The answer is yes!! Food is energy input and exercise is energy output. If you don't have fuel in the tank, how can you expect to spend fuel that isn't there? When we wake up in the morning, our bodies are on empty and we are in starvation mode. Our bodies use energy at night even when we are sleeping to repair muscles, burn fat, and if needed, burn lean muslce mass if there wasn't enough fuel from the day before. There are many dangers of working out on an empty stomach. I have had clients faint when they work out without fuel and even more serious conditions can happen. If you are a early morning exerciser and just can't face eating, at the very minimal use one scoop of whey protein in water for your muscles which are made of protein. The good thing about whey protein is that it is digestable in 10 minutes. Another suggestion is a banana with peanut butter. Experiment, but eat something. If you eat a big meal before your workout make sure that you have at least an hour to digest it before working out. Your body can't digest food and bring blood to the muscles at the same time. It will have to chose to get you through your workout and your food will still be sitting in your stomach and it may not sit well!
Do you stuggle with going on and off diets or are there some bad habits you just haven't been able to get rid of? You might want to consider getting a Health Coach. A Certified Health Coach is a specialty training and a subset of Life Coaching. As your coach, I will help you develop a sound, balanced weight management program that includes nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle change. My training has specifically enabled me to understand the psychological aspects of weight management, the biomechanical and physiological impact of obesity, techniques for lifestyle coaching to facilitate behavior change, the relationship between exercise and nutrition in weight control, and exercise programming and weight-management strategies and progressions. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way!
Here is a great recipe for water that will help de-bloat you and help you burn more fat. Drinking enough water (.5 oz per pound of body weight) is one of the best things you can do to help your body burn fat and these ingredients make it even better!!
It is called Sassy Water:
2 liters of water (about 8 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
12 small spearmint leaves.
According to the ACE Health Coach Manual:
Metabolism is made up of:
1. Basal metabolic rate – the amount of energy required for vital, resting bodily functions without food. The more muscle your body has the higher the basal metabolic rate so strength train to burn more calories.
· 60 -75% of daily energy needs
2 . Thermal effect of food – the energy required to digest, absorb, and store ingested food energy
· 10% of daily energy expenditure in most people
3. Thermic effect of physical activity
· 15% to 30% of daily energy expenditure
a. exercise
b. non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) or spontaneous physical activity.
**This number can vary as much as 2,000 calories a day among individuals
Do you keep track of your sugar intake? Did you know that the American Heart Association recommends only 25 grams for women and 35 grams for men per day? A banana alone has 18 grams, and I eat those daily. Shockingly, the average American eats their body weight in sugar each year. Here are some other names of sugar you should look for in all of the foods you buy and avoid the item if it has any of these names in the top 3 ingredients. They are: sugar, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, dehydrated cane juice, fructose, glucose, dextrose, syrup, cane sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, agave, honey, organic cane sugar and coconut sugar. Stay healthy and let me know if you need help with your healthy diet and lifestyle!
If you want to stay injury free, the best strategy is to do different exercises everytime you go to workout. If you rode the bike Monday, jog or walk on Tuesday, Swim on Wednesday, etc. If you worked your chest and back on Monday, work legs on Tuesday, work shoulders, triceps, and biceps on Wednesday, etc. Full body routines are fine to do also, but make sure you don't lift too heavy if you are only going to give yourself one day off in between strength training sessions. In addition, always remember to stretch out after a workout by using the foam roller or stretching with a band to keep the muscles from becoming so tight that you risk injury. The last thing to consider is making sure that your have balanced muscles. It is easy to do the exercises you enjoy and skip the rest, but then you risk getting muscle imbalances which can also set you up for an injury. A great way to avoid this is to hire a trainer even for a short period of time who can design a program for your body, correct any muscle imbalances before they get worse and put you on a schedule of workouts. Let me know if I can help you in any way achieve your goals and stay strong, balanced and healthy.
The only way to know the accurate calories that you are actually burning on any cardio machine like the Curve, the elliptical trainer, row machine, or bike is to wear a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. It actually reads the accurate number of calories you are burning. Do you realize most cardio machines over estimate the calories burned by 30 to 40%? A machine will estimate calories burned based on a 150 pound person if you press quick start. In addition, even if you put in your own weight, the machine is off. I know this because I wear my monitor every time I workout. Once in a while it might come close if I am working really hard, but that is rare.
There is a great free resource available to the public and the website honors the USDA Dietary Guidelines as well as making them understandable in regards to food groups and portion sizes using a plate for easy application to your own diet. It is: http://www.choosemyplate.gov. You can get your own food plan based on your age and activity level. You can also track your food, exercise, recipes and much more.
I am sure you are aware of genetically modified organisms (GMO's) that are in our food supply now because the crops last longer and the food producers can make more money. The bad part for our health is that our bodies don't recognize these genetically modified seeds and they are not good for our health. For example, many people are now intolerant to gluten because of the genetically modified wheat seed that has much more gluten in it than the one God designed. Most GMOs are found in processed foods, but now up to 40% of our conventionally grown fruits and vegetables are genetically modified. I encourage you to buy USDA Organic to avoid this.
In my own research and preparation for my ACE Health Coach exam, I have found an incredible resource for you to print off and have available when you are shopping from the Center for Food Safety. There is also an app available that you can download to your phone that allows you to check brand names for genetically modified organisms as well.
Knowledge is power and I believe we are living in a day an age where we absolutely have to take charge of our health!
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/shoppers-guide_final_24562.pdf
Do you have a back pain? If so, start strengthening the opposite muscle, the abdominals, which will help with muscle balance. Once you ab muscles get stronger, your back pain will go away.
1. Start with bracing your core when you sit or stand. A good suggestion is to sit on a ball which forces you to do this.
2. Next, add planks, regular and side planks on the elbow which emphasize the core muscles more.
3. Later, add rotations to your plank and standing torso rotations with a medicine ball.
4. In addition add kettle bell swings which really help those muscles because of the odd shape of the weight.
5. Try TRX. Every move you do forces you to squeeze your core.
6. Once your core is rock solid you will be able to add heavy weight lifting which is one of my passions.
I will be happy to help you achieve all the goals in your journey!
