Building A Better Breakfast

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Better Breakfasts for Building Muscle

The biggest consideration to make when trying to gain muscle is your food intake and what types of food you are eating. While your activity level and genetic factors all have a slight input, you have to concentrate most of your efforts on your diet. But despite what you may have been led to believe, fats are still okay to include in your muscle building meal plans. Often times, if you do it right, you can fight off the fat by eating the right types of food, and by eating them at the rights times and intervals.

BREAKFAST.

Have you ever heard the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”?

Of course you have because everyone has at some point or another.

But there is a good reason this saying is so popular…It’s true! Skipping breakfast is possibly the biggest of all mistakes to be made if you wish to gain muscle, keep fat levels low or get into any half decent shape at all. Eating breakfast will kick start your metabolism and provide you with the energy you need to start the day as you mean to go on. Breakfast is literally the ‘fast breaker’ and your body begins to slow down it’s metabolism after going 6 to 8 hours without food. You want to grow? Your best not skip breakfast!

So what does a typical muscle building breakfast consist of for the Muscle Cook?

My muscle building breakfast always consist of protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats – note the word healthy here! Protein is the main muscle building nutrient and you need to consume this in order to extract those vital amino acids. Too many people skip the protein in their breakfast with just a cereal bar. Don’t be one of them.

PROTEIN. Many bodybuilders use egg whites to get their protein into their diet, although this can be a little on the time-consuming side if you were to crack each egg to get the whites out of them. If you also have kids to feed or a job to get to then you can buy your egg whites in a carton – Eggwhites in cartons are much less messy and readily available. Cottage cheese and protein powder are both good choices too as they pack in the protein without throwing in too much fat. Protein powder can be a quick way to make some delicious oats, one of my personal favourites.

CARBS. The next thing to do is get the complex carbohydrates in. These are vital for energy especially when burning more calories and requiring more to build and repair muscle tissue. Eating complex carbohydrates rather than the simple ones such as processed bread is the best way to go. You should eat beans and whole grains which release their energy more steadily and avoid giving you a sugar rush which is only really beneficial post workout.                            

HEALTHY FATS. Healthy fats are perfectly acceptable as well when it comes to eating for muscle gain or even fat loss. The key is to choose healthy fats such as olive oil, natural peanut butter, nuts and low amounts of whole eggs.  Just be careful with oils as it is easy to go over your required fat calories per meal if you use too much.

FIBER. Fiber should also be found in your breakfast as this keeps your digestive system moving effectively. An effectively moving digestive system will be more able to digest food and remove toxins. By being able to digest foods better you will also keep glycogen receptors more receptive to the caloric surplus you take in on a muscle building diet.

Your body is dependent upon the food you supply to it and a better breakfast really does mean a better body. Don’t think about a junk food breakfast and skipping it is always completely out of the question.

It might take some practice and some planning in advance. Just like lifting weights, you must get used to the calories in the morning and taking the time to actually eat. Treat it like you should be treating your weights. It’s a good routine to adopt!

Tea Juice; Replace Diet Coke & Sweeteners!

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-5-6 bags of any non-caffeine he.rbal tea of your choice (green
tea, peach tea, berry tea, orange zinger, lemon, etc.)

-3 quarts water

-Stevia powder or liquid to taste

Boil tea bags in a large pot. Add 1-2 full teaspoons of 
stevia while still hot (You may add more or less, based on 
desired sweetness) Let tea cool and then transfer to the 
refrigerator in Ice Tea pitchers or individual size bottles."

Common Weight Loss Mistakes

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By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES

