Answers from the Q&As on IG
Pheeewh. I picked most of the questions you asked on IG and answered them here! I hope you understand that I cant answer all of them.
And, you have to have to have to keep in mind that these are just answers based on my opinions and my knowledge. I’m not a licensed PT or nutritionist, just a nurse who loves working out and eating good and healthy food.
The questions are marked with + and the Swedish questions/answers are cursive. There are only Swedish translations on the questions that were asked in Swedish.
Also, be prepared for some minor mistakes :P
Now, enjoy the answers!
+ How often do you have cheat meals?
+ Hur ofta har du nån slags cheat day?
I have one to one and a half day per week when eat whatever I want. I don’t like to call it cheat, because I don’t see Clean eating as a diet, but a lifestyle, therefore you can’t cheat :)
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Jag har en till en och en halv dag I veckan då jag äter vad jag vill. Dock kallar jag inte det för ”fuskdag” eftersom jag anser att Clean eating är mer av en livsstil än en diet, och därför kan man inte heller fuska. :)
+ What exactly is clean eating?
+ Vad menas Egentligen med att "äta rent"?
So basically Clean eating is avoiding not only fast food, which is obviously bad, but any processed, sugary/salty foods.
When you eat Clean you eat more often, between 5-8 times per day. You eat lean protein, complex carbs, and good healthy fats. If you do this your blood-sugar levels will keep stable and YOU’ll feel satisfied, no cravings. You will have tons of energy and feel great since you get all the nutrients you need! No stupid starving or endless hunger. And guess what? If you need to lose weight it will happen almost without you having to try. AND of course you can have a treat now and again.
When you Eat Clean your body will react by losing weight if you need to lose, maintaining a healthy weight if that’s where you are, or even gaining weight if you are too skinny.
Never worry about counting calories again. You will never have to diet. Eating Clean will keep you lean and healthy for the rest of your long life. Eating Clean guarantees results!
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Att äta Rent innebär inte bara att undvika snabbmat, som är uppenbart dåligt för en, utan också all bearbetad, sockrig/salt mat.
När du äter rent ska du äta oftare, ca 5-8 gånger om dagen. Man äter magert protein, långsamma kolhydrater och hälsosamma fetter. Detta gör att ditt blodsocker hålls på en jämn nivå vilket resulterar i att du känner dig nöjd hela tiden, inget sötsug. Du kommer att ha massvis med energi och må bra eftersom din kropp får alla näringsämnen den behöver. Ingen korkad svält eller konstant hunger. Och vet du vad? Om du behöver gå ner I vikt kommer du att göra det nästan utan at tens försöka. Och så klart får du unna dig något mindra nyttigt då och då.
När du äter rent kommer din kropp att reagera genom att gå ner den vikt du behöver bli av med, behålla en hälsosam vikt om du har det, eller till och med gå upp i vikt om du är för smal.
Du kommer aldrig behöva räkna kalorier igen eller gå på någon diet. Att äta rent kommer att hålla dig och din kropp hälsosam för resten av livet. Att äta rent garanterar dig resultat!
+ I am in a reasonable fitness shape... I am only 4kg away from my goal and the stomach s getting flatter... jowever I have been beating my ass off n the gym for the last couple of months yet no weight loss. I say it’s the muscles building up. But I still want to break my plateau... any recommendations?
Ok so there are 2 alternatives to break a plateau. Either you step it up and increase the intensity of your workouts, or you take a week, or at least 5 days off from working out, and then get back at it again. In your case, I personally think the second alternative would be better, since it sounds like your body needs the rest to be able to get back on track! And stop looking at the scale, its only good for keeping track of major weight loss, not when you are healthy because of the muscle gains, as you say!
+ Would you recommend a 16 year old girl who works out and does some type of sport everyday for at least an hour to take protein powder?
You should eat protein powder if you feel like its hard getting all the protein you need from only food, no matter if you are 16 or 45 J You can find the brand I use here http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/whey.html
And the on the Swedish site: http://www.gymgrossisten.com/1/sv/artiklar/100-whey-gold-standard
+ How long was it till you started seeing results?
I get this question a lot, and I don’t really know how to answer it, because I mean, it’s hard to say exactly when I started. Maybe a few weeks until I saw bigger differences, but since my first goal was to lose weight I used the scale and therefore I saw results pretty much the same week as I started.
