Ask Kitty…

February 19, 2014 Rachel 13 comments
Posted by Rachel on

[fancyheading textcolor=”#8a328a” heading=”h4″]So many questions!  But we have the answers![/fancyheading]

Nutrition… healthy eathing.., this or that… sodium… So many questions!  But we have the answers!

Use the comments section below to ASK KITTY, our nutritionist, a question or help FEED THE CRICKET.  We’ll post Kitty’s answer or answer your question in our Daily Cricket with an appropriate article, webpage or blog to guide you in the right direction.  (Thereby “feeding the cricket,” get it?)

We look forward to hearing from you!  Healthy trails!

 

13 Comments on “Ask Kitty…”

  2. I have two questions.

    I do not think I understood tonight when you were talking about exercise on My Fitness Pal. So if I have x amount of calories to eat then I workout and it gives me more calories. You said your not supposed to eat the ones it gives you? I just want to make sure I understand so I am doing the right thing.

    So tonight I ate a smart one meal (potatoes and broccoli) and a piece of turkey for dinner. I worked out shortly after. I did 45 minutes on the elliptical which was a little more than 4 miles. I came to the class after that. I started getting hungry in the class and was really hungry by the time I got home. My question is, do you recommend eating after working out?

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your questions Jeffery!

      On MFP, you receive a certain calorie goal – for example one of my clients is recommended 1487 calories and burned 226 in exercise so his net calories is 1261. Don’t get caught up in net calories – look at your actual caloric intake. His recommended goal is 1500 so in my mind he was extremely close to his caloric intake.

      You are a young male and probably need about 500 calories per meal so you may want to make sure you’re getting enough fuel in at your meals. Current recommendations are to fuel working muscles with carbohydrate so make sure to get about 15 grams per 30 minutes of planned exercise. Some people can eat right before exercise and others 30-60 minutes before. Milk, yogurt, fruit and grain all provide carb and each serving listed on the back of the Healthy Eating Rainbow provides about 15 grams of carb. Also read labels for carb.

      General rule is to replace about one half of your calorie burn after a workout – so if you burn 400 during a workout, replace with 200 and a good mix of carb to replenish carb stores and protein for muscle repair. Salad or veggies with protein and some whole grain.

      Here is a good article for more information:

      http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1082

      Reply

  3. How you determine how many calories are in a new recipe and is there any literature you can purchase where you can get this information?

    Reply

    1. Thanks Linda! It is a bit tedious to do it yourself and My Fitness Pal (available online at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) has the option of adding recipes and they will calculate it for you. My Fitness Pal (MFP) is free, so luckily you don’t have to purchase anything. On MFP go to the food tab, and then recipe tab – you basically put in your list of ingredients and how many servings are in the recipe and it will calculate it for you. I recommend doing this on your computer and not on a smart phone.

      There is a long method you can use if you would like. You have to find the calorie content of each item via nutrition facts panel on the back of each ingredient, using MFP or other websites like nutritiondata.com or a USDA nutrient database. These searches are helpful for things like fresh fruit, veggies, meat, poultry or seafood, etc., that don’t have a nutrition label.

      Basically you find and add the calories of each item (you can also add another column for any other nutrients you want to track) and then divide by number of servings.

      SAMPLE:
      Smoothie recipe
      Serving Size : 2
      Nutrients tracked: (Calories – Protein)

      8 oz plain Greek yogurt (Fage) (130 – 23)
      1 scoop protein powder (95 – 28)
      1 cup frozen berry mix (120 – 0)
      1/2 cup baby spinach (10 – 0)
      1 tsp Vanilla extract (12 – 0)
      Water to thin (0 – 0)

      Total Calories: 367
      Total Protein: : 49
      Divided by 2 (servings): Calories, 178; Protein, 24.5

      By the way, this is a good meal replacement as an entire recipe (one serving) and a GREAT breakfast choice at this calorie range but if I was using it for pre or post workout or a snack, I would definitely divide by 2 so you’re only getting the 178 calories and 24.5 g protein. Enjoy!

      Reply

      1. Thanks so much! Now I have a question for carbs…Which is better, rice or orzo? I don’t care much for rice but I love orzo, on the container its 210 calories for a 1/2 cup serving, ..1 gram of fat…7 grams of protein..3 grams of fiber…and 42 carbs…. Is pasta, rice or orzo better, I love baked potatoes but I have had so many since I started this and I would like a change . Thank you!

        Reply

        1. Hi Linda – I looked up brown rice, orzo and quinoa and for 1/4 cup dry (which cooks up to 1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked) and they are all similar in calories (within 20 calories) and carbs, so… you can enjoy whichever you like in a controlled portion! (Yay!) Note that orzo and quinoa are higher in protein as well!

          Orzo Brown Rice Quinoa
          Calories 200 180 206
          Carb 42 36 36
          Fiber 2 2 4
          Protein 7 4 8

          Reply

  4. I found a very tasty peanut butter and would like to know if it is ok to eat. It is Planters cranberry crunch and I eat it on whole wheat bread. Serving size 2 tbsp, Fat 13g, Cals 180, Carbs 12g, Fiber 2g, Protein 6g, Sugar 6g, Sodium 130mg

    Reply

    1. Thanks Lynn – it is a product I haven’t seen so thanks for finding it! When I searched for this product I found the nutrition ingredients on an app called ShopWell (It’s another free app so I just added it to my phone!)

      http://www.shopwell.com/planters-peanut-butter-crunchy-cranberry-crunch/peanut-butter/p/2900001812

      In my opinion, I’d say this is a “fair” product only because of its added sugar and hydrogenated fat. If you really love it, I think its fine to work it in occasionally but I wouldn’t switch away totally from a natural peanut or almond butter that only contains one ingredient (peanuts or almonds). Another option is to add craisins to a natural plain one-ingredient peanut butter. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  5. Hey! We got a question on another blog: “Does muscle weigh more than fat?” The answer is.. a lb. is a lb. However, a lb. of muscle does look and feel very different than a lb. of fat which is why the comparison is often made. You can have two people weigh exact same but one is a size 14 and one is a size 10 (or whatever the equivalent is in male sizes…

    There’s a great picture and further explanation at: http://fitness-health-wellness.com/does-muscle-really-weigh-more-fat/

    Thanks for the great questions – keep them coming!

    Reply

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