KinkyShea’s Health and Fitness Tips

Most of us know that we can use pureed avocados combined with other foods (such as yogurt, coconut milk, etc) to get a great conditioning treatment for our hair. But what happens when you actually eat what is commonly called the alligator pear? Just as avocados greatly benefit the hair it also benefits the rest of the body. Avocados promote heart health by lowering cholesterol with its monounsaturated fatty acid properties and lowers blood pressure with its potassium content. Among it’s high monounsaturated fat acids (which is actually good for you), oleic acid can be found. Oleic acid has recently been proven to lower the risk of breast cancer. Avocados, when added to salads or other dishes, help with the absorption of other nutrients such as beta-carotene. Avocados are a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and copper. Avocados are also a good source of potassium containing more potassium than a medium banana. Avocados do have a high fat content of between 71% and 88% of their total calories. A typical avocado contains about 30 grams of fat, however 20 of these fat grams are health promoting. If you’re at a loss on how to use avocados (for something other than a conditioner) try mixing chopped avocados, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, limejuice, and seasonings for a twist on traditional guacamole. You can also try spreading a ripe avocado on bread as a healthy replacement for mayo when making a sandwich, a personal favorite of mine. Try ingesting this super food as well as a topical treatment for your hair and I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the results, inside and out.

This week is part two of last week’s diet myth debunking. These are some of the most common myths I come into contact with everyday in my work as a personal trainer. Sometimes it’s hard to remember to practice good old fashion common sense when there is so much misinformation floating around or when you’re really desperate to drop that last five pounds, or even the first five. Fact is if it’s sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn’t. So let’s take a look at more of these mistruths.

Myth 4: Skipping meals are a great way to loose the weight.
Truth: This is one of my favorites. This one is just simply not true. In THEORY, skipping one meal while keeping everything else in your diet the same will help you lose weight. BUT, when you skip a meal your eating pattern changes and you tend to overeat and over compensate later. Over eating and overcompensating equals higher calorie intake which will likely lead to weight gain. Most registered dietitians recommend eating smaller meals throughout the day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack) of nutrient dense foods. This not only keeps you from over eating but also helps to regulate your blood sugar and help keep your energy levels up.

Myth 5: You have to stop eating your favorite foods to lose weight.
Truth: Another personal favorite of mine. The proven most successful approach to weight lost and keeping the weight off is to make permanent lifestyle changes that include a healthy eating plan and ample physical activity. With that said by adopting a healthy lifestyle the common meaning of the word “diet” (such as, “Oh I’m on a diet.”) doesn’t really exist. A healthy lifestyle allows for all foods in moderation, even sweets. Its ok to have a small slice of chocolate cake every now and again or the occasional slice of pizza, just don’t make it an everyday occurrence and make sure you’re getting plenty of physical activity. And yes you will still drop the pounds. Remember, all foods in moderation.

Myth 6: Rapid weight loss can be maintained.
Truth: This one came to mind after watching a commercial for a workout and diet plan that promised a weight loss of 10 lbs in a week and to keep it off. Although, I won’t go into the details of the commercial (which got me very upset) I will say that my ultimate take home point of this is simply isn’t true. Even though a diet or workout may promise a rapid weight loss (some as much as 20 lbs in a week) and even produce the said results, this process is just not healthy. This amount of weight loss is possible but the diets are extremely restrictive and the workouts are incredibly intense (to the point where it’s unsafe). Unfortunately the large potion of the weight lost with this method is water and lean tissue (which leads to dehydration and other issues), so the minute you get off the diet or ditch the workout and eat normally all the weight comes right back and maybe a little more. Remember, lifestyle changes, not “diets”, produce real maintainable results.

Until next week…

KinkySheaPT

You can find KinkyShea on the CurlFriends section of the forum.