+ What supplements do you take?
None, I only drink/bake with protein powder.
+ What keeps you in your workout/diet plan? I always fail mine after 3months then I'll start again when I'm feeling super fat :(
You need to set reachable goals and rules for yourself. There is almost no one who can jump into a strict diet and workout plan and keep it forever. Start slowly and step it up gradually as you feel more comfortable. And my biggest tip: allow treats now and then, because otherwise it could be very hard to try to push through the toughest days when you really want to eat a pie or ice cream. That way you can tell yourself “Hmm ok, I really want that ice cream, BUT, I will have it on Friday instead because Fridays are my treat days”.
+ Do you drink a protein shake every day? Or after cardio?
I drink protein after workouts where I know I won’t be able to eat food right away after finishing.
+ Do you count calories and macro nutrients? Do you believe low carb diets are more effective in fat loss than a regular balanced diet with calorie deficit?
No I don’t count. I did before but I feel like the whole food thing would take up way too much time if I were to track every single thing, so I just stay clean.
I believe that low carb diets are effective, for a short while, because it's not healthy to cut out an entire source of nutrition, and you won’t be able to stay on your diet for ever because the brain needs carbs to work correctly. That’s why I advocate a clean eating lifestyle which could be sustainable for anyone, forever.
+ How do you lose weight?
+ Hur går man ner i vikt?
The basics of losing weight is keeping you calorie intake lower than what your body burns, i.e. burning more calories than you eat so that your body will take energy from stored fat instead of all the food you eat. BUT if you get on with eating clean, doing cardio and full body weight work you will lose weight. That way you won’t have to track every single calorie you eat, which is really tiring, I’ve tried.
(If you want to read about the exact way to do it by calculating your BMR and calorie need you can read on this page, it will give a good understanding http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/howtoloseweight.htm )
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Grunderna I hur man går ner I vikt är att bränna fler kalorier än man stoppar i sig, så att kroppen tvingas ta energi från lagrat fett. MEN, om du börjar med Clean eating, konditionsträning och styrketräning för hela kroppen så kommer du garanterat att gå ner i vikt. På så sätt behöver du inte räkna varenda kalori du äter, vilket är vääldigt jobbigt, jag har provat.
(Om du ändå vill läsa om hur viktnedgång funkar, dvs. genom att räkna ut ditt BMR och kaloribehov så kan du läsa på denna sidan, på engelska. http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/howtoloseweight.htm )
+With two kids and my husband’s work schedule the gym isn't an option, what at home workouts can you recommend?
Do you have any equipment? Some great things to get and keep at home are: fitness ball (there are endless exercises you can do with it), and kettlebell or dumbbells with adjustable weights. Those things will get you FAR. You can check out the at home workouts I’ve put together (http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/june/60-60-30-circuit.html, and http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/october/halloween-workout-to-do-at-home.html), but really you should just pick all the best exercises, both for cardio (burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, power jumps etc) and strength (squats, lunges, pushups, planks etc), and make your own workouts! Add more and more weight as you get stronger!
+ Where do you draw your daily inspiration to keep yourself motivated?
Mostly from knowing what I have done and what I am capable of doing, from all of you who support me and each other, and from seeing all the people who know what they’re talking about!
+ A normal food-day for you?
+ En vanlig matdag för dig?
I’ve posted this before, you can read it here: http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/july/what-i-eat.html
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Jag har skrivit detta innan, bland annat här: http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/july/what-i-eat.html
+ How do you keep your emotions in check? Generally the reason I eat awful is because I get emotional. So basically how do you keep yourself from eating like crap?
I have days where I can eat “crap”, so if I get cravings on a day which is not a crap-eating day I get a healthy snack and save the crap for the crap day lol J If you eat right, as I explained about clean eating, you won’t get cravings cause your body gets all it needs from your regular food!
+ Plz share best arm exercises. Also how often can u eat whole wheat carbs?
Some of my fav arm exercises are different curls, tricep dips, reversed barbell curls, body row, dumbbell kickbacks, close grips bench press, tricep extensions and many more!
I don’t know what you mean by “can eat carbs”, but anyway, it is individual and not the same for everybody!
+ How did you learn everything about working out and eating right? Your results are awesome! I workout several times per week, both strength and cardio and I eat healthy (allow the occasional treat) but it feels like I’ve gained more fat?!? I’ve been doing this for about 1,5-2 years.
