I have asked myself many times, especially when I wanted someone close to me to improve their habits, a serious mistake because if I have learned something is that you can "motivate a person”, you can teach them to make the best healthier recipes, you can go on a walk/jog with them but all of that will be useless if the person isn’t willing to make the change themselves. You can "drag" a person for a couple of weeks, but at some point, they will stop. But it doesn't just happen with training or eating healthy, I feel that it happens with everything in life, from getting rid of a bad habit of making any decision.
Motivating someone is fine, but I feel that within each person there is a "click" that hooks you and that will keep you motivated and leads you to the discipline that will eventually substitute your motivation. That's why it is important to know what some of those "click" moments are in different people. That way you are able to identify your click moment if you haven't done it yet.
But first I would like to clarify that when I refer to a healthy lifestyle, I mean balance and I know balance can be a very broad concept, but I want to share my concept: balance is leading a healthy lifestyle but also continuing to enjoy your life. You are indeed able to maintain that lifestyle while allowing you to live in the real world.
Now let's move on and get to the "clicks"
Obviously, that "click" varies a lot between people and especially in the ages of the people you ask:
For example, the "click" of elderly people (seniors) to whom I have asked this, tend to be times when they have felt bad or have faced health issues. Especially in today’s day in age people refer to them as the “high-risk population”.
The “click” of younger people is usually motivated by a physical aspect, and with dealing with moments of stress. Some particular circumstances can include a breakup or moments of stress in their jobs which has led them to explore new challenges where they feel that their limits and their minds get stronger.
Finding your “click” is as important as the way in which you are going to direct it. For example, your “click” may at first be motivated by a "negative" moment in your life such as a moment of anxiety or illness, but the real momentum is when you start to feel good with your new habits. That feeling that you get to be able to be healthier, feeling more energetic, by having a more positive mindset, that is the real “CLICK”. Once you feel that, your life changes and there is no going back.
Personally, my click was the day I went to a gym for the first time, I remember doing 15 minutes on the elliptical and getting dizzy! Only with those 15 minutes, my body could not resist it. I was about to be 21 years old and on the elliptical next to me there was a 65-year-old, go after it!
At that moment the “click” turned into a reality and I challenged my habits because indeed I wanted to take that step and figure out how far I would be able to go. I resisted more and more each time, I felt more motivated because I felt that I was a new person, and I continued to do it daily. To this day every time I train and feel like giving up, I remember that at that very moment most people give up! But I will not! I continue and I am motivated! It's been about 7 years since that. I've discovered things about myself that I didn't know I was capable of and I fell in love with myself all over again!
Now I hate the elliptical! But I love the benefits of living a healthy life.
♥ ️
It is common that when individuals start a healthier lifestyle that they are not completely familiar with it could cause many doubts to arise, and one of the most common usually is... “When will I begin to see changes or results?”
The rush of getting in the habit of a different lifestyle...
We live in a society where we want everything immediately, and hopefully without the slightest effort. We tend to want to rush into a lifestyle and to every type of there are various aspects that come with it… That is why questions such as:
Sadly, many of us have fallen into that game, we focus more on external results than internal changes, and there are moments where when focusing on just external results people abandon everything. There are some individuals that pay for gym memberships for 1 year of the gym and never return. They are so focused on physical changes they do not value or notice that they are able to achieve discipline, improve their health, and prevent diseases.
I can tell you that I know countless people who have improved their health, well-being, discipline but who also may not immediately see those results that would have their mind directly goes to in the beginning and it leads to them abandoning everything and has returned to previous habits. But on top of that, even if you get to achieve the physical results in the time you wanted, if you haven't built motivation and a lifestyle, those results will go away just as quickly as you got them.
With that being said the question appears of so, "when will change start?"
My intention is to you bring you a different perspective so you are able to measure your progress from many different angles, not only focus on the physical (and much less with the only reference to the pounds lost) but also be able to pay attention to how much time you will see results with your change of habits:
Day 1 and 2 after starting new habits:
Although you may not believe it from day 1, you are generating an important change in your life, you may feel more alert and with more energy.
