Can Hot Sauce and Ice Water Really Fuel Your Metabolism?

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Well, here we are. 20-something days into the new year and I have yet to brave the gym. What’s worse is I’m still polishing off leftover holiday treats and I’m fearing my thighs are becoming quite um, thunderous.

Thankfully, a good friend of mine, Gina Juenger, RD, LD, CSCS, (registered and licensed dietician and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), is here to help. Her credentials, knowledge about wellness and rock hard bod proves real life metabolism smarts do a body good.

Gina has been kind enough to answer all of my metabolism questions and bust some myths along the way to help us blast that badonkadonk. 

Myth: Eating a piece of celery will put you in a negative caloric balance because digesting it uses up more calories than it provides.

False:  “No foods put you in a negative calorie balance. For example, people say if you eat celery you burn more calories digesting than eating it. Not true. Goes back to the thermic effect of food (energy expended by our bodies in order to consume and process food). It's a small amount of our daily total caloric expediture and celery isn't going to have much of an impact on the thermic effect of food/feeding.” 

Myth: Women will bulk up “too much” if they lift weights, so they should stick to cardio.

False: “Women will not get big if they lift heavy! If you want abs, squat and dead-lift. If you want defined arms, squat and dead-lift! Why? Because our legs are our largest muscle group, if we train them hard, we tax the entire metabolic system making our body more metabolically active. The #1 single best exercise is the squat! Lifting weights actually boosts your metabolism more than a cardio workout. Women don't have the nearly the amount of testosterone mend do and no matter how they try they aren't going to look like the giant women bodybuilders they see in magazines. Those women are "enhanced" through the use of synthetic testosterone.”

Myth: Eating a grapefruit and drinking ice water before hitting the gym boosts metabolism.

False: "Grapefruit contains carbohydrates and carbohydrates give you energy. So it may help fuel you through your workout, but it’s not going to give you an added metabolism boost. Any fruit or carbohydrate in general will give you the fuel you need to make it through the training session. And the myth for the ice water is that your body has to “warm it  up” thus burning more calories. Your metabolism doesn’t notice if it’s cold, hot or room temperature. Just keep drinking water to stay hydrated though your workout."

Myth: You can focus on one area and “spot” reduce (i.e. 1000 reps a day will flatten you out in that trouble area).

False: “Spot reduction does not exist!! The most popular question of all times is what is the best ab exercise? My answer: a healthy DIET! You can do a million crunches and you will never see your abs until you get rid of the fat layer covering them up. And crunches alone won’t do anything to get rid of the fat!”

Myth: Spicy or hot foods boost your metabolism.

Truth: “There is some research that proves this is true. To exactly what extent, I’m not 100% sure, but I know it’s a minute amount. It’s not enough to affect your daily caloric expenditure if you are hoping for weight loss.”

Darn.

Gina recommends if you are trying to get on-track with a diet and exercise program is to start with small changes. If you go cold turkey and cut out everything at once, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Pick one thing at a time that you are willing to change and in a couple weeks, add another challenge to the mix. It can be food related or fitness related, but start slow and work your way up. Just remember, the weight didn’t come on over night so it won’t come off overnight.

Gina also stressed that breakfast is the single most important meal of the day. You’ve heard it a million times, and yes it’s true; it fuels the metabolic fire, so eat your morning grub!

Since chugging ice water and eating spicy foods won't get you very far, it's important to understand glycemic index, or the ranking of foods based on how they affect blood sugar.  Foods with a high GI spike your blood sugar and then quickly crash. Foods with low GI have a more gradual rise in blood sugar and don’t give you that crash. 

Here is a list of foods based on GI that can either make or break your metabolism and fitness goals:

Low GI  (Great for maintaining energy and fueling metabolism!) 

• Cooked Oatmeal
• Sour Dough Bread
• Pumpernickel Bread
• Barley
• Cherries
• Grapefruit
• Chocolate Bar
• Yogurt
• Whole Milk
• Apples
• Toasted Mueseli
• Converted Rice

Intermediate GI (So-so at maintaining energy.)

• Whole Wheat Bread
• Coca-Cola
• Pita Bread
• Cantaloupe
• Pineapple
• Couscous
• Hamburger Bun
• Popcorn
• Raisins
• Taco Shell
• Shredded Wheat
• Oat Bran Muffin
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Banana unripe
• Long Rice
• Fruit Syrup, Diluted

High GI  (These burn too fast, causing a crash.)

• Instant Boiled Rice
• White Bread
• French Fries
• Pretzels
• Watermelon
• Corn Flakes
• Pumpkin
• Sports Drinks (i.e. Gatorade)
• Vanilla Wafers
• Bagel
• Saltines (Sorry, Aud)
  

Overall, Gina says the key to metabolism and burning the post-holiday flab is eat protein, small snacks, eat every 3-4 hours, moderate your GI, and exercise, exercise, exercise!

Let’s toss those cookies, St. Louis! (Er, I don't mean take up bulimia.)

If you are interested in tracking calories, this is a great place to start. Good luck!