Want lean muscle tone? Yes, maybe this picture is a bit of an extreme but somewhere between it and where you are now is what you want?!! Well the nutrition requirements are the same despite the fact that your resistance training may not be as intense.
Everybody wants to take a magic pill or use a magic exercise that will turn their body into a calorie-burning machine. But, you know what? Our eating habits are the prime cause of our stubborn, sluggish metabolism. Nine times out of ten, the reason, all that cardio and hours of resistance training don't amount to any tone on the body - male or female - is because of the food 'fuel' we give our bodies to make our body's engine burn. So here are a few reminders of what you may consider the 5 magic eating habits that surely sabatoge your good intentions.
1. Dramatically cutting calories. Putting yourself on strict diet in an attempt to shed pounds before a big event is a plan guaranteed to backfire. The body is programmed to hold your normal weight, at all costs. If you severely cut or restrict calories to less than 800 to 1,000 a day, your metabolism adjusts to conserve the few calories you do eat, according to Jane Kirby's Dieting for Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide, 1998). When you aren't getting enough food, your body goes into survival mode where it drops your metabolism to preserve what you've got, says Cathy Kapica, Ph.D., R.D., director of health communication and education affairs at the Quaker Oats Company in Chicago. That's the biggest contributor to a slow metabolism.
Instead of starving yourself, consider exercising regularly and eating small frequent meals throughout the day to keep a consistent 'burning flame' in your body. Bonus: It requires energy to metabolize food so when you're eating these small frequent meals, you may be burning a few extra calories as well.
2. Waiting too long to eat your next meal. Again, starving your body not only lowers your metabolism, but also leaves you vulnerable to overeating or craving high-fat foods. If it's 7:00 or 8:00 at night and you haven't eaten since 12:30 p.m., you're going to be ravenous to say the least. You'll eat a whole lot more than you really need. To avoid overeating, a healthy fitness regime would require that you have healthy snacks on hand, in addition to eating small frequent meals.
Check out the Health & Fitness Calculators
and let's talk about building a program to kick your eating habits into gear. They are for use as guidelines only and should not be construed as medical advice.
3. Skipping breakfast. Number One Sabeteur!! Get up in the morning and don't eat breakfast and you almost guarantee your metabolism will stay slow. The point of breakfast is to break the 'fast' from the night before. Your body has been conserving energy all night long--you need to jump-start your metabolism with this very important meal.
4. Drinking beer or wine with dinner. People, men especially, often like to indulge in a bottle of beer with dinner. Ladies we are just as bad with our glass of wine!!But alcohol not only increases the total number of calories of your meal but also tends to be converted to and stored as fat due to the fact that what the body doesn't need to use immediately is stored away. Alcohol is considered a toxin by your body and getting rid of toxins is your metabolism's highest priority. So alcohol is shipped off to be stored as fat rather than used for the important role of fueling muscle tissues. This happens with all forms of alcohol, but beer tends to be the worst because it has more carbohydrates in it than wine. Try water with a little lemon for the waistline!
5. Not getting enough fiber. Although fiber doesn't speed up your metabolism, it does keep your body running smoothly. When your body is overloaded, it tends to store calories as fat. But fiber, which also helps to reduce cholesterol, helps your body process foods more efficiently, thereby reducing the number of calories that would be stashed away as fat. Eat a bowl of oatmeal every morning and get 25 grams of fiber per day.
If you want or need more help or support with nutrition counseling and ideas, call or email me. I don't diet and hate that word. I do eat specific foods with a specific thought and intention behind it .... thus maintaining my desired lifestyle focus. I can help you adjust your lifestyle eating habits as well.
