Saturday, December 5, 2009

Protein and Fat Loss

Protein and Fat Loss

It takes about 25-27 calories to digest and utilize about 100 calories of protein, this means that your net consumption of calories is about 75 calories.

This is called the Thermic Effect of Food.

If you eat protein at every meal then you are forcing your body to work more and burn more calories basically burning fat!

Carbs take about 4-5 calories to digest and utilize about 100 calories of Carbs.

Don’t know what type of protein you need to use,

Well here is a list of some of the common proteins that you can add to your day:

Chicken
Lean Meat
Eggs, egg whites
Fish, Salmon, haddock
Beans

Protein Shakes: Some great shakes are listed here and I know most of my campers are really starting to utilize the benefits of what a protein shake can do for you.

Check out these sites for your protein sources if you’re looking for more protein for every dollar spent.

www.warriorstrengthcoach.getprograde.com and Supplements101 remember stick with the whey protein isolates for more protein absorption.

Until Next Time

Your Fit Coach
Mike

Limits of LiabilityAll information and tools in this blog are intended as an aid to help healthy adults lose weight and not intended as medical advice. The information presented here is not for pregnant or breast-feeding women or for any person under the age of 18. If you suffer or think you may suffer from any medical condition you should consult your doctor before starting any weight loss exercise regime. Any weight loss exercise programs or diet should be started slowly and we advise you to always consult your doctor or physician beforehand.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Sugar Your Weight Loss Enemy

Sugar Your Weight Loss Enemy

Do you ever say to yourself I am doing everything possible to lose weight but I am not losing a pound? I can’t understand why I am eating right, drinking enough water, working out 4-5 days a week, why am I not losing anything.

Well the problem might be something that you overlook and for most that’s exactly what’s happening.

Have you taken a look at your sugar intake?

Did you know that only 10% of your calorie intake should come from sugar? At least that’s what the experts say. Did you know that alone sugar has absolutely no nutritional value at all.

Then why is it found in so many of the foods we eat? The answer is simple, Taste.

That’s it! It’s all about the taste of a food.

Here’s a statement you might not like, you don’t need any sugar in your daily calorie intake.

So what about your sugar in your coffee? Well I have listed below some of the things you can do in your day to avoid eating sugar and adding those extra empty calories that could be preventing you from losing those pounds.

But first let me list just a few of the things that sugar can do to upset the body:

• Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and concentration difficulties.
• Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity.
• Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
• Sugar can cause tooth decay, acidic stomach, speed up the aging process, causing wrinkles, and gray hair.

Sugar is at fault for all of the above and so much more but the list us too long to put here.

So how do you reduce your sugar intake?

• Learn to enjoy foods that are naturally sweet.
• When cooking and reading a recipe use less than what is recommended.
• Use spices and herbs that are natural.
• Use Stevia or Sweet Leaf.
• Buy fresh fruits or fruits packed in water instead of syrup.
• Pay close attention to food labels looking at the ingredients, most sugars will be listed as the following, brown sugar, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, palm sugar, corn syrup, maltose, lactose.

Are you getting the picture? Sugar sugar sugar sugar, not good for you and it isn’t needed in your diet. So eat the naturally sweet foods to get your fix for that sweet tooth.

Until Next Time

Your Fit Coach
Mike


Limits of LiabilityAll information and tools in this blog are intended as an aid to help healthy adults lose weight and not intended as medical advice. The information presented here is not for pregnant or breast-feeding women or for any person under the age of 18. If you suffer or think you may suffer from any medical condition you should consult your doctor before starting any weight loss exercise regime. Any weight loss exercise programs or diet should be started slowly and we advise you to always consult your doctor or physician beforehand.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Turkey Day Protein Pancakes & Abs and Butt Bodyweight Workout from ML AThletics Boot Camp

Delicious Protein Pancakes Recipe

It's been a great year here at ML Athletics. And I'm very grateful for you being a part of that success. This week being Thanksgiving I want to make sure I'm showing you how grateful I am.
But before I do... Let's get serious for a moment. You're going to eat a LOT of food this Thursday. You know it. I know it. And that's ok. I'm sure you've been working out just a little bit harder to prepare for it, right? ;-)

And I know you're going to get a good workout in on Thursday before you chow down, right?