Weight loss is not easy.  It takes hard work, dedication, and sweat to lose weight and keep it off.   People did not decide to become overweight, but the changes in the environment have made it easier for us to have access to unhealthy food options and more sedentary lifestyles. 
It takes a long time to put on weight.  Keep in mind you might have seen an increase of a pound here or there, but making little changes helped keep it under control.  Then, out of nowhere, it became five or ten pounds or more, and it just does not come off that easily.  Let me explain why.
Every time you turn the corner, there is a new weight loss diet coming at you full bore.  You have heard all of them state the same thing about weight loss.   You can lose so much weight with this or that plan; this plan will increase your energy; that plan will work without dieting at all.   Did you know that if you Google "weight loss plans," or even "diets," you get roughly 86 million different pages!   No wonder why we are so confused about weight loss!  We are inundated with too much information, that weeding through all of them can be overwhelming.
Most of the time weight gain takes months, or even years, to add up.  There is no easy way to take it off either, no magic wand that can take the weight off and return you to your high school weight.  There are many weight-loss supplements that can help raise your metabolism which can help you lose weight, however, which product can you trust and who makes the best one?
Want to be lean and fit?  Then follow these five weight loss tips that the Pros might have kept hidden from you:
Top Five Mistakes
Mistake #1: Do you skip the most important meal of the day?
Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day.  Not only can skipping breakfast seriously alter your metabolism for the day, but it can also lead to weight gain.  Eating breakfast in the morning sparks your metabolism, and helps you burn calories.  It takes energy to break down food, so your metabolism starts up and is maintained until you eat next. 
Recommendation:  Get up a few minutes earlier and have breakfast.  This can start your day off right.  Try to incorporate high-quality protein sources that provide good fats and carbohydrates that have plenty of fiber in them.   The fiber will keep you fuller for a longer period of time until you eat again.
Mistake #2: Not eating enough metabolism-boosting protein
The metabolism-boosting tissue on our bodies is muscle.  Muscles consist of water, trace minerals, and protein.  By adding protein, you are providing the body with the building blocks it needs to maintain adequate muscle mass.   Protein provides the body with essential and non-essential amino acids, which help build muscle and can help burn fat.
Recommendations:  To benefit from metabolism-boosting protein, it is recommended to eat 1gm or more per kg of bodyweight.  This will provide the body with enough protein to maintain proper muscle tissue.  In order to increase the amount of muscle you have, or if you are an athlete, then the protein requirements may go up.  It is recommended to talk with a dietitian to develop the right plan for you for optimal performance and weight loss.
Mistake #3: The workout you might be doing can lead to weight gain
That’s right, the exact workout you are doing might be leading to extra weight gain.  Before you stop reading right here, let me explain how your workout might just be the problem.
Not everyone prescribes the same type of program, and most utilize the staples: cardiovascular work and muscle strengthening.  Now, each one is important to the overall workout process, and both can help you lose weight.  However, there are some people who only prescribe one of the two listed above.   Most people think the more cardio they do, the better their weight loss results. Why is this wrong?  Read on to learn the secrets.
Cardio does do a lot of good for the body.  It helps to strengthen the cardiovascular system, helps to burn more calories in a 30-minute block, and can dramatically alter our lipid profile.  However, most people do not follow the typical guidelines of only 30-60 minutes in one workout.  Most people go beyond the 60 minutes, which then goes from fat burning and shifts to muscle burning.   Muscle is, by far, our greatest weapon.
The more muscle tissue we have, the more we use our fat during the workout, and after.   The exact workout that you are doing is eating this fat burning super weapon and might be leading to excess storage of fat.  Making sure that you are incorporating a strength training workout in with your cardio will help preserve your fat burning potential, and help you burn extra calories at rest. 
Incorporating strength training and increasing your protein intake (see #2) will help to keep your fat burning tissue in place, and help utilize that extra fat that is sitting around your abdominals or other areas of the body.
Recommendations: Incorporate the right type of strength program for you, to help men build more muscle and help women build metabolism-boosting lean muscle tissue.   There are many different plans and protocols that you can use to help maximize your strength training routine results and help you shed those unwanted pounds.  Talk to a professional to get guidance on the best program for you.
Mistake #4: Not feeding the “machine” right after your workout
Athletes know about it.  Strength coaches, dietitians, and sports nutritionists do too.  The timing of nutrition post workout is just as important as the rest of the day’s nutrition.  There is a small window of opportunity post workout to halt the breakdown of muscle, and help burn extra fat.  This window, commonly referred to as the anabolic window, is a time when the body is very sensitive to insulin.  Having a smaller snack with protein and carbs allows for greater breakdown and shuttling of the nutrients into the cells.   This allows your body not only to be better hydrated, but it also helps with refueling the body with essential nutrients you need to help build muscle and burn fat.
Recommendations: A small meal or snack that has the right combination of protein and carbohydrates within 45 minutes after your workout.   A great snack that provides the right combination of carbs to proteins is milk or a post-workout meal shake.
Mistake #5:  Do you overeat, or not eat enough?
This one could be, by far, the biggest challenge facing most exercisers and people looking to lose weight.   The fact is nutrition, and more specifically your calorie intake, is by far one of the most important steps in losing weight and keeping it off.   Confused?  Here is the easy explanation.
Calories are important to weight loss success.   Maintaining a caloric deficit is the normal way to lose weight.  However, not taking in enough calories can have detrimental effects on your weight loss success.  Your body’s basal metabolic rate determines the amount of calories you need in order to maintain your weight and daily activities.  To lose weight, you subtract enough calories from this number, and vice versa to gain weight.   There is no magic number, but what is typically recommended is about 500 calories per day, which for 7 days equals about 3500 calories, or one pound of fat.   This number is usually accomplished through a combination of diet and exercise.
Cutting your calories to dangerously low levels only creates havoc in your body.  Your body usually shifts into conservation mode, and starts metabolizing muscle and spares your fat stores.  This results in slower metabolism and higher fat stores.
Recommendations: Maintain appropriate calorie intake, but include three meals per day and possibly include healthy snacks.  Most meals and snacks should include lean proteins, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and have more healthy fats including some moderate levels of some saturated fats, which can be beneficial to health.  Minimize the use of calorie-dense foods and baked goods since they include a lot of trans fatty acids, which has been shown to lead to heart disease and some cancers.   To find out where you are lacking in calories, keep a journal and write everything down that goes into your mouth.  This will show you where you might be able to increase in calories for optimal weight loss.
Losing weight, and keeping it off, takes hard work and dedication to stay on course.  Making sure you are eating correctly by incorporating the right foods, eating enough calories, not skipping meals, and eating at the right time will help you to keep your waistline slim.  Also, maintaining an active lifestyle by exercising regularly with the right strength and cardiovascular program will helpmaintain your metabolism-boosting tissue and keeping your fat burning at an accelerated rate.