1 to 2 weeks after starting new habits:
During this time, you may begin to feel more motivated and energetic, you will also begin to adapt to being more active. You will also feel that it will become less difficult for you to do certain exercises.
4 to 12 weeks after starting habits:
Generally, it may take between 4 and 12 weeks to start seeing changes in your body, in terms of physical changes, it varies a lot in each person and will depend on the following factors:
First of all, the person's initial weight, their BMI, their initial percentage of body fat, their percentage of muscle mass. These are all important because if the person's goal is to lose weight and they have enough "extra pounds", the first pounds could be easier to lose than someone who has little to no "extra pounds".
Another important point to keep in mind is the intensity and frequency in which we exercise, someone who only seeks to exercise to improve their health is different from someone with intentions to improve their performance in competitions.
As you can see, maybe the question is not ... when will I see the changes? The question should be what are the parameters in which I can use to measure my results. Remember that it is never too late to start but think of how far along you could be if you take that first step!
The immediate questions that come up for people will be:
“Does alcohol make you fat? Will alcohol interfere with building my muscle? Will I damage my whole process by drinking alcohol? Is alcohol worse than eating cake? What types of liquor is the healthiest?”
Does it ring a bell? I'm sure many of us have asked ourselves this at times
Before continuing I want to clarify this blog is based purely on my own personal opinion and that it does not cover scientific topics or any deep analysis. I am speaking on behalf of my own experiences and my opinion on this topic.
To begin you may have heard that liquor is made up of empty calories. In simple terms, this refers to the fact that liquor can contain a high amount of energy and few to non-nutrient, which means that the energy intake is not consumed.
With that being said you do not have to be an expert to realize that consuming alcohol will not bring any type of nutritional benefit to the body. Now, you can think about the studies regarding the benefits of drinking red wine that some experts give you, associating it with improvements in cardiac preventions. If you look into this, you will be able to see that there is no final consensus or conclusive result and that on the contrary, they state that the benefits obtained from red wine could be obtained by other means or even consuming other types of natural products. Saving you the negative effects that wine brings as an alcoholic beverage.
But then, what happens in our body when we consume alcohol? Basically, your body tries to release the alcohol from your body and leaves aside certain metabolic functions specifically carbohydrates and fats. That is why many people who dedicate themselves completely to their body than pizza and beer is the ultimate crime.
We have already talked about physical and a little bit of the nutritional issues, but I do not want to leave out other important topics such as mental health, our social life, obviously, I am NOT recommending alcohol abuse. I am not even recommending its consumption, but if I don’t share from my own experience than I am not being honest with you all. I enjoy a good glass of wine, good company, a mimosa on Sundays, the "biggest crime" pizza and wine (carbs and alcohol), and they are things that I am not willing to give up forget a "perfect" figure that for thousands of reasons is going to change many points in my life.
You will be able to find the answer to all those questions when you start asking yourself these questions: what is your goal? Is your objective taking into account real life? How much are you willing to sacrifice? What are your priorities?
Now, the key to everything in MODERATION. I know that moderation is a very subjective word because we have different cognitions of another keyword called FREQUENCY. I could tell you that if the balance between MODERATION and FREQUENCY is achieved, it should not affect your objective!
Cheers 🥂
Feeling bloated occasionally is totally natural, as much as you resist believing it, no one has a flat abdomen 24 hours a day. And watch out! I'm talking about a flat stomach, not an unreal six-pack, that will be in another blog.
Although it is natural that sometimes we feel bloated, it is important to realize how often we are feeling this discomfort. It is also important to pay attention to certain types of food that could be causing inflammation because we could be presenting sensitivity to some type of food. For this, it is always best to go to a doctor, as there are currently several different types of tests that allow us to identify allergies and food sensitivities.
Keep in mind that each type of food has a different digestion process and may lead to intestinal gas and subsequent inflammation, here are some examples:
When you eat foods such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas, try to soak them for 24 hours.
Foods like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage may cause a bit of bloating, so you should listen to your body and see how you feel with these types of vegetables.