Now, besides that, I also want to remind you one thing you do NOT want to do on Thursday is skip meals so you can stuff yourself with one big one. That's a no-no.

You still need to start your day right by boosting your metabolism with a solid breakfast. So here's a delicious Protein Pancakes recipe.

Thanks to the protein in the recipe your blood sugar won't go crazy like it can just by eating a huge stack of pancakes with sugary syrup. Nope, this recipe will fill you up, nourish your body and give your metabolism just the boost it needs.

You can get the Protein Pancakes recipe at
http://warriorstrengthcoach.getprograde.com/prograde-pancake-recipe.html

Be sure to let me know how you like it. I have tried it and it's pretty good

Now your Turkey Day Home Body Weight Workout to burn those extra calories before you chow down.....

Turkey Day Abs and Butt Bodyweight Workout

Make sure to keep your abs tight on each and every exercise below creating a strong mid-section.
Squats
Rotate your hips back and sit back into the pretend chair. Stand feet shoulder width apart toes pointing forward. Sit down until you are at a 90 degree angle.

Start and End
Stationary Lunge Each Leg
Stand with 1 foot in front of the other making sure you have a good separation between both feet. If you front knee is over your toes you need more separation. Start in the up position and slowly bring your back knee dipping down toward the ground while keeping your back foot and heal straight.

Side View Front View

Jump Squats
Make sure to keep your abs tight and knees back. Rotate your hips back and sit back into the pretend chair. Stand feet shoulder width apart toes pointing forward. Sit down until you are at a 90 degree angle and then jump up and brace yourself for impact while folding yourself down into another squat. Do not land on your knees as you do not want to injure yourself.

Start End

Frog Squats
Make sure to keep your abs tight and knees back. Rotate your hips back and sit back into the pretend chair. Stand feet shoulder width apart toes pointing forward. Sit down until you are at a 90 degree angle. This is just like a regular squat with one important difference, do not go all the way up. Front the sitting position only come up with your butt about 6-10 inches while keeping your butt flexed. Keep your arms on your thighs.

Start End
Crunch to Double Leg Press Outs
Start in a normal crunch position and bring your legs up to a sitting position. Keep the abs tight and start to extend your feet and legs out all the way as pictured in the last photo. Repeat.

Start Mid End
Leg Raises
Start in a complete spread position as pictured in the first photo and hold your legs a few inches above the ground. Bring your legs all the way up while keeping tension on your mid-section and slowly lower your legs to the ground and tap those deals softly and raise back up again. Make sure to keep your legs as straight as possible the whole way up and down.

Start End
Jack Knife
This is just like the leg raise exercise but you are going to bring both your hands and feet together and then back down. Remember to do this slowly and controlled for an incredible burn.

Start End
Until Next Time

Your Fit Coach
Mike
PS - Seriously, have a nutritious breakfast this Thursday and your body will thank your for it on Friday. ;-)
http://warriorstrengthcoach.getprograde.com/prograde-pancake-recipe.html
Limits of LiabilityAll information and tools in this blog are intended as an aid to help healthy adults lose weight and not intended as medical advice. The information presented here is not for pregnant or breast-feeding women or for any person under the age of 18. If you suffer or think you may suffer from any medical condition you should consult your doctor before starting any weight loss exercise regime. Any weight loss exercise programs or diet should be started slowly and we advise you to always consult your doctor or physician beforehand.

Monday, November 23, 2009

ML Athletics Bootcamp Body Transformation Tips

So the Holidays are officially upon us and well it is now more important than ever that we focus on our fitness goals. Did you know that we will gain an average of 4-8lbs a year if we sit around and do nothing.

Did you know that most of that weight is put on during the holiday's

I am officially a bit over 30 days into my 90 day transformation and I have had to re-evaluate my goals and how I will get to where I want to be in the next 60 days.

Here are some of the things that I am doing to speed up the process a bit and make sure that the Holiday's don't affect my weight loss goals.

Body Transformation Tips:

1. 45 minutes of cardio in the morning 5 days a week

2. 4 - 5 work outs per week focusing on strength training to reshape my body.

