Category Archives: Nutrition + Diet
17 Fitness Truths To Get You In Great Shape
While getting in shape has been a start-and-stop-and-start-again affair for me over the last couple years, over the long run, I’ve become fitter than ever.
I’ve dropped more than 30 pounds altogether (or about 2 stone 6, for the British-inclined among you), I run regularly, I’ve become more consistent with strength training, and I’ve dropped several sizes in clothes.
I’m not saying all that to brag. If you saw the details of how I got here, it’s nothing to be proud of — I ran a marathon at the end of 2006 and then did a short triathlon but then stopped exercising altogether for awhile. I became a vegetarian and was eating very healthily (is that a word?) … but then I slowly started eating more junk food and gaining weight.
Recently, I dropped sweets from my diet (cakes, pies, donuts, candy, CHOCOLATE!, sodas, etc.), and surprisingly I don’t really miss them. I’ve been exercising with my sister and my wife on alternate days and it’s been great. I still have more pounds to drop, but I can’t complain. I’m healthy.
The ups-and-downs of my fitness efforts have highlighted some important points for me. Key among those points: don’t quit. If you mess up, and stop for awhile, that doesn’t mean you should quit altogether. Just keep going. You’ll get there eventually.
And during this journey, which hasn’t stopped and probably won’t ever stop, and I’ve learned a lot over these last couple of years, about what works and what doesn’t.
What follows are some of the more important truths I’ve learned, in the trenches, that I’d like to share with you. Take from them what you will — everyone will find different things that work for them, but I think just about all of them are important to share.
Eat Breakfast and weight loss will follow
So how many of you eat breakfast? According to statistics, 95% of overweight people don’t eat breakfast.
Given the fast pace we all seem to live, it is no surprise that skipping breakfast has become the norm for many. Most are so short on time in the morning that coffee is about the only thing that we consume. Many will try and go without food until lunch and some may stop by a fast food outlet and buy one of those breakfast specials. You can already guess that I am going to suggest that you stop this right now!
When you think about it, if you ate dinner at 7.00 pm the night before and get up to start your day at 6.00 am the next morning, you have gone 11 hours without food. Your body needs to recover from this period of starvation and fuel itself for the day ahead. The science behind the need to eat is this, our bodies fuel is glucose, it keeps our motors running.
Glucose is needed by our brains and nervous system. Everyday activities including walking, stretching, talking and thinking need glucose to work. If you don’t give your body what it needs, your system will be forced to try and turn fat into glucose or find stored carbohydrates.
Essentially, keeping your body is this hibernation state burns only minimal calories. So if you go 11 hours without eating after a nights sleep, your body is burning minimal calories. Hopefully you will see that you are doing yourself no favors here.
To top it off, most people are so starving by 10.00 with low sugar levels that they start to crave sugary foods. Some give in to temptation and will consume everything but a healthy snack. Speaking from experience, you also feel pretty drained, no energy and sometimes even ill.
One thing I often hear is that people feel really hungry after eating breakfast so figure it’s better to go without.
If you are hungry after eating breakfast, you may need to introduce protein in the mix. Eggs are a great source of protein and one thing I eat regularly. In-fact, I often take a boiled egg to work and have that along with tuna and salad for lunch. I find an egg really helps with my hunger.
Eggs get a bit of a bad wrap but pack a nutrient punch with vitamins like B and K as well as folic acid and quite low in calories.
So here’s a list of breakfast items you can try that don’t take much time to prepare and will really get you going and help with your weight loss or maintenance program:
Cereals – there are so many these days that we are spoilt for choice. You want low-calorie options with no sugar or salt added and stick to high fibre options. If you happen to have some fresh fruit like banana’s, throw some on your cereal for natural sweetness. Don’t forget the skim milk, no full fat milks!
Eggs and toast – one of my favorites. As mentioned earlier, eggs are full of nutrients and help me get through the morning. Make sure you go with wholemeal bread and try to resist the urge to put butter or margarine on them.
Fruit salad - fresh fruit salad is not only refreshing but will also provide a slow release of energy that will help get you through to lunch. Top with some low-fat yoghurt and you have a yummy start to your day.
Smoothies – one of my all time favorites. You can really mix it up so to speak with different combinations of ingredients. Make sure you use low-fat yoghurt and I always like to throw a handful of oats along with mixed berries and banana.
It’s also a nice idea to try and include some juice. Again, you want to drink a juice with no added sugar, all natural is the best way to go. You can have a glass of juice with your breakfast or if you can’t stomach breakfast first thing, try and have your juice first and then breakfast a bit later. You don’t want to be eating breakfast too late though as it defeats the purpose.
