Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
This is a recipe for Oven-Roasted Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges that you will want to eat with every meal. Sweet potatoes are readily available starting in the autumn and all through the winter, but they are tasty all year ’round.
Also known as yams, sweet potatoes are packed full of vitamins and minerals such as including vitamin C, beta-carotene, fiber, copper, potassium and iron, and best of all they won’t cause your blood sugar to spike as rapidly as white potatoes. There is also no need to add sugar to make them taste good, because they are naturally sweet.
These orange-fleshed root vegetables are most often seen in a marshmallow-topped casserole around Thanksgiving, but why not try a recipe that adds savory and spicy flavors, such as these Oven-Roasted Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges?
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Tags: Diet, healthy food, nutrition, recipe, Recipes, sweet potatoes, yams
Posted in Recipes | 6 Comments »
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Meals That Maximize Your Performance
Willpower is not enough. Food is what fuels your training and performance. Athletes make eating meals a conscious process, and they put knowledge of nutrition and planning into it.
I have found that performance outcomes can differ by seconds, which means the right muscle didn’t get the right fuel. Every bite that you eat counts. In working with athletes and their nutrition needs, I’ve found a few simple rules that help you keep food as fuel at the forefront of your mind and help ensure that you get the proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals and fluids.
Here we go:
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Tags: Conditioning, Diet, exercise, fitness, food, meals, nutrition, performance
Posted in Diet | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
A high protein gourmet Halloween recipe.
If you’re hosting a Halloween party this year, chances are, you’re serving your guests a few Halloween inspired treats. Typically, the quality of the appetizers gets sacrificed in the name of this fun filled holiday. Why not try something different this year, and opt for a healthier, more refined gourmet foods hors d’oeuvres table.
With domestic prices on gourmet goods at an all time low, you can achieve this without breaking the bank and with these tips, you won’t have to worry about having to skip on any the fun ghoul and goblin spooky flair. Instead of the endless amount of sugar cookies caked with sugar and frosting, why not invite your guests to partake in delicious puff pastries or blinis topped with crème fraîche and orange Salmon roe and black caviar to look like pumpkins. This way, your guests will feel guilt free because they are eating a high protein snack, rather than a fatty cookie.
Keeping with your Halloween gourmet theme, substitute your bagged chips for tasty Crescent Moon inspired toast topped with sour cream or a low fat aioli spread and then topped with black caviar. The caviar will give your moons just the right amount of that Halloween feel.
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Tags: Diet, food, foods, halloween, high-protein, nutrition, protein, recipe, Recipes
Posted in Recipes | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Nowadays, it seems everyone is after a toned midsection. Some people won’t even stop until they achieve shredded washboard abs. A six pack has come to be an important quest for many persons, however, many are misled as to the method to obtain it.
One common misconception is that cardiovascular exercise is the most important aspect of dialing in a six pack. Another misconception is that doing 1000 crunches a day is most important. Wrong on both accounts! Diet possibly plays the greatest role in obtaining a six pack. Let’s see why.
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Tags: 6 pack, ab training, abdominals, abs, bodybuilding, Diet, myth, myths, nutrition, six pack, swole 101
Posted in Bodybuilding, Conditioning, Diet, Fitness Tips, HIIT Routines | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Transitioning from bulking to cutting can be complicated. Most often, the transition is done improperly and we end up either losing precious muscle mass during a cut or gaining too much fat during a bulk. I’ve been there and so have you, don’t kid yourself.
When switching from cut to bulk, we might overestimate the rate at which we can gain muscle, which results from a lack of knowledge about the human physiological response to dieting. Some inexperienced bodybuilders might make an immediate switch from a strict diet to free eating, which results in the immediate reversal of any recent diet progress.
Of course strategies will differ dependent on the individual, but the basic concept should remain the same. You will have to accept that your first couple attempts at bulking will result in either very little muscle gain or unnecessary fat gain. It is all a matter of trial and error.
Let’s examine a couple different diet transition strategies.
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Tags: bodybuilding, bulking, cutting, Diet, dieting, eating, fat loss, lean mass, lose fat, lose weight, nutrition, weight loss
Posted in Bodybuilding, Diet, Nutrition Tip | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
How to Drop Weight If You Are Tired of Restrictive Diets
If you’ve had trouble following your current diet plan, you might do well with a diet that is tracked on a weekly basis.
It’s hard to follow a strict diet plan every day. The demands of most popular diets require users to keep a log of everything they consume and keep constant track of calories – and many times, people fail at their diets because they don’t fee like they’re able to keep up with all the details. Constantly monitoring caloric intake is simply too tedious for most individuals.
Strict Diets Often End in Failure
Here’s an illustration: An article published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2007 shared the results of a study of several diet plans with strict calorie tracking requirements. The study gathered 311 overweight females and randomly placed each of them on either the Atkins Diet, the Zone Diet, the Ornish Diet, or the LEARN Diet.
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Tags: Diet, dieting, eat stop eat, ESE, fast, fasting, fat loss, IF, intermittent fasting, lose fat, lose weight, nutrition, weight loss
Posted in Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Nutrition Tip, Product Reviews | 4 Comments »
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Starting Off Slow With Basic Nutrition Tips
Many trying to maintain a healthy diet struggle to understand how good nutrition works and/or how it should be applied. This confusion is often compounded by conflicting “expert” nutritional advice. However, the simplest approach to good nutrition is remembering that all nutritional substances should be ingested to promote health and prevent disease.
