Flush It Out

Water does the body good when it comes to good health. Water helps flush out toxins and other unwanted things lingering in your body. Water also replenishes fluids that help lubricate the internal body, while keeping you hydrated, lowering your desire to eat, and also helps keep your skin looking smooth and young. I know it's hard to drink lots of water, but find bottled water you enjoy the taste of or filter your tap water and keep it chilled in the refrigerator. You should be drinking at least 64 oz per day up to 128 oz to keep your body hydrated and working properly.

Pick a Sport

Don't give up on your fitness and health just yet. Most people give up way to early when trying to get more fit, but make sure that you incorporate a good balance between your fitness training and playing your favorite sport. Cardio and Weights are great, but make sure that you train to support your favorite sport, and that you also take a break from your fitness training to enjoy what you love to do. Play Sports!

Liquid Beverage

Adding Green Decaf Tea to your diet has been shown to provide several health benefits that include metabolizing fat, supporting digestion, and also adding a good source of antioxidants. Green Tea can be sweetened with Splenda or Stevia as an alternative in keeping with a NO Calorie beverage choice for your meal plan.

Whole Grain Goodness

Fitness Tip: Whole Grain Goodness - 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat products are the way to go when it comes to eating high quality wheat derived carbs. They are loaded with more fiber, reducing you risk for heart disease, cancer, and other health related diseases. Focus on Oats, Barley, Bulgur, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Millet, Buckwheat, and Ground Flaxseed.

Iodine levels

Did you know insufficient levels of iodine in the body can cause you to gain weight & feel fatigued? YOUR fix: consume more eggs & yogurt.

Fat Vs. Muscle

We hear it all the time... "I'm working out less and my muscle is turning into fat!" This is one of the biggest myths in weight training. Muscle and fat are completely different types of tissue and can't magically be changed. Muscle shrinks (atrophy) when not stimulated, so your muscles may seem softer. Compounding the problem, most people don't lower their calorie intake to match their now lower energy needs. The result is less muscle mass and extra calories being stored as fat which creates a shift in your body composition.

Flax Seed Fitness

A great way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system is by adding flaxseed to your healthy meal plan. Flaxseed contains what is called alpha-linolenic acid which is a fatty acid essential in controlling blood pressure. They have a benefit of helping with digestion; just make sure the flaxseed is crushed for easier consumption and absorption.

Blueberries, Raspberries and Strawberries

Do you love your berries? Awesome, because your favorite berries are actually good for your healthy balanced meal plan. They contain plan nutrients called anthocyanidins. These are incredible antioxidants and some have high levels of resveratrol, which helps fight heart disease and cancer. The next time you want something sweet, juicy and good for you, reach for blueberries, raspberries or strawberries and eat guilt free!

Rest and Re-energize

Not enough sleep can dramatically affect your current and future health. While you sleep your body is recovering and resting from all the things you have done during your day. Your serotonin levels are brought back in line, your muscles relax, and your mind is allowed to clear itself in preparation for the next day's events. If you are not getting enough rest, you will begin to notice it in a physical way. While there is no perfect number in terms of hours of sleep, 8 hours should be your target each and every night.

Reduce the Pressure

Stress can be an incredibly powerful drag on your fitness and health. Study after study has found that when a person is stressed the body reacts. Results of stress can lead to high blood pressure, tension headaches, upset stomachs, and many other ailments. Exercise is probably the most effective defense against stress in your life. You are in the middle of a high intensity interval sprint/jog workout.are you thinking about being stressed? NO! You are just trying to survive this training session. So keep your stress in check with good quality well balanced fitness training.

Don't Over Indulge

Life is about balance, and when you do anything in excess, your body pays the price. So when it comes to drinking alcohol, you need to be wise about your decision making process. Think of the effects of too much alcohol in your current and future fitness and health.
a. Can Damage your liver
b. Shuts your metabolism so you can't burn food energy
c. Impairs your decision making process - especially with healthy food decisions
d. Adds tons of liquid NO quality Calories to your daily diet: Sugar & Fat

How to calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is a calculation of your gender, age, height and weight. It is an easy way to calculate your caloric intake based solely on your body weight. Although it leaves out lean body mass, it measures out the body's muscle to fat ratio. For the average sized body the BMR is extremely accurate. However, for larger bodies (both muscular and fat) it can be inaccurate in determining your caloric needs. For the muscular body type, the BMR can underestimate the number of calories needed, and for the overweight body type it can overestimate the number of calories needed.



Imperial BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )


Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

DO.NOT. SKIP. BREAKFAST.

People who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight and generally feel better throughout the day. Skipping breakfast can put your body into "starvation mode", causing your body to store your next meal as fat.

All About Protein

Utilization

Protein is used for building, maintaining and repairing muscle, skin, blood, and other tissuesenergy takes priority over tissue building
Very little protein is used as fuel when caloric supply is adequate The best fuel choices are carbohydrates and fats
If carbohydrates are not adequate, protein can convert to carbohydrates via gluconeogenesis
Nitrogen excretion does not rise following physical activity when carbohydrates are adequate.Protein contains nitrogen

Best Sources

Eggs, milk, fish, and meat Certain vegetable proteins can be eaten together or with animal proteins to compliment proteins for proper amino-acid ratios

Requirements

Average consumption for U.S. is 100 grams/day Protein requirements

10% to 20% of the diet should be protein for sedentary individuals 40 grams/day for females 55-70 grams/day or 0.8 grams/kg body weight for males Recommended protein intake for athletes or physically active people (Paul 1989) Protein and carbohydrate requirements increase somewhat more calories ratio of protein to carbohydrates does not change12% to 20% of the total calories Increases slightly during an increase or change of training Surprisingly protein requirements for endurance athletes are greater than weight trained athletes Protein requirements increase when calories are insufficient

Weight Loss

Obese individuals eating a slightly higher protein diet (25% of calories from protein), lost significantly more weight and body fat than those eating a slightly lower protein diet (12% of calories from protein). (Skov, et. al., 1999)Overweight women consuming a diet with a carbohydrate/protein ratio of 1.4 (125 g protein/day) lost more weight and body fat than those eating a ratio of 3.5 (68 g protein/day).

Blueberry oat bran muffins

BLUEBERRY OAT BRAN MUFFINS

1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
1 c. oat bran cereal crushed (i used Kellogs)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. water w/3 scoop protein powder vanilla
4 tbl wheat germ
2 tbl flax seed
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. molasses
2tbls canola
1 egg 
1 c. blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well. Using an egg beater, combine milk, vanilla, egg and oil. Pour into dry ingredients and add drained blueberries or raspberries. Stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes.
12 Servings



Amount Per Serving

Calories 151.9 
Total Fat 4.2 g 
Saturated Fat 0.5 g 
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g 
Monounsaturated Fat 1.8 g 
Cholesterol 20.0 mg 
Sodium 346.6 mg 
Potassium 269.9 mg 
Total Carbohydrate 23.6 g 
Dietary Fiber 3.6 g 
Sugars 8.9 g 
Protein 7.0 g 
Vitamin A 2.6 % 
Vitamin B-12 16.5 % 
Vitamin B-6 33.1 % 
Vitamin C 4.4 % 
Vitamin D 3.2 % 
Vitamin E 6.8 % 
Calcium 9.2 % 
Copper 5.0 % 
Folate 22.9 % 
Iron 14.0 %