+ Hur har lärt dig allting om träning och kost? Du har fått grymma resultat!! Jag tränar flera gånger I veckan både styrka och kondition och äter nyttigt (unnar mig sötsaker ibland) men det känns som jag bara har fått mer fett???? Jag har gjort detta i ungefär 1,5 - 2 år
Thank you, that’s so nice of you! J I’ve read and read and tried my way!
Okay… that sounds weird. Maybe you’re eating too much, even if it’s healthy food? Or maybe your workout intensity isn’t high enough! And don’t forget that you have to change you workouts every now and then to prevent the body from adjusting to it!
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Tack vad snäll du är! J Jag har läst och läst och provat mig fram!
Okej… det låter ju skumt. Du kanske äter för stora portioner, även om det är nyttig mat? Eller så tränar du inte tillräckligt intensivt! Och glöm inte att du måste ändra om i träningen då och då så att kroppen inte vänjer sig!
+ How do you know how much carbs you're supposed to eat without getting a nutritionist?
You can get an approximate calculation by using calculators like this one (http://www.freedieting.com/tools/nutrient_calculator.htm) Keep in mind that I just took the first one that came up when I google, so It might not be accurate, AND this is just roughly estimated values.
+ How do you keep cleaning eating interesting and flavorful?
Try to collect all the good recipes you can find, if you feel like your fantasy fails you! There are many people on IG who post awesome recipes every day!
Use a lot of herbs and fresh foods! They are naturally more flavorful!
+ What are some tricks for leaner, slimmer thighs?
The same as always :P Cardio and body weight exercises!
+ Do you do cardio before your workout?
Normally I do weights and cardio on different days, but sometimes, when I mix it, I try to do a quick cardio warm up (10 mins), lift my weights, and then do cardio for a bit longer at the end of my workout!
+ When trying to lose weight how many calories would U recommend I consume? And how many should I burn?
You can read what I just wrote on the question about how many carbs you should eat!
+ How do you lose the fat in your waist?
I’ve written a post about this before, you can read it here: http://karolinaterese.blogg.se/2012/august/how-to-get-rid-of-love-handles-muffin-tops-and-belly-fat.html
+ What's your workout schedule like? How many times a week do you work out and how long? Do you have to watch what you eat as well?
Ok firstly, the food is THE biggest part of a healthy life. So yes, first you get you clean eating going, then you can start exercising! Right now my workouts are a bit messed up because I work on very different times each day, so now I have 3-4 days of working out per week. 1-2 cardio days and the rest weight lifting!
+ What are some good post workout meals or things to eat instead of sweets??
Protein powder in different shapes like pancakes, smoothies, shakes etc, or just a regular meal! Things to eat instead of sweets... well as a first step you can eat fruit instead of sweets, but after a while you might want to cut down on the sugary fruits as its still a lot of sugar, natural or not. Nuts, protein puddings/cakes/ice cream, freshly pressed juice and Greek yoghurt are good treats too.
+ What do u eat during night duty? And would u exercise before night duty or immediately after? #nurse
I don’t have night duty, but when I did I tried to eat as on a normal day but much less carbs, as your body slows down a bit, weather we’re awake or not. Hm... That’s a great question... on one hand I would do it before because that’s more normal, but then I would worry about draining my energy on working out and being tired all night :P and on the other hand I would do it after and then go straight to bed.
+ Do you have any guilty pleasures? Like one chocolate bar or ice cream?
Oooh, yes. But I try to keep them in check. But of course I fail sometimes and just get the damn ice cream instead :P
Chicken broccoli pie
Ok so I didnt write down the recpie, plus, some ingredients are only available in sweden so I tried to come up with good substitutions. So start with the fat and eggs, then add the almond flour, sesame seeds, salt and mix. Then start with half of the wheat bran or psyllium husk, what ever you chose, and add more until you have a good crumbly dough!
2 dl Almond flour
2-3 dl wheat bran (Vetekli. jag tog 1 1/2 dl pofiber och resten vetekli)
OR 2 dl Psyllium husk (=fiberhusk)
70 g Butter (can be switched for coconut fat)
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1-2 eggs depending on the size
Salt
Cover a round baking tin (with a removable edge or what ever its called lol). Peck the spread dough with a fork to prevent bubbles. Bake for aprox 10 mins at 220 degrees celcuis.