Dairy products and their derivatives may also be a cause of inflammation, especially when an individual is lactose intolerant. In this case, you would want to reduce consumption of dairy products. There are currently several substitutes of plant-based alternatives that you could consider including in your diet.
Carbonated drinks and artificial sweeteners also tend to cause inflammation in our abdomen.
Now with this clear ...
There are many little tricks that can help you, and today I will share the ones that I have tried and that have worked for me:
Include fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.
Include some such as celery, onion, watermelon, and melon.
Drinking little water and little fiber intake as well as in excess may contribute to inflammation.
You can season dishes with aromatic herbs or make herbal tea infusions that will allow you to relax and improve abdominal discomfort.
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Only when the mind accepts something the body achieve it... and don’t believe me on this… There are thousands of prestigious studies done on that you can find on the internet. There are group studies where there are placebo effects that take place. In essence, these placebo effects are just telling those people the opposite of what their physical strength and capabilities are. Some are told that they are “unexplainable”. If we go out to an even more extensive playing ground, it is our mind that sets our limits because, in moments where our environment is set to the limit, we manage to do unexplained things that we would never believe we were capable of. In those moments of extreme stress or risk, we forget our limits and we only act…
For many people (including myself) there are times where the mind is our worst enemy and I am convinced that what the mind thinks the body reflects it, but then how to get the mind in our favor?
Working and being disciplined, with our bodies, we can’t just simply pretend to see changes overnight, nor correct years of bad habits in just 1 week. But if you start today, you are taking the first big step to make that change real.
Some ideas:
These are all ways we can cultivate self-love and give health to our minds.
Do you want more concrete ideas?
I invite you to join the #2FITCHALLENGE where together we will journey through 21 days of experiences that have to do with mental and physical change, we will give you ideas that allow you to cultivate self-love that everyone talks to us about.
See you Monday, August 10th because together we can experience a change!
Get ready to reconcile yourself and bring your best smile because YOU are the most important human-being!
Stay connected & stay tuned for the #2FITCHALLENGE
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You are probably wondering, “what comes with all of this?” ... and it is precisely why I want you to reflect on the 3 people you admire most in the world. Differentiating those individuals, you admire and NOT the people that have a perfect body, a perfect smile, or the people that dress a certain way. Surely you chose people who have impacted your life in different ways. In my case the 3 people I admire most are because of their attitude about life, their positivity, facing problems with their head high, for having family values, an immense heart, for being disciplined, and for giving the world love rather than hatred. The day I thought of this I wondered, why wear us down and put all our strength into trying to achieve only physical and material aspects? If no one will remind you in the end about it… If you want to make an impact in your life, do it with your attitude, with your dedication to the world and I assure you that the rest will come on its own.
Writing this blog, I realize how important and how nice it would be if I told these people more how much I admire them, maybe we would help each other shine even brighter and be more aware of what really matters and where our growth focus should be.
Thanks to my 3 people
My parents
My sister
And a plus, my boyfriend
Let's assume that you are one of those individuals who believes that your physical health is important, you invest a lot of time in the gym, you strive to meet your goals and when you feel bad you go to the doctor, but you do not go to any doctor, if your knee hurts you do not go your physician, you know that to be able to solve the specific knee problem you must go to an orthopedic doctor... But... what do you do for your mental health? What do you do to keep your interior space clean, that one space you can’t run away from, and space that we should take the most care of?
"Healthy relationships enable us to be who we are," says Mary Jo Kreitzer, Ph.D., R.N., Director of the Center for Spirituality & Healing. She also continues by saying how "They nurture us, and they help us grow. They help us become better people.”
"We're the average of the 5 people we spent the most time with," thought attributed to Jim Rohan, American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker, have you ever heard this phrase before? I don't know why it refers to 5, I don't know why not 2, 4, or 6 people but I personally think that this phrase contains a great truth, and I could prove it... when I thought of the 5 people I relate most to I realized that I have a little of each of them, and if I think a little further back I realize that many skills, skills and why not, defects have also been acquired by getting used to relating to my average.
