What is the point of breakfast? I’m not even hungry when I wake up!! I have been going without breakfast for years. I get sick if I eat breakfast. These are just a few of the excuses I hear for not eating breakfast. But there really is no good reason not to eat breakfast. Perhaps it is our idea of what breakfast is. First let’s talk about what breakfast is not.
Breakfast is not a calorie bomb, biscuits and gravy with a stack of pancakes, home-style potatoes, bagel and cream cheese, smorgasbord. Breakfast is not a sweet-n-low, half and half coffee on the way out the door. Breakfast is not that venti frap with cream on top on the way to work. There is this misconception that breakfast needs to be either a Saturday morning feast or a pick-me-up-because-I’m-drained on the way to work. Breakfast does not have to be long and drawn out and it cannot be something you pick up on the way to work.
Breakfast is a way to break your body out of that 7-8 hour starvation you have been in. Breakfast is when you give your body enough fuel to replenish what it lost over the evening and enough fuel to get you to the next feeding (3-4 hours later) with out feeling incredibly famished. Whether we are hungry or not, we need to eat breakfast within the first 30 minutes of waking up. The reason most people claim they are not hungry in the morning is because their metabolism has slowed so much that they have gotten accustomed to not eating. The metabolism is the engine of the body. If it is slow, than you will feel lethargic, slow, unmotivated and worst of all, your body will actually hold on to body fat because your body will enter “energy saver” mode. Who wants that? When we eat, our metabolism actually speeds up because it has to breakdown the food it just took in. This is known as the thermic effect of food! Eating more will help me lose weight?? Interesting concept.
Most people when they start eating breakfast as a habit will notice that their appetite will increase, and they will be hungry again soon. This is the thermic effect of food and trust that your metabolism will now rise and your body will use more energy because it has more available. The human body is a marvelous thing.
What is a “Good” Breakfast?
A good breakfast will have a little fat, a little protein and a little more carbohydrates. Here are a few examples of quality breakfast first thing in the morning, within 30 minutes of waking up:
• 1 slice of sprouted grain, flourless toast, natural peanut butter and an apple = 345 kcal
• 1 slice of sprouted grain, flourless toast, vegetable oil butter, and a small container of low fat yogurt = 330 kcal
• 1 cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Soy and Granola cereal, 1 cup of 1% organic milk and 1 medium banana = 473 kcal (for women, cutting the cereal and milk in half will give you a total of 284 kcal)
• 1 hard boiled egg, toast and 1 table spoon of butter, a medium apple = 333 kcal
These examples are all a great start to the day. Each example has carbohydrates, protein and a little bit of fat. It is beyond the scope of this article but remember your body needs some fat. To eliminate all fat would actually be a bad thing.
The calorie content of the breakfast was done by www.calorie-count.com. Feel free to register yourself and start logging your food intake. It will truly help you to see how much food you really do take in. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at aaron@pairmarotta.com
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Changing the Way You Look with Food
Quite possibly the easiest way to change the way you look is to alter your diet. Tired of that lean, muscular look? Start eating twice as much (1250 calories) at each feeding and eat less often (1-2 times per day). This will slow your metabolism to a snail's pace and create a caloric surplus that nobody can over come. You're sure to pile on the pounds!!
Tired of that scrawny, wiry look? Start eating more lean meats and vegetables at each meal and eating more often (4-5 times/day) and do some heavy lifting (4-6 reps of 4 sets) and watch the muscle start coming on.
Tired of the bloated, jiggly, no-muscle-but-plenty-of-the-other-stuff look? Start eating smaller meals, 250-400 calories, every 3-4 hours and watch the jiggle wiggle off and the lean body you've always wanted will come shining through.
What, when and how often we eat has a tremendous effect on our metabolism. By eating more often your body will begin to use up the excess energy (fat) it has because it will try to use up what you give it. By giving it only how much it needs, which varies depending on your goals, your body will not have much less to store it.
By eating frequently your metabolism will increase, meaning you are using more stored fat during your day. You really can't go wrong. It is simply committing to planning your meals into your day.
Changing the way we look is actually quite simple. It is just how much effort do you want to put in to changing the way your body looks, feels and moves?
Here are a couple of sites you may want to check out to help you with this endeavour:
www.mohrresults.com
www.fityummymummy.com
www.turbulencetraining.com
Tired of that scrawny, wiry look? Start eating more lean meats and vegetables at each meal and eating more often (4-5 times/day) and do some heavy lifting (4-6 reps of 4 sets) and watch the muscle start coming on.
