By Melissa Rollins (Morning News)
Biggest Loser contestants came with questions in hand Tuesday night for a training session with nutritionist Kitty Finklea. They wanted to know about portion sizes, sodium, carbohydrates and sugar substitutes, among a variety of other topics.
As a snack, Stephanie Navarro, community resource manager for United Way of Florence County, prepared plain popcorn and seasoned it with liquid aminos, nutritional yeast and flaxseed oil.
Finklea asked contestants who enjoyed the new seasoning options and some raised their hands. When asked who didn’t like it, an equal number of hands were raised.
“The one thing about eating healthy is trying new things,” Finklea said. “The fact that you tried it is awesome. It’s OK if you don’t like it. You can pop corn kernels in the microwave and add what you do like. You can add olive oil and salt and pepper. You can add a little bit of parmesan cheese. One cup of popcorn like that is about 100 calories and can meet that crunchy, salty flavor.”
Finklea said nutritional yeast is a good option because it is high in B vitamins, which helps with energy.
One question from contestants was what to eat before a workout.
“The general guideline is 15 to 25 grams of carbs per 30- to 60-minute workout,” Finklea said. “That is like a half of a sandwich. A lot of the bars like a NutriGrain bar or a Kashi bar are somewhere in the range. A piece of fruit or a serving of yogurt will run between 15 and 25 grams.”
How long after eating before being to workout is determined by the person, Finklea said. Some people can eat and immediately work out, others need to wait 30 minutes; do what feels right for your body.
Another question was whether it was good to use egg substitutes like Egg Beaters.
“I think egg whites and Egg Beaters are a great source of protein,” Finklea said. “If I’m having a three-egg omelet, I use one whole egg and two egg whites.”
One contestant had a question about how to stop snacking when you are not hungry, just bored or avoiding doing something. Finklea said to distract yourself by talking to a friend, getting up and walking outside or petting your dog or cat. Other contestants offered suggestions as well, such as chewing crushed ice, chewing gum or even chewing on a straw.
What types of bread are good for you was another topic of interest, specifically the difference between wheat bread and white wheat bread.
“Most bread is made of wheat,” Finklea said. “With wheat bread, they can put caramel food coloring in it and call it wheat bread. If you are looking for a substantial wheat bread, it needs to say 100 percent whole wheat. The first ingredient needs to say whole wheat.”
The contestants will get a more information about nutrition next week. All of the contestants will take a field trip to a local grocery store to learn how to read labels and what things to look out for when they are shopping.
Read the story at SCNOW.com!