Filling:
2 chicken filets
Broccoli (as much as you want, or about the same volume as the chicken)
4 eggs (3 if they are big)
3 dl low fat milk
Salt and white pepper
Cut the chicken into smaller pieces. Boil the broccoli and cut into smaller pieces. Fry the chicken with some spices. Beat the eggs with the seasoning and milk until its blended. Place the chicken and broccoli in the pre cooked crust (still in the baking tin) and then pour the egg mix on. Bake for aprox 30 mins or until the egg mix has set. You might need to cover the top with foil to not burn it!
Enjoy!
How to make a cut out shirt!
And this is what it looks like!
Halloween workout to do at home
The brochure!
How do you get started with exercising?
How do you get started with exercising AND get the strength to maintain it?
(Always consult with a doctor before starting a new lifestyle)
- Start slowly!
Kick starting your training with 7 workout days per week is rarely sustainable. Start slowly and steady instead by setting aside ex 2-3 days per week on which you SHALL workout! And when you feel more secure and your body has adapted to working out you can up your workouts gradually! This also applies to those who have been working out regularly for perhaps several years but lost the motivation. To start out too rough will most definitely only cause burnout.
- Try different workout forms!
Everybody doesn’t think alike! Somebody might thing that running and weight lifting with free weights are the ultimate workout forms while someone else thinks it is much more fun to do aerobics and body weight exercises. Examples of different forms of exercise may be group classes such as zumba, boxercise, spinning or yoga, weight training with machines, free weights or body weight exercises, swimming, running, cycling or crossfit! Try different things to find your favorites!
- Keep your workouts varied !
It is neither particularly fun nor good for your body to do the same exercises over and over again. By changing the workout form and exercises occasionally you’ll get more out of your workout since your body won’t have time to adjust (if you have a workout schedule with 10 exercises that you perform every time you exercise, your body will quickly adapt, which means that neither your muscles or stamina will get the challenge they need to develop, and the body won’t burn as much energy (calories).
Here is an example of how a variated workout week could look:
|
MONDAY |
TUESDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
THURSDAY |
FRIDAY |
SATURDAY |
SUNDAY |
|
50 min powerwalk + back |
Weights: |
REST |
60 min Zumba |
Weights: Arms + shoulders |
REST |
Swimming + core |
- Workout together with someone – or not?
Some people love working out alone and to be able to fully focus on themselves, while others find it really boring to work out by themselves and would rather train with one or two friends. Sometimes, as when weight lifting with free weights, you may want to have someone who checks your form (to prevent injuries) when you perform the exercises, called a spotter. BUT of course, it can be distracting to workout with someone, especially if you are a beginner, as there is a high risk that your workout won’t be as effective as is could have been. Experiment to see what suits you!
- Rest! It is more important than you think!
Rest is an incredibly important part in creating a healty body! It is important both for your body and muscles, and for your physical health for you to be able to maintain your fitness activities! Resistance training leads to trauma or injury of the cellular proteins in muscle. This leads the cells to begin a cascade of events leading to muscle repair and growth! (Remember to always eat right after working out to prevent catabolism which is muscle break down) And guess when the muscle growth happens? During REST! So listen to your body! Do you feel like you need to rest, although it is not really a rest day? Rest then! But remember, when You don’t feel like going for a run because it’s raining outside, it is NOT your body telling you that you need to rest, it is your mind and lack of motivation, and you know what we say: listen to your body, not your mind!
A basic leg & butt workout
Good fitness page!
One of my favorites is livestrong.com! They have SO many posts about pretty much everything. Of course some of them are a bit so-so, but most of them are reallt good! Basic info on a level that everybody can understand!
Here are some examples
Body weight exercises
http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/551492-2o-best-body-weight-exercises/#slide-12
When to eat before workout
http://www.livestrong.com/article/292099-how-long-after-you-eat-can-you-workout/
Full body, mainly core and quads
Stand in plank position. Lift one leg straight up, keeping it extended. Every part of you body except the lifted leg should be in the exact same position as when you started! No hip moves! You can choose if you want to do for expample 15 lifts in a row with the same leg, or alternate after every lift!
The upgraded version requires good balance, since we're taking it up on the ball! The moves are the same, but when you're on the ball your core gets even more engaged, as well as your back, quads and shoulders (and the rest of your body ;)!