Tired of the bloated, jiggly, no-muscle-but-plenty-of-the-other-stuff look? Start eating smaller meals, 250-400 calories, every 3-4 hours and watch the jiggle wiggle off and the lean body you've always wanted will come shining through.
What, when and how often we eat has a tremendous effect on our metabolism. By eating more often your body will begin to use up the excess energy (fat) it has because it will try to use up what you give it. By giving it only how much it needs, which varies depending on your goals, your body will not have much less to store it.
By eating frequently your metabolism will increase, meaning you are using more stored fat during your day. You really can't go wrong. It is simply committing to planning your meals into your day.
Changing the way we look is actually quite simple. It is just how much effort do you want to put in to changing the way your body looks, feels and moves?
Here are a couple of sites you may want to check out to help you with this endeavour:
www.mohrresults.com
www.fityummymummy.com
www.turbulencetraining.com
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Magic Pill
One of the most difficult things to understand about the human body is how to feed it. We say we want to change but as soon as somebody offers up dessert, that will goes out the window. Then we cry and complain that we aren't loosing weight, or we aren't toned like we want to be.
So we shoot for a magic pill. But there is one magic pill. It starts with a "Self" ends in an "discipline"
To lose weight, become a great athlete and get more done, we need to eat. And we need to eat right. Here it is, plain and simple.
Prepare to eat 4-6 small meals per day. By small I mean 400-500 calories for men, and 300-400 for women. 1 PB&J sandwich (which I just ate) had 385 calories. But its sprouted grain bread, natural peanut butter and organic jelly.
It doesn't take much, just some planning. When we fail to plan our meals, we get so hungry we could eat our thumb if it had some ranch on it!! You have to eat and eat modest sized meals. Doing this gets your metabolism up so your body will use some of that fat hanging off our waists. Think about it, if you wanted a bigger fire, would you give it a small amount of wood or a nice steady supply?
That is the way our body works. Give it a shot. Plan your meals for 3 days to get 5 meals a day in. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack & dinner. You'll feel great and your metabolism will roar.
Want some help? Check this out. I highly recommend it.
http://www.mohrresults.com/store-grocery-dvd.shtml
(May need to cut and paste into browser)
So we shoot for a magic pill. But there is one magic pill. It starts with a "Self" ends in an "discipline"
To lose weight, become a great athlete and get more done, we need to eat. And we need to eat right. Here it is, plain and simple.
Prepare to eat 4-6 small meals per day. By small I mean 400-500 calories for men, and 300-400 for women. 1 PB&J sandwich (which I just ate) had 385 calories. But its sprouted grain bread, natural peanut butter and organic jelly.
It doesn't take much, just some planning. When we fail to plan our meals, we get so hungry we could eat our thumb if it had some ranch on it!! You have to eat and eat modest sized meals. Doing this gets your metabolism up so your body will use some of that fat hanging off our waists. Think about it, if you wanted a bigger fire, would you give it a small amount of wood or a nice steady supply?
That is the way our body works. Give it a shot. Plan your meals for 3 days to get 5 meals a day in. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack & dinner. You'll feel great and your metabolism will roar.
Want some help? Check this out. I highly recommend it.
http://www.mohrresults.com/store-grocery-dvd.shtml
(May need to cut and paste into browser)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Basics
Baseball season has arrived. Actually it arrived about 2 months ago. But now it is in full swing and... here is our hero.
Unfortunately the video is gone, but here is a link to an article about Mr. Utley.
www.athletesperformance.com/#articles
Search articles and it should be the first one up. If not, the title is "America's Fittest Men list Includes Utley"
Chase Utley is the 2nd baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. He will probably be in the All-Star game this year. He plays excellent defense and can hit for power, for average and for sacrifice. He can run the bases with the best of them and get to just about any ball hit within 30 feet of him.
How can he do all this?
He knows how to move. And not move like he's dancing. I mean he knows how to move his body efficiently, quickly and effectively. He focuses as much on being strong, flexible, balanced and powerful as he does on hitting a slider. He knows how to lunge, how to squat, how to push, pull and rotate. He is stable yet mobile. He knows these things will help him hit that slider into the second deck.
His performance training is the same program we use at our facility with our baseball players and youth athletes during our Summer Speed, Strength, & Power Camp.
See where knowing the basics can get you?