The Easiest Way To Reduce Food Cravings

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More evidence has been released indicating that a high-protein breakfast may increase satiety and reduce your food cravings, according to a small study published in the journal Obesity.

University of Missouri researchers looked at brain signals linked to food motivation and reward behaviors that are eating-related, in ten obese adolescent girls.  

These girls usually skipped breakfast.

For three weeks, the girls were given either a 500 calorie normal-protein breakfast, a high-protein breakfast, or no breakfast at all. 

Three hours after implementing one of these three options, they noticed there were differences in brain activity, and the differences were greater with those who had consumed the high-protein breakfast - meaning that their hunger levels were decreased and their fullness or satiety lasted longer.  

This leads to less snacking, overeating, and weight gain.  

Most people know that incorporating a healthy breakfast is a good thing to live a healthier life; but even though this study was small, it further supports past studies showing just how important breakfast is.  It also shows that a high-protein breakfast is more effective at controlling hunger than a normal-protein breakfast.  

If you don't like eggs for breakfast, here are some other options to fulfill your high-protein breakfast.  

1.  Greek Yogurt
2.  Whey protein added to pancakes or waffles
3.  Whey protein smoothie
4.  All Natural Prograde Lean Meal Replacement made with Stevia

Now if you do like eggs, that opens up even more possibilities for a high-protein breakfast.

Next:  Discover The New All Natural Meal Replacement Made With Stevia To Satisfy Your High-Protein Breakfast Needs.


Reference:
Obesity (2011)  Published online ahead of print. doi:10.1038/oby.2011.108  “Neural Responses to Visual Food Stimuli After a Normal vs. Higher Protein Breakfast in Breakfast-Skipping Teens: A Pilot fMRI Study”  Authors: Heather J. Leidy, Rebecca J. Lepping, Cary R. Savageand Corey T. Harris

5 Ways To Avoid Overeating

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By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD

 

I hear this all the time when working with new nutrition clients:

 

“I can’t lose weight because I eat too much.”

 

It seems that people blame their troubles with weight control or weight loss on the fact that they have a hard time controlling what they eat.

 

But, is this really the case?

 

When I look deeper into this problem, it many times isn’t the case.

 

Most often people fail to actually eat ENOUGH at all their meals; they skip breakfast, try to eat barely anything at lunch, and then are so hungry when they get home at night they either eat continuously, or snack without thinking while watching the late night news.

 

What this does is set their body up for a fat-storage situation that makes it even harder to want to eat in the morning because they’re so full from their late-night binging.

 

However, there are some people that truly have a hard time eating less and always eat more than their body needs – especially if they rarely exercise or move their bodies at all.

 

Or, there are those situations that we’re in where we can’t say “No,” regardless of what we do. Whether we chew gum, drink water, or try to just walk away, we always end up coming back and filling our bellies until they can’t hold anymore.

 

So, why is this? Why do some people not seem to have an "off" switch? What is it about them, or the situation that makes it so hard to eat less and stop before they’re stuffed?