Once upon a time, a teacher told me that if I wanted to get to be an athletic person, you should hang out with a group of people who enjoy sports, it would not be easy to try to motivate us 5 people who hate to get out of bed and stay active. If you want to learn to do business, get involved with people who have done business before. You can observe, learn, and thus get involved in the world that attracts your attention. If you want your life not to be drama, avoid people who are constantly complaining, people avoid people who only see the half-empty side of the glass and inject yourself with the energy of people who see the world with eyes of enthusiasm. If you think about it, it’s easier than it looks, do you want to get to know yourself a little better? Analyze how your partner/partners have been or how they are, this will say a lot about you. You attract what you project and surely these people will one of those 5 people in which you relate the most.
The fun thing about this is that if you don't like those average 5 people, you can change it!! And choosing you to want to move on, for me, makes sense. Everything is understood thus far, but… you might ask what about our family? What about people close to us who for obvious reasons make up part of those individuals but who don't necessarily bring happiness or who instead of adding remain in our lives? In this case, I feel that it is time to implement a good strategy to make a change in our own lives, many times what bothers us the most or what makes us clashes with other people, is a reflection of what we should work on internally. If we want to change our environment especially family, let's start by changing ourselves, nothing teaches us more than our own example.
Let us seek to surround ourselves with people who contribute to us and seek to contribute to people. In my case, I love to meet people who know much more than I do, from which I can learn, those who practice their own beliefs and spirituality, those who work, those who continue to work on themselves personally, people who can shine without turning off the light of anyone else. Let us analyze and see how we can better ourselves together. Let’s be open to meeting and surround ourselves with those who lift us up and inspire us to be the best version we can be.
Now after reading this: write in a notebook or in your phone notes the 5 people who make your circle, and ask yourself ... are you happy with those 5 people that you surround yourself with?
I recently came across a very old book in my house titled something like "the diet of the summer", this book was written at least 20 years ago, and surely it was a bestseller. Reading the book, I came across a variety of curious things, such as millennials not inventing the combination of apples with peanut butter and that although there are basic concepts about nutrition, constant studies reevaluate everything. I like how most nutritionists and experts that I follow on social media are so honest because they are open about different topics and are not afraid to accept or speak on behalf of the fact that just because something was right or proven doesn’t mean that new and improved studies can counterclaim those previous ones. Of course, you have to be very careful about who you take nutrition advice from, and above all that they base their advice because I assure you that whatever you want to sustain (whether it is the most scientific or most farfetched topic) for everything there is a study that supports it.
Reading this book made me think about the evolution of diets over time. Of course, keeping in mind, the era of when we find ourselves taking into account these “innovative” or “new” diets. Just a few years ago it was believed that fatty foods were what made people fat, and then came the boom of Fat-Free products, then we thought that sugar was the problem and we started to see Sugar-Free products. Now many people follow a keto diet (a diet based on increased consumption of healthy fats) and probably in a few years a new diet will come out that goes with the time in which we are living.
I remember when I was at school and I was about 12 years old, they showed us the nutrition pyramid, for some reason I remember only the bottom of the pyramid (which is supposed to contain the group of foods that we should consume the most) and it was made up of bread, flour, pasta, potato, and cereals. I don't know about you, but I think no matter if you're vegan, vegetarian or if you consume animal protein if we had to draw a food pyramid the bottom would consist of plants. This is why our 2FIT Protein Bars are made from plants.
Continuing these theories and their evolutions, I remember when I was little my mother told me that fruits were one of the healthiest options. Now, I immediately think of people who choose to never eat fruit because they consider it to not have the proper benefits for your body needs instead these individuals believe that fruit only injects "sugar”, or other individuals who consider milk and its derivatives to be toxic to the body and prefer to stay away from them.
Just a few years ago we were told that we had to eat around 5 – 6 times a day to boost our metabolism, today intermittent fasting is the option that many prefer, where people spend between 12, 14, 16, and up to 24 hours without consuming food.