Unfortunately the video is gone, but here is a link to an article about Mr. Utley.
www.athletesperformance.com/#articles
Search articles and it should be the first one up. If not, the title is "America's Fittest Men list Includes Utley"
Chase Utley is the 2nd baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. He will probably be in the All-Star game this year. He plays excellent defense and can hit for power, for average and for sacrifice. He can run the bases with the best of them and get to just about any ball hit within 30 feet of him.
How can he do all this?
He knows how to move. And not move like he's dancing. I mean he knows how to move his body efficiently, quickly and effectively. He focuses as much on being strong, flexible, balanced and powerful as he does on hitting a slider. He knows how to lunge, how to squat, how to push, pull and rotate. He is stable yet mobile. He knows these things will help him hit that slider into the second deck.
His performance training is the same program we use at our facility with our baseball players and youth athletes during our Summer Speed, Strength, & Power Camp.
See where knowing the basics can get you?
Monday, May 12, 2008
The First Step
We hear it everywhere. From doctors to trainers to talk shows. But an ABC News poll indicates that only 53% of people ages 18-34 eat breakfast on a regular basis. That number steadily goes up through the age groups with 83% of people over the age of 65 eating breakfast regularly. But why is it so important? Why do we have such a hard time eating breakfast? What if I am just not hungry in the morning?
The importance of breakfast can be summed up rather quickly; if you don’t put gas in the tank, it won’t run. Now granted, our entire body can be used as fuel. But I would rather eat food than have muscles, bones and other organs used as a fuel source. The general tradition of dinner is that it is eaten in the evening from 5 – 8:30. Assuming we wake up around 5 am (which may be too early for most), that is still 8.5 – 12 hours without eating.
And that is during the time when our body is supposed to be repairing itself and recharging itself. The food we eat in the evening is used primarily for those purposes. However, if dinner carries us through until 5 a.m., and we don’t eat again until noon, what exactly is our body using as fuel for those 7 morning hours? Other tissues that are lower on the hierarchy of importance.
At this point, a few things happen. 1) Your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve energy. Your body may use a higher percentage of fat, but at this point your body isn’t using much energy total. So the trade off is a wash. 2) Much of the muscle tissue you have worked so hard to get is not being maintained, and is thus being lost. You lose muscle if you don’t provide energy to maintain it!!
Consider the following research:
A 2003 study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that those who had a breakfast of cereal, breads or fruit had significantly lower BMI’s than those who didn’t eat or had meat/eggs for breakfast.
A 2005 study in the journal Obesity Research found that over 8 and 13 year periods, men who ate breakfast cereals were 22% and 12% less likely to gain weight. Men who ate at least one serving per day of cereal saw the highest likelihood of keeping their BMI under 25.
A 2008 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that people with lower body fat had higher percentages of fat oxidation (higher fat use as fuel) over a 12 hour period following breakfast.
Eating breakfast gives your body fuel to run on. It is best to eat a small meal containing complex carbohydrates and protein 20-30 minutes before exercise, and then eat something similar soon after strenuous exercise. An example would be whole grain toast with natural peanut butter and a small glass of low fat milk prior to exercise and yogurt with raw fruit shortly after exercise to prevent muscle breakdown. This will ensure that your body gets the energy and nutrients that it needs without sacrificing your reduced calorie goals for fat loss.
If you want a step by step how to for losing weight, breakfast is that first step you must take. A lot of times we aren't hungry. This is only because we have conditioned ourselves to start the day without breakfast. But if we start eating breakfast, our metabolism will increase, our energy levels will go up and yes, you can lose weight by eating a bit more food through out the day.
Changing the way you look is simple, but it is not easy.
The importance of breakfast can be summed up rather quickly; if you don’t put gas in the tank, it won’t run. Now granted, our entire body can be used as fuel. But I would rather eat food than have muscles, bones and other organs used as a fuel source. The general tradition of dinner is that it is eaten in the evening from 5 – 8:30. Assuming we wake up around 5 am (which may be too early for most), that is still 8.5 – 12 hours without eating.
And that is during the time when our body is supposed to be repairing itself and recharging itself. The food we eat in the evening is used primarily for those purposes. However, if dinner carries us through until 5 a.m., and we don’t eat again until noon, what exactly is our body using as fuel for those 7 morning hours? Other tissues that are lower on the hierarchy of importance.
At this point, a few things happen. 1) Your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve energy. Your body may use a higher percentage of fat, but at this point your body isn’t using much energy total. So the trade off is a wash. 2) Much of the muscle tissue you have worked so hard to get is not being maintained, and is thus being lost. You lose muscle if you don’t provide energy to maintain it!!