 

 

 

 

Some people don’t have an OFF switch

 

Let’s look at some of these factors so you can understand what drives your desires for food. And maybe the next time you’re faced with more food than you need, you’ll be able to push away from the table and not think about it anymore.

 

1) The Bigger the Plate, the More You Eat

 

Just like houses, plate sizes have gotten bigger and bigger over the years. In fact, most portion sizes of foods are bigger than what we really need.

 

No longer is a 9- or 10-inch dinner plate good enough (that size is for salads). Now, most dinner plates span 11 to 12 inches across, while cup and bowl sizes have also increased.

 

These larger sizes encourage people to add more food, and subsequently, eat more than they really need, leaving themselves feeling over-full and guilty.

 

Researchers from Cornell University showed that people consume 22% more food when it was served on a larger plate or bowl, than a smaller one, adding to an already increasing waistline.

 

 

A bigger plate will encourage you to eat more

 

Even nutrition experts are unable to resist: When nutrition professors served themselves ice cream into a big bowl they gave themselves 31% more than those given a smaller bowl. Then, if they were given a large spoon, their scoop portion increased by 14%. So, regardless of education, even the wise can be fooled into eating more.

 

Bottom Line: Choose dinnerware that your grandparents would eat off of, especially if you can’t hold back during a good meal.

 

 

2) The Prettier the Plate, the More You Want to Eat

 

Scientists tested the attractiveness of a serving dish and how it influenced a person’s perception of the food they were eating.

 

People were served a brownie on a napkin, a paper plate, or a nice china dish and then asked what they thought.

 

After eating it off the napkin, they thought the brownie was alright. After the paper plate, it was pretty good. But after eating off the china, it was really, really good and the greatest brownie they’d ever eaten. They chose to pay more for the brownie when it was served on good china and wanted to eat more.

 

 

Got nice dishes? You’ll eat more food

 

Take Home Message: If you want people to eat more, give them exceptional dinnerware to eat off of; but, if you’re trying to encourage yourself to eat less, choose plates that are slightly boring.

 

3) If You Can See It, You’ll Probably Eat It

 

Visual cues are one of the strongest predictors of overeating, or eating when not necessary.

 

That’s why television commercials at night often show images of tantalizing snack foods or creamy sugary treats. Not only are you tired and looking for a boost from a long day, but when your mind sees it, it thinks about how good it would taste. Eventually you’ll run to the pantry to seek out your own evening snack.

 

The same thing goes for parties. When food is out in plain sight, people are more likely to eat it, whether they’re hungry or not. But, if that food was covered and invisible to the eye, it wouldn’t get wolfed down.

 

Weight Loss Tip: Keep your work sweet treats in an opaque container so thoughts of sugar won’t dance through your head. Or, better yet, don’t keep them there at all. 

 

4) Close Food = Eaten Food

 

Picture this: You’re sitting in front of your computer working away, but you have a bag of pistachios also sitting beside you on your desk.

 

You know you’re not really that hungry, but because those tasty green pieces of goodness are within arm’s reach, you’re more likely to eat them than if you have to go into the kitchen to seek them out.

 

And so you do, and before you know it, the bag is almost empty and the pile of shells starts falling onto the floor. You feel stuffed and embarrassed, but you can’t go back in time to change it.

 

 

If food is within arm’s reach, you’re more likely to eat it

 

If you have more time to think about what you’re about to eat, by forcing yourself to travel to get it, you’re more likely to rethink your unnecessary cravings.

 

Bottom Line: If ice cream is your passion, don’t even keep it in the fridge where you’re likely to grab it right after eating dinner. You’ll think twice if you have to drive somewhere to chow it down and will probably just say no.

 

 

5) Avoid Dining with a Big Eater

 

You’re going out to dinner with your pro-swimmer friend Kat, but you know good and well that she eats a lot more than you because her metabolism is cranking on overtime from all her exercise training.

 

So, you try to eat less than her, but for some reason you still end up chowing down more than you need.

 

Why is this? Scientists from Cornell also discovered that people mimic how their dining partners eat. When you’re seated in front of a person eating a large meal, you’re more likely to eat a larger meal than normal and over-doing your intake.

 

Or, if that person with you eats fast, you may also find yourself eating faster than you’d usually eat and, in turn, taking in more calories.

 

Weight Loss Tip:  If you’re going out with a big or fast eater, ensure your portion size is fixed to be smaller on purpose.  And, make sure you don’t share dessert with her, no matter how good it looks.