My Calories for the Day

Here is a fun little task for you this weekend:

Total up how many calories are in the following days food consumption and post a response to this blog. The first person who gets it right, or the person who gets the closest will get a gift from me on Tuesday. You have until Monday to post your response.

Breakfast

• 1 serving of frosted mini-wheats bite size
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 medium banana

Snack

• 1 banana
• 3 strawberries
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 cup grape juice

Lunch

• 3 cups of chicken chile verde soup
• 1 small salad with avocado
• 2 cups of iced tea

Snack

• 2 Trio (fruit and nut) bar
• 1 serving of EAS Protein Powder

Dinner

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 large chicken breast
• 1/2 cup broccoli
• 2 tbsp hummus

Use some method to calculate the number of calories in this days food and post either a response to this blog or post a reply on our Facebook page.

At any rate, the person who gets the closest or the first to get it right on will get a free gift from Pair & Marotta Peak Performance!

Ins and Outs

Understanding what to eat and when to eat it is a very complex thing. But here is a basic premise to run with: eat enough of the RIGHT stuff to fuel exercise and support muscle. But don't eat so much that you are feeding your fat stores.

How you do this is basically by limiting your intake of carbohydrates in the form of grains/breads/pasta to the days and times near your workouts. So on days that you do not workout, there should only be 1 meal that contains grains. On these days your carbohydrates should come from fruits and vegetables.

You see most grain products are very easy to eat: pasta, bread, chips, not to mention all the sweet stuff like cakes and cookies. By minimizing or eliminating grains you can really, REALLY cut back on your calories.
But here is the catch:
YOU MUST EAT A LOT OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES to replace some of the calories you are taking out of your diet. Remember that fruits and veggies are usually lower in calories than most grain products.

So here is the quick and simple point of this post: Eat 4 pieces of fruit per day, and 4 servings of vegetables per day. At this rate you will be getting 8 servings of fruit and vegetables AND by eating so much fruit and vegetables, you won't have the stomach room or the time to eat most of the foods that are higher in calories.

PS/ Don't forget to calculate your caloric intake at www.caloriecount.com. Sign up, start a free account and start tracking your food intake!!

Do your eating habits match your exercise habits?

Granted most of the group is doing well and changing their eating habits. As a result we are losing weight and getting MUCH stronger. The changes you made in your eating habits to lose weight 10 weeks ago at the beginning of December will not yield the same results now as they did then.

As a result, you're going to have to modify your caloric intake if you want to keep losing fat. Just keep in mind that whatever your goal weight, your caloric intake must be enough to maintain that weight.

So here are 2 things you need to remember when putting together a weekly menu (YOU are doing that, aren't you?):

1. Make sure you are not dooming yourself on the weekends! On the days you exercise, you will need a few more calories. Not much, but about a 5% increase from your total is good. Likewise on the days you don't exercise, you need to decrease your caloric intake by about 5-10%.
2. The time at which you eat is important. Eating late at night is not a good idea because you don't need that much energy later in the day. Instead, make breakfast and lunch your largest meals. These are the times you NEED energy to sustain work performance and mental clarity. At night when your body is about to be restored, you need quality foods, not quantity. A protein (chicken) vegetable (asparagus) a whole grain (basmati rice) and then fruit for desert (strawberry/blueberry mix).
   

Remember that you cannot out exercise a bad diet. This means too many calories as well as not enough.

If you don't know how many calories you need then head over to www.calorie-count.com and FIND OUT!! You won't know how many to eat to lose weight if you don't know how many you need to keep your weight!

Enjoy your day and get ready for another blasting tomorrow!!