What's the achievement behind all of this? If you left behind a "diet or way of eating" and went back to previous eating habits, it's because you never learned to eat healthily, you only restricted food. I feel that before we fall into a new diet, we should think about how sustainable it is in time. If some diet worked 100% there would soon be a new diet.
It is a bit difficult not to go crazy with all the information, new studies, new points of view, new theories, but what allows me to see this brief review of the evolution of diets in our society, is that nothing is ever black or white forever. Then the issue of being so strict will only bring negative consequences to our health. (Obviously setting aside cases that for health reasons cannot consume certain types of foods)
We go back to the usual, achieving balance in life is key, enjoying ice cream but also enjoying food the rest of the week, that eating healthy is part of our life, that we do not have to wait for the weekend to eat what we really like, think about it... it would be very sad to waste so many days of our life waiting for a day a week to really go and enjoy what you like.
BALANCE IS THE KEY.
Marce
@Marcelacharry
]]>But for many that dream generates from great sacrifice, leaving their families, taking on heavy work, and fighting to survive.
Despite the controversial issue that exists in the United States mainly because of the discussions on current policies and the multiple protests to bring to light the BLM movement due to discrimination and in justice that have occurred, we cannot ignore the fact that the United States is an immigrant made country. A COUNTRY FOR ALL! On such an important date it is worth remembering the origins of the United States of America.
On July 4th, 1776 (the now country of freedoms), the United States ceased to be considered an extension of Britain, and ironically a group of immigrants was who came to the United States.
Just a few years later, with the arrival of the new century, millions of people immigrated in search of new jobs, new opportunities, and for a chance to start over. Some of these people are linked to large industries, and the industrial power of this nation began to consolidate. Each individual that comes to this country has formed and continues to make up this great country.
We are a country made up of different individuals from all over the world, those whose ancestors have been in this country for centuries, first-generations, newborns, different backgrounds, and many more. That is the beauty of this country!
This Fourth of July, we will celebrate the multiculturalism of this country, the union of forces between cultures, and the gratitude for being immigrants in this country, we are a part of the United States of America. Let us take the time to celebrate and honor that!
Marce
@Marcelacharry
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The things that are never shared with you before exercising:
We all know many benefits come with training, staying active, doing sports, however, there are a few individuals that tell us about some elements you should know before you get started...
Here they are:
Yes, this is true! This is something that not many people talk about, and even if it does not happen in 100% of people, if it is usually very common in many of them. Regardless of how you approach your training (losing weight, increasing muscle mass, endurance training, etc.) an increase on the scale is common. Keep in mind that this does not mean that you are gaining fat or muscle. That weight increase is because you have gone from being sedentary to being active and stimulating muscle fibers while generating micro-tears which usually generates small inflammations. Try to correct those micro-tears, this inflammation can also cause fluid buildup. On the other hand, the muscles of a sedentary person capture less glycogen (and the one that is captured is usually the one that isn’t released) when you start training your muscles to acquire a greater ability to pick up glycogen, and each gram of glycogen retains around 3 grams of water. With that being said this is also a good reason why it is common to have a weight increase.
Weight can be very relative and maintaining the weight of any given individual usually varies between 2 – 4 pounds. Multiple factors go into this. We do not weigh the same every day. Here are other examples of why constantly weighing yourself will not give you an accurate number. For females, if you weigh yourself while on your period, you may likely weigh 2 – 4 pounds more due to liquid build-up. Weighing yourself after having pizza on Sunday can cause you to weigh more due to liquid retention that may be due to the sodium content in these types of foods...
There ISN’T an exercise that allows you to have a smaller waist or an exercise that removes chubby back, and of course, no supplement allows you to choose, you can’t just tell your body where to lose fat. But as long as you have a good and balanced diet and make sure to exercise you will lose fat. There are parts of your body where it is easier to lose fat and then maintain a balanced and healthy diet while staying active will help you get to those places where it’s a bit more difficult. Everything else that you may see is just good MARKETING.
Sweating is a way your body regulates its temperature. Basically, by sweating you are removing water from your body. Which is where staying hydrating comes into play when maintaining an active routine. Hydrating allows you to recuperate the water that leaves your body. Make sure to get in those 8 glasses of liquids throughout the day!