It’s also important to remember that food choices aren’t just about weight, as food choices can greatly reduce or increase the likelihood of a person developing cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. As far as overall health, food plays a major role in energy, memory, mood, and sleep.
Since good nutrition hinges on life-long lifestyle choices, it will never involve starving, cutting out vital food groups, or completely depriving yourself from food that is enjoyable. None of the above is congruent with sustainability, and is the main reason that “fad diets” never result in good nutrition or a maintainable weight. Good nutrition has everything to do with eating smart foods…in a smart way. Try the following nutrition tips to get you on the path to smart eating:
Start Slow and Simple
Don’t abandon unhealthy choices all at once, as this will usually lead to binge eating. Focus on slowly replacing unhealthy food sources with healthier choices. For example, one might gradually replace tater chips with fresh vegetable chips. Try to take existing unhealthy recipes and alter unhealthy ingredients one at a time. For example, a recipe that calls for butter or vegetable oil might be amended to utilize olive oil. Even a simple sandwich can be altered to be more nutritious by changing white bread to whole grain, ham to turkey breast, and mayo to mustard. Eventually, you will be able to make every food choice nutritionally sound.
Don’t Mindlessly Eat
Stop and think about the food – Am I eating this to sustain me or soothe me? Food is too often used as an emotional crutch or mindless action. It can be helpful to disassociate food with cars, television, and computers. It’s easy to just gulp something down when your mind is on driving vs. actually eating. It’s also easy to mindlessly eat when distracted by a television and computer. Whenever possible eat at a table and take the time to properly chew and savor food. Keep in mind that it takes 20 minutes for the brain to realize that the stomach is full; so, eat slow and stop eating before actually feeling full. Plan meals out to include several small meals throughout the day, which will help keep energy and metabolism up for weight loss.
Think of Fitness as an Essential Food Group
Fitness training is just as essential as any of the food groups and dieting tips. Optimal health can’t be achieved through exercise without healthy eating or healthy eating without exercise. A simple routine strength training program should be included in all exercise regimens. It’s important to start the training with the proper resistance size. A good guide is a size that fatigues you after about 12 repetitions. If you aren’t able to use correct form, that too is a sign that the weight is too heavy. Start out with a twice a week fitness plan with 4 to 5 sets of 12 reps with or without fitness equipment. Many professional trainers recommend aiming for muscular failure, where the muscle can’t possibly do anymore, after the first month of strength training.
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Tags: beginners, Diet, fitness, health, healthy, healthy diet, newbie, noob, nutrition, tips
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition Tip | 8 Comments »
Friday, September 16th, 2011
If you drink milk, and you’re not a hard-gainer trying to pack on muscle mass, your milk should be low fat – skim or 1%. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said recently that nearly 73% of kids and teenagers consume milk, which is good, but then only around 20% of them tend to consume the low-fat variety. In fact, about 45% of them choose reduced-fat milk (2 percent), while 32% claim to regularly consume whole-fat milk.
I’ve been complaining about this for years, and I’m glad someone is finally echoing my sentiments. For babies and toddlers I can see using whole or 2% milk, because they need a ton of good nutrition to grow up strong. However, I have always believed that kids in pre-k, k, and elementary school should switch to 1% or skim milk. There really is no need to add extra milk fat into a child’s diet, not when American kids are clearly, on average, the most obese children in the world.
Researchers and experts collectively agree that the low consumption of low-fat milk implies that most kids and teenagers don’t live by the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics, who state that kids ages 2 and older should drink low-fat milk. Recent efforts by both First Lady Michelle Obama, and the Surgeon General promote the consumption of low-fat milk and water over sweetened beverages. Adhering to these suggestions will help you and your child avoid dangerous conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
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Tags: children, dairy, Diet, food, Kids, Medical, milk, nutrition, obesity
Posted in Diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Kids, Research | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
A lot has been made about the importance of protein in building muscle, but more could be said about the importance of fruits and vegetables in this regard. The fact of the matter is that fruits and vegetables contain a lot of important vitamins and minerals that facilitate muscle growth.
Vitamin C
One of these vitamins important to muscle growth which is often times overlooked is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is found in fresh fruits and vegetables such as oranges, pineapples, grapefruit, cabbage, broccoli, okra and spinach to name a few.
Vitamin C speeds up recovery of your muscles after an intense workout, and prevents injuries and inflammations that might keep one away from the gym.
During weightlifting your body is placed under a tremendous amount of stress, but Vitamin C present in fruits and vegetables help to boost your immune system to fight against possible infections and muscle damage.
Another great benefit from Vitamin C is the reduction of cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone produced when the body undergoes extreme stress like weightlifting, and is responsible for the breakdown of muscle tissue. Therefore, the less cortisol your body produces the better.
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Tags: bodybuilding, Diet, fitness, food, health, muscle, nutrition, vegetables
Posted in Diet, Guest Post, Nutrition Tip | 4 Comments »
Thursday, September 8th, 2011
The Many Unexpected Benefits of Body Building
There are many reasons to build a stronger body that most people wouldn’t think of when they picture bodybuilding. Bodybuilding can be a very healthy hobby for both your mind and your body.
Despite the misconceptions of the general public, bodybuilding is not necessarily all about eating whey protein, lifting heavy weights, and oiled-up posing in a thong on a stage. There are a ton of great health benefits as well.
These are just some of the many unexpected benefits of bodybuilding:
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Tags: benefits, body building, bodybuilding, Diet, exercise, fitness, health, healthy, nutrition
Posted in Bodybuilding, Healthy Lifestyle, Motivation | 14 Comments »
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