How to get rid of love handles, muffin tops and belly fat!
One of the questions I oftenly get is how to lose the muffin top, love handles and stomach fat. And the answer is basically the same as I've said before: for any type of fat loss, no matter where on your body it is, the magical formula is: varied cardio + clean diet + weight lifting! A.L.W.A.Y.S!
Varied cardio
When I say varied cardio I mean that instead of doing the same type of cardio like running, power walk, biking etc., you choose 2 or 3 different types! By changing your cardio workout you will burn more calories, compared to when you do the same all the time. The reason to that is that if you run your 8 kilometers 4 days a week for 8 weeks in a row, your body will adapt and get used to that! This is what happens when you "plateau" (stop losing weight even though you’re doing the same amount of exercise as before). So you should never do the same workout all the time. The body needs a good challenge each time!
Clean diet
The diet part I have explained before. Basically you avoid all processed food! You eat lean meat, complex carbs and good fats. You eat 5-6 meals per day and keep your blood sugar levels normal throughout the entire day!
You can visit http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/what-is-clean-eating/ and http://www.eatcleandiet.com/ to get great info!
Weight lifting
Ok; let’s make this clear, once and for all. WEIGHT LIFTING/STRENGTH TRAINING WILL NOT MAKE YOU BULKY! What it WILL do, is boost your BMR (which is your basal metabolic rate)! Why? More muscles need more energy = they burn more calories without you doing anything. And of course you need to have worked muscles to look toned. Otherwise you could lose all the weight in the world, and when you’re done, you'd still just look skinny fat or dying. And YES it is that obvious when someone has lost their weight by just doing cardio and still eating crap, or by eating too little food. It's easily spotted and I really don’t think that is something to strive for, partly because it doesn’t look good at all, sorry, and partly because it ISN'T good for neither your outer body (meaning muscles, skin etc) nor the inner (all organs). So a good muscles base is necessary!
POINTERS
Sit ups will NOT make your belly flat
Neither will crunches or Russian twists or any other ab focused workout. They will build the muscle underneath the stomach fat, so that when you have lost your fat, you will look toned. BUT
you don’t have to do a single ab exercise to get your 6-pack. You could basically eat clean and do full body workouts and cardio and still get it!
Once again I would like to point out that there is no way of exercising that will target fat loss to one specific area. You can’t choose to lose weight in your stomach and still keep your tits. Either your stomach fat might go first, or your butt, back and tit fat goes! You can’t choose! Of course all people lose fat differently, so somebody might actually get to keep their hips and butt, and still lose the thigh fat or whatever they want to lose. It is individual!
Proper squat form
Starting position:
- Feet – Keep your feet shoulder wide. You toes should be pointing at a 45 degree angle.
- Back – You back should be straight through out the whole exercise!
- ( Bar – First of all, do not squat with weights until you are SUPER sure how to keep proper form! The bar should be placed under your shoulder blades, on the "soft" spot (also known as the "trap" muscle) and not on any bones.)
- Head and eyes – Your eyes should be focused right in front you or on a spot on the floor, aprox 2 meters in front of you. You should focus on the same spot for the entire exercise.
- Heels – When you're beginning your squat you need to focus the weight on your heels, and not your toes, which would ne the natural move.
Squatting down:
- Knees out – You knee should always follow your feet and be over your toes when squatting down. If you aren't sure if they follow your feet, you can check and see if you can see your toes at the inside of your knees. That is also OK, but you should NEVER, I mean NEVER see your toes on the outside of your knees!
- Hips – When bending yout knees your hip will shift back a bit, and it should! Almost like an arch/flat back. It will help to keep you more stable!
- Head and eyes – Your eyes should be focused right in front you or on a spot on the floor, aprox 2 meters in front of you.
- Butt - Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can while coming up
- Heels - Push the weight through your heels!
- Legs - Still keep your knees out!
- Hips – Most of the power for the squat comes from the hips. Drive the hips in upwards in one continous motion. (whatch the youtube clip to get a better idea of what I mean!)
Upper body
The picture says it all, exept you have to keep you core tight! Feel free to variate your grip between wide and close to target different muscles!
4 parts Full body workout
You start with the top box which is the warm up! Start by doing high knees, since they are marked with the #1, then you do plank walks as they are #2, then it's time for high kneew again (#3), and you keep going like that until you've done all 8 sets in the warm up!