3. 6-8 meals per day with a higher ratio of protein to carbs to burn more calories

4. Use a nutrition log to record what you are eating everyday, this helps to stay away from the junk you don't need

5. 2 gallons of water per day to flush out my body of what it doesn't need. This is my intake amount

6. Every chance I get I am outside, riding my bike with my son or taking him to the park and running around.

Everything I now do is with my goal in mind.

Sacrafice is part of this process and you must be mentally ready to get there!

Keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of days as I will have workouts that you can do from the comfort of your home with no weight and help you burn some extra calories.

Until Next Time

Your Fit Coach

Mike

P.S. If you are not part of the ML AThletics Bootcamp Program but want to get ahead on your beach body goals then keep an eye out this Friday as I will be having my biggest sale offer yet..... 1 Day only so keep an eye out......


Limits of LiabilityAll information and tools in this blog are intended as an aid to help healthy adults lose weight and not intended as medical advice. The information presented here is not for pregnant or breast-feeding women or for any person under the age of 18. If you suffer or think you may suffer from any medical condition you should consult your doctor before starting any weight loss exercise regime. Any weight loss exercise programs or diet should be started slowly and we advise you to always consult your doctor or physician beforehand.

Friday, November 13, 2009

1 Weird Belly Flab Buster

1 Weird Belly Flab Buster

Ok, I don't mean to get too scientific, but this is super important. You see, while busting the belly flab does take effort, it's not nearly as hard as people make it out to be.

Seriously, the most important part of the process is arming yourself with the CORRECT knowledge. If you know how your body works...why it stores belly flab...what actually causes it to burn off...you're a whole lot better off.

Now, I know there are a ton of so-called experts out there that are confusing the heck out of you. I know a lot of people tell you different things. It can be as frustrating as all get out. But if you follow these simple rules and burn them into your brain things will be a lot different.

Anyway, let's get to today's easy lesson. Check this out:
  • Increased Protein intake triggers the hormone Glucagon.
  • This, in turn, prevents the spiking of your Insulin (which is also a hormone) levels.
  • Which simply means you minimize the chance of storing blood sugar as fat.
In other words, eat more protein and you bust the belly flab. Sure, there's more to it than that, but that is the crux of it. And so long as you understand the basics you can KEEP the belly flab from coming back.

When you only eat carbs your Insulin levels go through the roof. And all that blood sugar (that's what the carbs turn into after you've eaten them) which isn't needed by your body MUST go somewhere. Yup, it goes to your belly; or your butt; or your hips; or your thighs...

The best part is, it's not very hard to consume more protein. In fact, it's pretty darn easy. A high quality protein powder will do just the trick.

Check out my last blog post about which protein’s are best and which do what:

http://mlathletics.blogspot.com/2009/11/ml-athletics-bootcamp-shares-2-little.html

Here are 2 links to sites where I get my protein shakes from, I choose to purchase most of my supplements online as you get more for your money, and several more choices when it comes to flavor and personal preference.

Supplements101

Prograde Nutrition

Until Next Time

Your Fit Coach
Mike


Limits of LiabilityAll information and tools in this blog are intended as an aid to help healthy adults lose weight and not intended as medical advice. The information presented here is not for pregnant or breast-feeding women or for any person under the age of 18. If you suffer or think you may suffer from any medical condition you should consult your doctor before starting any weight loss exercise regime. Any weight loss exercise programs or diet should be started slowly and we advise you to always consult your doctor or physician beforehand.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

ML Athletics Bootcamp Shares 2 Little Known Fat Burning Facts

2 Little Known Fat Burning Facts

Carbs, carbs, carbs. That's what everyone seems to want to talk about. How do I avoid carbs?
Well, what you should be talking about instead is, "How do I get more lean Protein into my eating plan?"

Now THAT is the right question.

You see, Protein is where it's at. Check out these two little known facts about protein:

1) Protein requires more calories to digest than carbs or fat. This is called the "thermic effect of food." In other words, your body uses more calories to digest protein than other nutrients.
Pretty sneaky, huh?

2) Protein provides satiety. That's a fancy way of saying you feel fuller for longer when you eat protein.

Good sources of Lean Protein come from foods such as:

Fish, eggs, poultry, lean beef...

