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➦ Squat - Bilateral movement ⁣⁠
Progression Model⁣⁠
- Assisted Squat⁣⁠
- Box Squat⁣⁠
- Bodyweight Squat⁣⁠
- Goblet Squat⁣⁠
- Barbell Squat⁣⁠
- Overhead Squat⁣⁠
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➦ Pull - Vertical & Horizontal ⁣⁠
- Latpull Downs⁣⁠
- Assisted Pull ⁣⁠
- Chest Supported Rows⁣⁠
- Barbell/Dumbell Rows⁣⁠
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Hinge⁣⁠
- Glute Bridge⁣⁠
- Dowel Hinge⁣⁠
- Stability Ball Hamstring curls⁣⁠
- Romanian Deadlift⁣⁠
- Deadlift⁣⁠
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Push (Vertical & Horizontal) ⁣⁠
- Incline Push⁣⁠
- Knee Pushups⁣⁠
- Loaded presses⁣⁠
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Lunge (Unilateral)⁣⁠
- Assisted Lunge⁣⁠
- Static Lunge⁣⁠
- Walking Lunges⁣⁠
- Complex Lunges⁣⁠
- Loaded lunges⁣⁠
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Carry ⁣⁠
- Static Holds⁣⁠
- Single Arm Carry⁣⁠
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#𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐫

This post really hit deep! Love it. Tag someone who should see this! ・・・
🔷 Some food for thought: -
Everyone has a special someone in their life, it could be a romantic partner, a best friend, kids, or even a dog. This is who you’re getting in better shape for. Forget about doing it to look or feel better. Do it because your wife or husband wants you to be healthy while you grow old together. Do it because your kids or grand kids want to be able to play with you. Do it because your dog lives for playing fetch and going on long walks and he needs you to be able to do those things with him. Finding someone else to go down this journey for is the single best thing you can do to keep yourself motivated and on the right track. It’s easy to skip a workout or cheat on your diet when you’re the only person facing the consequences. Try doing that when you know your choices directly affect someone other than yourself.

Credit: themusclephd

Many people use exercise as an excuse to justify their poor nutrition choices. They are often under the assumption that they can simply burn it via exercise or physical activity. Yes, exercise is great for you and you do burn calories, but it's not as much as you think. To burn 500 calories it can take about 90+ minutes depending on the type of activity but only takes about 5 minutes to consume 500 calories. That's why your nutrition and your energy input (calories in) is extremely important and you have to be mindful about how many calories you're consuming. Either use a food diary (take pictures of what you eat) or track your calories via MyFitnessPal.
Enjoy yourself in moderation but be mindful about what you're consuming and practice portion control.