Then you move on to the first of the 4 parts, which all are marked in the order you should do them. From 1-4 obviously. You finish ALL 3 or 2 sets in each part before you move on to the next one. Example: in part 2 you do 1 set of plank rotations, 12 butt bridges (the > means more than, so at least 20 kg), and 15 sumo squats! Then you do it 2 more rounds, and when you're finished you can move on to part 3!
[Butt bridges with hip barbell means you do your regular bridges (butt lifts) but you place the 20 kg barbell at your hip bones, holding it there with your hands while lifting your butt! Halfway meeting punches is posted earlier, you basically hold a dumbbell in each hand and punch straight out, so that they are parallel in the middle when one hand is moving outwards and the other one is moving inwards! Plank rotation is also posted previously! Lunge jumps is when you jump straight up, land in a deep lunge, jump up again and land in a lunge with the other leg forward! The rest is very googlable! And btw haha :) this workout could take up to 1,5 hrs (or more obviously) if you arent efficient! SO GET UP AND WORK IT!
Mediterranean fish package
(I wont write out any amounts since you can choose yourself depending on how you like it. I WILL write how much I use for one person)
200 g of white fish, I used haddock
carrot
garlic, I used herb marinated
sundried tomatos, also herb marinated
bacon/italian air-dried ham, I used 125 g of bacon/4 people
lemon
scallions
salt/pepper
shrimp
spinach
- Turn the oven on to 250+ degrees celsius -
1. Rip square pieces of foil. Drizzle them with EVOO and place aprox 2 sliced herb marinated garlic cloves on the drizzle (use maximum 1 clove/package if you use regular fresh garlic)
2. Place your bacon on a baking grid and shove em into the oven for a quick half-crisp up. If you use italian ham you dont have to pre-crisp it!
2. Place the fish on top of the garlic and add some dried tomatoes. Season the fish as you like with salt and pepper.
3. Get your carrot, peel it. And keep peeling it into thin stripes that you top your fish with!
4. Grab the bacon, which is not cooked through, but about halfway so it's partly cripsy, and so that it will be perfectly cooked when the package is done. Pat them dry with a paper towel and place them on your fish. 1-2 slices per package. Lower the heat to about 200 degrees!
5. Add som roughly chopped scallions and one or two lemon slices.
6. Fold you foil together, as airproof as you can, so that the fish gets steamed. Cook for aprox 20 minutes!
7. When you take the package out and open it, add som shrimp to the hot fish and top it with some spinach.
Served with beans and brown rice
Chia vs. Flax
Here are the differences and reasons to why I think you should eat chia seeds instead of flax seeds!
Flaxseeds are known for their high omega-3 fat content, a heart-healthy fatty acid. Flaxseeds contain 150 calories per 1-oz. serving. They also contain 12 g of fat, 8 g of cargohydrates and 5 g of protein -- comparable to chia seeds. Flax, however, is lower in calcium, with just 7 percent of the RDA, and phosphorus, with 18 percent of the RDA. Flax, however, contains 9 percent of the RDA for iron, while chia offers none, and 31 percent of the RDA for thiamin, 27 percent for magnesium, 35 percent for manganese and 17 percent for copper.
Brown flax seeds
Chia is a seed from the salvia plant native to Mexico, once used as a power food for Aztec warriors.
One oz. of chia seeds contains 137 calories, 9 g of fat and 4 g of protein. They are also a source of calcium, with 18 percent of the recommended dietary allowance based on a 2,000-calorie diet. One oz. of chia also offers 27 percent of the RDA for phosphorus and 30 percent for manganese.
Chia seeds
Flaxseeds must be ground to release their nutrients, but chia seeds do not. The gel-forming quality of chia makes them valuable for dieters. The gel makes you feel full longer, helping you to stick to low-calorie meal plan. Chia seeds also help with hydration, as they soak up water when they form a gel -- making them helpful for endurance athletes.
Chia seeds do NOT contain any of those toxic cyanogenic compounds (linamarin, linustatin, and neolinustatin) which are found in flax seed.
And just to compare with some common foods:
Chia seeds contain
- 2 times the protein of any other seed or grain
- 5 times the calcium of milk
- 2 times the amount of potassium as bananas
- 3 times more iron than spinach
- and of course, copious amounts of omega-3 and omega-6