Many people think that people who intend to gain weight have an easy and enviable task, but the truth behind this is that it simply does not work that way. Gaining weight in a HEALTHY WAY does not mean that you can eat all the junk food without having to meet with a nutritionist. Building muscle depends on the way you feed your body which includes those muscles, otherwise, you will be able to gain an amount of fat that will not be healthy for your body. With that being said it is important to seek professional help if needed, they can help guide you in your goals.
Dear reader, if your goal is based on something purely aesthetic, let me tell you that you will never be satisfied. You will always see some type of mistake or something to improve on. I can tell you that you might even feel worse than when you started. The aesthetic part can be a good motivator, but I invite you to focus on feeling healthy (physically and mentally), on improving your mood. I strongly believe these play an important role that will contribute to your happiness!
Marce
@Marcelacharry
]]>The world has changed but not just because of this virus
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Stressful situations in which our body and mind are constantly alert, makes us stop and ask ourselves…
What have we been doing wrong? How can we improve?
We all know that to see the results we want and to be successful in our training there must be: DISCIPLINE, CONSTANCY, & ACCOUNTABILITY. We have read a lot of times about the rule 21-90; it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to transform it into a lifestyle. BUT… how many things can happen in 90 days? Where are these two beloved and hated words when you have a trip to that city that you always wanted to explore? Or when final exams, birthdays, holidays, or when a pandemic comes out of nowhere and all the gyms suddenly close and you feel ask though you can no longer run, jog, walk… breathe.
Are you distressed about the fact that you are not able to train because of that particular situation that you are in? Do you believe in the all-or-nothing rule? In other words, I train for 1 full hour or I train nothing, I will eat all the chocolate or no chocolate at all... I will go to the gym or I will not work out. Well, dear reader, your problem is not the pandemic, your problem is EVERYTHING OR NOTHING. We get used to a routine and it is difficult for us to get out of it. “Next MONDAY” or “Next WEEK I’ll start eating cleaner”
What if you just take a step back and think for a moment that THE WORLD IS YOUR GYM, that you can move your body, stay active, get healthy, and gain strength. Pick a day, any day even in your room and try an improvised Zumba class, or on your next trip aim to hit those 20,000 steps because you walked through and are exploring the city you dreamed of knowing.
Let’s address the topic that is probably dangling over your mind:
Calorie burning! A person who does NOT attend a gym but is active all day long is more efficient, walking, parking their car further, a person who attends a gym where they aim to burn 600 calories, but the rest of the day consists of laying on the couch.
Your body is your gym, working with your own weight has more benefits than you think, so let’s start moving! It is time to explore these endless possibilities that you would not have imagined! Jump, dance, boxing with or without gloves, or even accomplishing your first 5k or 10k without leaving your house? Without a doubt, it would be such a memorable race.
The circumstances of change will always be there, if you accept the art of NOT controlling situations, you will be able to adapt to new and amazing possibilities. You will be able to see your body and THE WORLD AS YOUR OWN GYM. Those 90 days will quickly turn into 180, 270, and then… Welcome a new habit to the family!
If you still have any doubts about how to stay active in these circumstances… here are some ideas 👇🏻
Exercise at home in a fun and exciting way! Choose your favorite activity and find a virtual class! You’ll be surprised to see how many workouts you can do… also, most of these are FREE!
-Yoga
-Zumba
-HIT Training
-Meditation
-Breathing Exercises
You name it!
Walk around the house while talking on the phone! You won’t even realize how many steps you are going to be getting in while chatting with your friend or while checking in with a family member! Blast your favorite playlist and simply have fun dancing!
Reorganize – clean – decorate! all of these activities will keep you moving and help you get out of bed all day!
Have you tried jumping roping? Well, it is one of the best exercises! Between your favorite Netflix binge session try and get some jump rope reps in and it will also allow you to start challenging yourself.
We sincerely hope not to return to normal because there was a problem and together, we can stay active and have fun!
