ELIMINATING EXCUSES | fitness

Before I get into this post, I have a special announcement. One of my sisters just bought a computer, so I am excited to welcome her to the 21st century!!

Now to the business - some of the benefits of protein:

Inclusion of up to 6 grams of protein during training or racing lasting greater than 3 hours may help enhance endurance performance by sparing muscle glycogen as well as increasing fluid uptake. One study demonstrated nearly a 25 percent increase in cycling endurance when an hourly rate of 6 grams of protein was consumed in a 7.75% carbohydrate solution. Another study discovered that athletes utilizing protein during training had 20% more endurance during their second workout of the day.**

DO SOMETHIN’!

** information source: Competitor texas magazine (CompetitorTX.com), January 2008 vol.05 #1, pg. 12, article by Kimberly Mueller, M.S., R.D.

Since I am traveling this week, there will be no posts.

For those of you that have made new year’s resolutions to improve your fitness, how are things going so far? Are you on track? Off track? Big ups to those of you on track!! If you are off track, do not be too hard on yourself. Ask yourself the tough questions that will help you get to the root cause of what’s getting in your way. Then, eliminate your excuses and DO SOMETHIN’!

In virtually all of my posts, I’ve spent time talking about how to improve oneself via fitness and nutrition. I hope that you have found this information useful and motivating (if you have not, that’s ok because the posts are useful and motivating to me )

Today, I want to share some words on self-appreciation. I share health and fitness information to help us improve on where we are currently. But I am not stating or implying that our current overall physical state is bad. In most if not all aspects of life, we will be continually evolving. Our current state is just that: our current state. Let’s be thankful for where we are because it could be different; it could be worse. I encourage you to acknowledge that your current state has its merits. In you current state, you are physically and mentally capable of doing what it takes to make improvements. Right now you have the power to DO SOMETHIN’! That’s a blessing.

Make the most of today and be good to yourself.

In addition to eating a variety of fruits and vegetable everday, it is important to make sure that each meal is the right portion size for you. Rather than eating to fill completely your stomach, think in terms of what your body needs for normal functioning and how much food your body can process at one time. Overeating can lead to poor digestion of your food and other health issues. What I’ve found to work best for me is to eat about 4 - 6 times per day with each meal consisting of portions of foods that are about the size of my fist. So I am eating about the same amount or slightly more than I used to when I had 3 meals per day. By spreading this amount of food over more meals (not all meals being the same size as in total calories), I am not sluggish from eating a lot in one sitting (as in no more post meal ITIS); and I feel that more food digests more smoothly. Here’s a tip from Competitor texas health and fitness magazine on portion control:

For the average active person, the size of a small fist represents an appropriate portion of food. At main meals, aim to eat a fistful of starch (such as legumes, potatoes, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole grain cereal or a slice of bread) along with a fistful of protein (low-fat yogurt, milk or cottage cheese, soy foods, flank/round/sirloin steak, skinless poultry or fish) and two fistfuls of color (fruits and vegetables).**

For more details on what the right portion size is for you based on your caloric needs, I suggest that you check with your physician or dietician.

DO SOMETHIN’!

** information source: Competitor texas magazine (CompetitorTX.com), January 2008 vol.05 #1, pg. 12, article by Kimberly Mueller, M.S., R.D.

Happy New Year! I hope that you enjoyed the holidays and that ‘08 is off to a strong start for you.

As we look to keep our nutrition on point, here is a tip from Competitor texas health and fitness magazine:

Half of every meal should have a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables, which have been shown to be loaded with antioxidants that help protect our immune cells from harmful oxygen molecules called free radicals and ultimately protect against disease. Norwegian and American scientists recently complied a list of the foods with the highest antioxidant content per serving. The list included blackberries, strawberries, artichokes, cranberries, raspberries, blueberries and grape juice.**

Now that you have the facts, DO SOMETHIN’!

** information source: Competitor texas magazine (CompetitorTX.com), January 2008 vol.05 #1, pg. 12, article by Kimberly Mueller, M.S., R.D.