Consider the following research:
A 2003 study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that those who had a breakfast of cereal, breads or fruit had significantly lower BMI’s than those who didn’t eat or had meat/eggs for breakfast.
A 2005 study in the journal Obesity Research found that over 8 and 13 year periods, men who ate breakfast cereals were 22% and 12% less likely to gain weight. Men who ate at least one serving per day of cereal saw the highest likelihood of keeping their BMI under 25.
A 2008 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that people with lower body fat had higher percentages of fat oxidation (higher fat use as fuel) over a 12 hour period following breakfast.
Eating breakfast gives your body fuel to run on. It is best to eat a small meal containing complex carbohydrates and protein 20-30 minutes before exercise, and then eat something similar soon after strenuous exercise. An example would be whole grain toast with natural peanut butter and a small glass of low fat milk prior to exercise and yogurt with raw fruit shortly after exercise to prevent muscle breakdown. This will ensure that your body gets the energy and nutrients that it needs without sacrificing your reduced calorie goals for fat loss.
If you want a step by step how to for losing weight, breakfast is that first step you must take. A lot of times we aren't hungry. This is only because we have conditioned ourselves to start the day without breakfast. But if we start eating breakfast, our metabolism will increase, our energy levels will go up and yes, you can lose weight by eating a bit more food through out the day.
Changing the way you look is simple, but it is not easy.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A new baby and being more efficient with time.
My wife Tiffany gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last tuesday, the 29th of April. She is just the most wonderful little girl. On top of that, she is one heck of a sleeper. Now I know that she has only been in our lives for 10 days, but she doesn't cry much at all.
When she is hungry she simply puts her hands to her mouth. When she needs to be changed she will start spreading her arms and legs out. When she is tired, she simply falls asleep. Anywhere.
I have to admit, I was quite afraid of what might happen after she was born. I thought I would maybe sleep around 4 hours a night. Well it turns out, I've been getting 6-7 hours a night. Granted it is broken into 75 minute segments, but it sure makes me value the time I have to sleep. But it also has made me value the time I have with her.
Since she has been home, there is a period in the night when she is simply awake. She doesn't cry, she's just awake. She looks around, admiring the contrasting dark and light colors. And she just looks. After about 45 minutes, she goes back to sleep. Instead of whining that I have to get up with my daughter, I look at it as, "I GET to spend time with my daughter!!" She is just getting aquainted with me. But this is the most wonderful time.
I have been off of work for roughly 2 weeks and I have had to make my time count. I don't have all day to sit around and be lazy and I don't have time to spend an hour and a half working out. What I do is mini-circuits. I take 3 exercises of non-competing movement patterns and do each for :30 or 15 repetitions. After each set I rest for :30 then do it again.
This is the same workout our Hi-5 FitCamp does during the 1 week break. Its not easy, but I would rather spend 25 minutes busting hump than spend an hour and a half doing body part workouts that don't do much to use fat and build muscle.
High intensity functionally integrated variable exercise (HI-FIVE).
When she is hungry she simply puts her hands to her mouth. When she needs to be changed she will start spreading her arms and legs out. When she is tired, she simply falls asleep. Anywhere.
I have to admit, I was quite afraid of what might happen after she was born. I thought I would maybe sleep around 4 hours a night. Well it turns out, I've been getting 6-7 hours a night. Granted it is broken into 75 minute segments, but it sure makes me value the time I have to sleep. But it also has made me value the time I have with her.
Since she has been home, there is a period in the night when she is simply awake. She doesn't cry, she's just awake. She looks around, admiring the contrasting dark and light colors. And she just looks. After about 45 minutes, she goes back to sleep. Instead of whining that I have to get up with my daughter, I look at it as, "I GET to spend time with my daughter!!" She is just getting aquainted with me. But this is the most wonderful time.
I have been off of work for roughly 2 weeks and I have had to make my time count. I don't have all day to sit around and be lazy and I don't have time to spend an hour and a half working out. What I do is mini-circuits. I take 3 exercises of non-competing movement patterns and do each for :30 or 15 repetitions. After each set I rest for :30 then do it again.
This is the same workout our Hi-5 FitCamp does during the 1 week break. Its not easy, but I would rather spend 25 minutes busting hump than spend an hour and a half doing body part workouts that don't do much to use fat and build muscle.
High intensity functionally integrated variable exercise (HI-FIVE).
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