Habits 1 - 4 To Soar Above The Rest

Hey guys! Hope your week is going great. Im super excited for halloween, I can't wait to steal Logans candy! Honestly I cant wait to see everyones costumes, I love dressing up, so be sure to post your kids costume pictures! they always look so cute.

Last week we talked about metabolism and how it works, hopefully you got a good understanding about it now. This week I want to get a little deeper into nutrition, nothing like text book in depth, but some keys to follow to help you reach your fitness goals. I call these the Habits to Soar Above the Rest-cheesy I know, but I'm a cheeseball :)

We had our first Costume workout this weekend!

So here are the first 4 keys to making healthier decisions.

1. Eat More! NotLess!

Instead of only eating breakfast, followed by a small snack and then diner, let’s eat 5-6 times a day. Like we talked about last week, your body needs calories to burn calories. Eating constantly will maintain your bodies caloric needs and excel your metabolism. Be sure to eat good, quality foods! The better quality the foods are the more energy is required to digest it properly. This means we use more energy (calories) breaking down this food, thus burning more calories throughout the day. I recommend eating when you feel hungry, don’t count the hours, listen to your body. If you’re hungry eat! If you live a busy life then set an alarm and remember every 2-3 hours to grab a bite!

I cannot stress enough how important this step is, if you starve yourself or eat too little, YOU WILL harm your metabolism-along with harming your metabolism, your body will likely store these calories as fat (saving the energy for later). Pretty much causing the opposite of what we wanted, right?

Lastly this will keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day, so the random bursts of fatigue will be non-existent.

2. Eat Carbohydrates and Protein at Every Meal

The recommended amount of protein is .8 - 1 gram per body weight. If you are wanting to gain muscle it is recommended to eat 1.2 - 1.5 grams of protein per body weight. So, if you weigh 160 Lbs. then 128-160 grams of protein per day is recommended, or 192 – 240 if muscle gain is your goal. Carbs are a little tricky- depending on what your goal is. If weight loss is your main goal, restricting carbs as the day progresses isn’t a bad idea, now eating no carbs at all, well let’s just not do that. I recommend 40-60% of your calories to be carbohydrates. If you are completely against carbs for some reason, lean towards the very minimum of 10-30% of your calories to be carbs. Take into consideration that carbs are our main source of energy, the combination of proteins and carbs aid recovery. So, if you are experiencing fatigue or feel tired, your body is basically telling you “hey feed me you jerk.”

3. Like mom and dad said, eat your veggies and fruits
Your parents were on to something when they said to eat your veggies. There are so many important chemicals and nutrients that can only be found in fruits and vegetables. They help to regulate and keep your body well balanced, many proteins and grains can be acidic to the blood, this can lead to a loss of bone strength and muscle mass. Fruits and vegetables give the body an alkaline burst to balance your blood stream. Consume at least 1 cup per meal, honestly they make pretty good snacks. 

4. Earn your Carbs!
Carbs are great, they are our primary source of energy, but consume too many too late and they will quickly store as fat. In order to prevent this we MUST eat them smartly. When eating carbs, eat them earlier in the days so they are being used for your daily activities, the later in the day it gets eat less and less carbs. If you are going to consume a lot of carbs, or did consume a lot of carbs, make sure you earn them. This means work your butt off and do extra sets/ pick up the intensity on these days. There is nothing wrong with indulging every now and again but be sure you earn them. Be sure to consume good carbs and not bad carbs, below is an informational list.

Thanks for reading, hope you guys learned something. If you have any questions about training or just wanna chat please feel free to email me: [email protected]