I hope this helps those of you out there who have gotten into a bad habit of skipping the most important meal of the day. You have to break the habit, start your day off right and you will reap the rewards.
Know how many calories you’ve burned?
For me, one of the biggest motivating factors I have in exercising is knowing roughly how many calories I have burned.
That’s not to say that I spend my day counting calories, infact, I rarely think about it but I get some comfort out of knowing that when I exercise, I’m burning away some of what I’ve consumed. I have had friends over the years that are so focused on counting calories, they seem to be obsessed with it. I can’t imagine that it’s a particulay fun way to live.
I don’t think it’s a very healthy way to live your life, at least, not good for your mental health. Being anxious about what you eat is, in my opinion, defeating the purpose of losing weight and getting fit. The idea in doing this is that you will feel happier. But if all you do is worry about calories, it’s pretty obvious that you aren’t going to be all that happy.
When you are anxious or nervous about anything in life, exercise is often the first thing that you will stop doing or never get into. But, exercising is actually probably one of the best things you can do to help combat your anxious mind. Doctors and mental health professionals will always try to encourage their patients to exercise more. It’s good for your mind and of course your body.
So, my point is rather than spending your time worrying and counting calories, focus on getting fit and count the calories you have burned instead. It’s is rewarding and you will see results.
Key points to remember, reduce the amount you eat, start eating fresh fruit and veg, avoid takeout and start exercising.
CalorieLab.com gives you a rough guide to how many calories you can expect to burn doing various exercises. You need to enter your weight and the activity to start. Worth keeping in your bookmarks list for future reference.
Things to know about spinach
We have been eating a lot of spinach lately as an alternative to the usual salad greens like lettuce.
I just love the rich contrast in colors when mixed in with other salad vegetables plus it’s really good for you.
I decided to find out what health benefits I’m gaining from including spinach in my diet and must say that it was a pleasant surprise.
We all know that Popeye ate vast quantities of spinach to make him strong but did you know that spinach also protects against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis, and other diseases?
Researchers have also found that spinach helps fight prostate cancer and reduces the risk of developing ovarian cancer by 40%.
Spinach is also a rich source of vitamin K which is great for keeping your bones strong. You will get around 200% of vitamin K per cup of fresh spinach or about 1000% per cup of boiled spinach, pretty amazing!
If that isn’t enough to convince you to start including spinach in your diet, chew (sorry about that) on this:
Spinach promotes Gastrointestinal Health, provides Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients, reduces the effects of age related decline in brain function, helps prevent eye disease, excellent source of iron and best of all, it’s fat free.
So go online and find some recipes that use spinach, I bet you will be pleasantly surprised at just how versatile spinach is. You might also want to try this recipe I posted about recently:
Sugar Cravings
Our friends over at Mark’s Daily Apple have an excellent post on conquering those sugar cravings.
Well worth the read: Dear Mark: Sugar Cravings
Cola can cause kidney problems
It’s well known that too much cola can increase your risk of developing diabetes and obesity and now it appears that kidney problems might be added to the list.
“In a study published in the journal Epidemiology, the team compared the dietary habits of 465 people with chronic kidney disease and 467 healthy people. After controlling for various factors, the team found that drinking two or more colas a day — whether artificially sweetened or regular — was linked to a twofold risk of chronic kidney disease.
source: nytimes.com
It appears that the phosphoric acid seems to increase the risk of kidney stones, renal failure and other conditions affecting the kidneys.
I’ve got to say, the very thought of getting kidney stones is more than enough reason for me not to drink cola. I’ve known a few people who have had them and from what they have all said, the pain is excruciating. Worse than giving birth was the comment from one lady who has two children.
Just on the subject of kidney stones, drinking plenty of water will help to prevent them, so that’s just another reason to make sure you keep yourself hydrated.
The study also found that drinking two or more noncola carbonated drinks did not increase the risk of chronic kidney disease.
Top 5 Worst Meal Replacement Bars
This is an interesting video from diet.com with their top 5 worst meal replacement bars.
I don’t buy these myself as I prefer fresh fruit and vegetables to snack on but I know many people who eat these thinking they are healthy and low in fat. Packaging plays a major part in this and like always, you really do need to read the labels carefully. Just because a product has words like healthy or 99% fat free doesn’t meant that they are good for you or low in fat.
The criterion used to select these particular products is total calories, caloric density, saturated fat, fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.