But some people have trouble eating enough protein each day. Some people would like it to be more convenient for them.

Over the last couple of days since my last blog post 3 Tips to Using Protein Shakes I was asked what brands are good when it comes to protein shakes.

Well truthfully there are a million different kinds of protein on the market and making a decision about which one is the best is somewhat difficult with so many to choose from.

Different proteins have different benefits:

Casein Protein - Slow digesting protein powders.

Egg Protein - Proteins that contain 100% egg protein.

Low Carb Protein - Proteins with under 10g of carbs per serving.

Milk Protein Isolate - Proteins that contain 100% milk protein concentrate.

Night-Time Protein - Formulated to be consumed just before sleep with slow-release / absorption being emphasized.

Soy Protein - Healthy protein source.

Whey Protein Blends - A blend of both Whey Protein Concentrate and Whey Protein Isolate.

Whey Protein Concentrate - Concentrates typically contain 75 to 80% protein and are less expensive than Isolates.

Whey Protein Isolate - Isolates supply the highest percentage of protein (typically 90% or greater) and are filtered to remove nearly

My opinion is to stick with the proteins that offer the highest percentage of protein which is Whey Protein Isolate and here is one that I have used that is pretty good mixed up:

I use some of the different proteins mentioned above throughout the day, here is where I get my proteins as buying them in a store can be a bit more pricy I take my time to shop online where you get a better bargain and more protein for the money spent. That’s always a good thing!

Here is a link to some of the proteins I use: Supplements101 as an online store to purchase my proteins and some of my other supplements I use. Whey Gold Standard by Optimum Nutrition is a protein product that I have used from their site.

I have also used Prograde Nutrition’s Protein as well: Prograde Protein

The choice is yours when it comes to taste as there are different flavors to choose from, but remember one thing, you get what you pay for. So just because something is cheap doesn’t mean it’s the best and has the highest quality. Your body is worth it!

Until Next Time

Your Fit Coach
Mike

Limits of LiabilityAll information and tools in this blog are intended as an aid to help healthy adults lose weight and not intended as medical advice. The information presented here is not for pregnant or breast-feeding women or for any person under the age of 18. If you suffer or think you may suffer from any medical condition you should consult your doctor before starting any weight loss exercise regime. Any weight loss exercise programs or diet should be started slowly and we advise you to always consult your doctor or physician beforehand.

Monday, November 9, 2009

3 Tips to Using Protein Shakes

3 Tips to Using Protein Shakes

Here is a question I got last week regarding when, how, with what to use protein shakes.

I went out and bought the whey protein mix today. I was wondering a couple things:

1. When is the best time for me to be having this in order to get the most out of it?

2. It says to mix one scoop with 8 oz of water, that doesn't seem like much is that enough or should I be doubling it?

3. I find that I am usually crashing at 3:30 in the afternoon when I slow down, should I be having a second one at that time?

Here are your answers.

1. Best times to use the shakes to get the most out of them is Before and After your workouts and I prefer to have one as soon as I wake up as it's easy and it gets your blood sugar to rise quickly which is what you need after many hours of fasting.

2. The 8oz of water is up to you, it's all about consistency if you like it a bit thicker or a bit more watered down that is up to you. Try different amounts to see what you like better.

3. I would recommend a shake in the afternoon if you are crashing but that is usually due to a lack of sugar and I mean good sugar so have a shake with say a piece of fruit or a cup of mixed fruit.

Until Next Time

Your Fit Coach
Mike

P.S. Danvers Bootcamp evening class held at the Calvary Episcopal Church just about maxed out, space available for 2 more people and then we are closing it off. First 2 to fill out the form on the site get first dibs. http://www.mlathletics.com/bootcamp

We still have some spots available for the Morning Danvers YMCA Bootcamp and Billerica Bootcamps. Get in now before they fill up.

Limits of LiabilityAll information and tools in this blog are intended as an aid to help healthy adults lose weight and not intended as medical advice. The information presented here is not for pregnant or breast-feeding women or for any person under the age of 18. If you suffer or think you may suffer from any medical condition you should consult your doctor before starting any weight loss exercise regime. Any weight loss exercise programs or diet should be started slowly and we advise you to always consult your doctor or physician beforehand.