Marce
@Marcelacharry
]]>Are donuts healthier than the average protein bars that are on the market?
The answer is YES...
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Are donuts healthier than the average protein bars that are on the market?
The answer is YES...
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And no, this is NOT a free pass for you to eat a daily donut as your snack, or to finish your workout full of chocolate chips, this is an invitation to know and understand what you are buying and what you are nourishing your body with. If you want to consume a product with the nutritional values of a donut, it is better that you buy a donut and enjoy it. Rather than buying a product disguised as a "healthy food" with superpowers, the only thing that this will lead to is for you to spend your money.
Let's dive into the world of PROTEIN BARS!
You might ask yourself: How do you know when a protein bar is really healthy?
We are breaking this down with just 5 SIMPLE TIPS to better understand how to pick from a dozen of products on the shelf.
If you are looking for a protein bar, the first thing to look at is the amount of protein in the bar. Each 2FIT Protein Bar provides you with 13 grams of protein, which ensures a healthy and important intake without exceeding (generally speaking) the nutritional requirements of the average person. Another important point to highlight is the source where the protein comes from. This can include protein sources from plants, milk, insects (yes, insects).
2FIT provides you with plant-based protein (pea protein). You also might ask yourself, what are the benefits that come with consuming plant-based protein? Great question, according to the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) plant-based diets can help lower the risk of disease and can lead to better health. We encourage all of you to incorporate more plant-based snacks throughout your daily routine.
Check the ingredients that are listed for the protein bar, these are found in the Nutritional Facts Label. Keep in mind the order in which they are written! Because this is MANDATORY. Meaning that this includes the amount of that specific ingredient that is in the bar, that is, those that have greater quantity will appear to be written first, until reaching those that are in less quantity in the bar. This is a great tip because it allows you to know what the product is mainly made of. If you are interested in learning more about Nutritional Facts Labels the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) website has a variety of articles to help you understand the labels better. We highly recommend checking their website.
When it comes to net carbohydrate numbers you should aim towards having a number less than the protein content that is in the bar. (Well, as its name says, the "protein" must weigh heavier, PROTEIN bar).
Calculating the number of net carbohydrates is very simple: you just have to do this mathematical operation
2FIT gives you 6g net carbs while having 13 grams of protein.
Again, keeping in mind that protein should be a dominant factor.
Keep in mind when looking for a protein bar that your bar provides you with a good amount of fiber. This will be great for your digestive system! Each 2FIT Protein Bar brings you between 11 grams and 12 grams of fiber. There are a ton of benefits that are associated with fiber, the Mayo Clinic provides a list of benefits regarding having a high intake of fiber in your diet. Keep in mind that while following a vegan diet/lifestyle it might be tricky to get your daily source of fiber. With that being said, make sure you are paying close attention to the amount of fiber that is in the bar before making your decision.
Be careful with this point! Especially in vegan products where great confusion is found. Check the number of grams of sugar per bar, that number DOES count! There are companies that will market it as organic sugar, honey, agave, coconut, fructose, but keep in mind that they are STILL sugar.
Now that we have this clear and you have a bar with low sugar, but you still feel its sweet yummy flavor!!! You should be aware of what they are replacing its sugar with: definitely, natural sweeteners like Stevia and Monk Fruit are your best option when it comes down to some alternatives.
But, if the protein bars are loaded with sugar alcohol such as Erythritol and Maltitol, although they are sweeteners without calories, they are chemicals that are likely to cause bloating and upset stomachs. Yale NewHaven Health identified this as a con of sugar alcohol.
2FIT Protein Bars have 1-2 grams of sugar and are naturally sweetened with Stevia.
Now that you know these tips, it's time to turn your protein bars around and find out if you have been buying a hidden donut.
Welcome to Marcela's Blogs!
I am Marcela, Co-Founder of 2FIT BRANDS! I am a lawyer, but my passion has always been living and maintaining a healthy life! Now I get to work with the two things that I am most passionate about in my search for balance and fun.
You will find interesting blogs to start or continue your way to a healthy and energetic life!