5 Essential Health Facts I Learned at BlogFest 2015
In my experience, conferences can sometimes be boring, repetitive, and occasionally, a waste of time and money. The 2015 IDEA World BlogFest was anything but.
Over the past two days, I learned so many helpful tips and tricks about blogging, fitness, and nutrition and got to meet/reconnect with a ton of amazing bloggers and fitness professionals.
The informational sessions were absolutely amazing and the interspersed workouts kept the day moving along at a fast, fun pace.
Last year, I spoke at the conference. This year, I attended as a guest on behalf of Propel Electrolyte Water as a part of their Summer Workout Challenge that I’ve been participating in for the past two months.
While the whole experience was an absolute blast, the workout with celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson on Friday morning was definitely a highlight.
Gunnar and fellow trainer Alfonso Moretti put me and two other bloggers — Monica from Run Eat Repeat and Bobbi from nHerShoes — through a fun and challenging circuit workout at the Ritz Carlton gym in downtown LA.
In addition to leaving sweaty and sore (in a good way) from getting my butt kicked by Gunnar, I also left with some great insights.
Here are the top 5 essential nutrition and fitness takeaways I got from BlogFest 2015:
1. An RD is a nutritionist but a nutritionist is NOT an RD.
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Melissa Burton gave an incredibly intelligent lecture on the Top 5 Nutrition Myths, and one of the messages that I thought was very important was the difference between a nutritionist and and Registered Dietitian (or RDN — they mean the same thing).
Many people have asked me the question since I decided to go back to school to pursue an RDN, and I haven’t always been able to explain it eloquently. Melissa did just that. Here’s her quick and easy breakdown for anyone who’s curious:
- An RD/RDN is a legally protected and registered title. RD’s must meet certain governmental standards to use the title. The title nutritionist, health coach, nutrition expert, etc. can really be used by anyone with no legal repercussions.
- There is standardization and educational requirements to use the title RD/RDN. The title require a Bachelors or Masters degree in Nutrition from an accredited college, a one-year dietetic internship, the passage of a board certifying exam, and continued education. The various programs awarding titles of nutritionist or health coach have no standardization and can range from weekend courses to one-year online programs.
- An RD/RDN is legally allowed to prescribe dietary changes to help treat and manage disease — “nutritionists” are not. They may choose to do it anyway, but they could face liabilities.
The point of this whole breakdown is that you need to be careful when taking nutritional advice from people. You should always consider their experience and background before choosing to follow dietary recommendations.
2. All sugar is not created equally.
This message comes from Melissa as well. There is a big difference between naturally occurring sugar, like the lactose in milk or fructose in fruit, and added sugar, which is all too commonly infused into grocery stores products.
As Melissa put it, “Nature doesn’t make junk food, people do.”
The most basic breakdown possible can be explained like this — the 12 grams of sugar you get from a banana is going to be processed much differently than 12 grams of sugar in a flavored beverage. The banana has fiber, which will slow the breakdown of the sugar, making sure it isn’t automatically stored as fat if your body doesn’t currently need the energy. The flavored beverage, on the other hand, has nothing to slow the breakdown of glucose. Unless you consume it during a strenuous workout, your body will not need it, and will therefore immediately convert that sugar to fat to store for future use.
This quick release of glucose will trigger a blood sugar spike and the release of insulin, which after years of constant rollercoaster surges can lead to metabolic diseases like diabetes.
Bottom line: Watch your sugar intake in ANY products where the sugar isn’t occurring naturally. It doesn’t matter if that sugar comes from honey, 100% pure organic maple syrup, or coconut sugar — your body processes it all the same way.
For more on this issue, I highly encourage checking out the documentary Fed Up. It does an amazing job of explaining the sugar intake epidemic occurring right now.
3. Peripheral Heart Action Training will get you the most bang for your buck.
In addition to leading us through a workout, Gunnar also stopped by the BlogFest lectures to answer our burning health and fitness questions. One attendee questioned what workout would give you the best burn in the shortest amount of time, and require the least equipment.
Gunnar had the answer immediately — a circuit workout that alternates between upper and lower body exercises to stimulate blood flow throughout the body and to increase intensity while lowering rest time. By alternating, you don’t max out one area too fast, and you can work more in a shorter period of time.
This type of training is exactly what we did earlier in the day when Gunnar had us doing a three directional lunge series immediately followed by an upper body chest and triceps workout.
4. Don’t be afraid of heavy weight.
I’ve talked about this before but Gunnar reaffirmed what most knowledgable (non-gimmicky) trainers will tell you: “Very light weights will get you very little results.”
He says he is a fan of mixing up your weight and rotating between lighter weights and higher reps and heavier weights and less reps, but if you go too light, you are wasting your time.
5. Managing stress is as important to your health as managing your diet.
Another celebrity trainer in attendance, who I’ve been a fan of for years, was Harley Pasternak. Harley gave a quick chat at the Idea World Expo about his five component plan to optimal health.
I’d heard some of it before but one point stood out to me this time — we are way too absorbed by technology/social media. Ironic coming from a blogger, right?!
In addition to his recommendations of taking 10,000 steps per day, getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night, eating protein and fiber five times daily, and strength training every day, Harley also advises we take one hour per day to unplug. That means no phone, no TV, no kindle, basically no anything that lights up.
Harley says there is consistent research that light from these devices and constant alerts puts us in a state of continuous stimulation that affects our stress hormones, spiking cortisol production, and ultimately leading to things like poor sleep and anxiety.
I completely acknowledge that I do not practice this health tip but that I really need to. Adding it to my todo list on my iPhone (just kidding).
Bonus Tip:
As I’ve recommended before, Gunnar suggests eating a small carbohydrate snack pre workout and a carb/protein mix post workout. His favorites: almond butter and banana pre-workout, and Propel Electrolyte Water during.
Weigh In: Did any of these health facts surprise you?
*A big thanks to Propel for hosting me at BlogFest this year and for giving me the opportunity to train with Gunnar and his team!
Laura says:
Great post Whitney! Thank you for inspiring me to healthier life post cancer.
Whitney English says:
Thank you Laura! It’s so nice to hear that the blog is helping people. I appreciate your support. I’m so glad you’re back to work and healthy!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says:
Great suggestions and I actually do follow a lot of those tips except for avoiding “things that light up” for an hour or so a day. If I unwind it is with TV or my kindle so I need to change that for sure. :-)
Whitney English says:
Same! Watching TV is usually the only time I really zone out – going to work on getting more tech-free relaxation time though!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner says:
I am interested in getting some sort of nutrition cert or degree in the future so I found that interesting. I agree naturally occurring sugar is not what is making people fat. Eating bananas and grapes are not bad for you! Really hope to make it out next year myself. :)
Krissy @ Pretty Wee Things says:
Great tips! And great that you made the RD/Nutritionist clarification! It is much the same for ‘psychologists’ vs those who have studied it. I would never call myself a ‘psychologist’ knowing that I do not hold that registered title (even though I hold an honours degree), but I know people who (not rightly so) do call themselves one. I guess it just reminds us to be mindful of who we are seeking advice from.
Looks like a super fun event!
Neil says:
Great Tips! Stress is a huge topic in health, but usually what we are told in regards to stress is a bit oversimplified: Reduce your stress; too much stress is bad for your health. This isn’t bad advice, but stress can be such a vague and overwhelming idea that it is hard to know where to start.
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