Eggs For All

If you need a quick protein source and don’t have a lot of time, look no further than your local hen house to satisfy your needs. A perfect protein in nature, the egg is a healthy source of protein, fats and a great sources of various vitamins. A cost effective protein source does not have to come in powder form. Take a few minutes out of your day and take advantage of this easily accessible food to clean up your nutrition plan and get you ripped this month.

Each egg has on average of 6 grams of protein. We are talking about a WHOLE egg. The days of the egg white are over. The vast majority of the nutrients in an egg are in the yolk. The classic mindset that the yolk will increase blood cholesterol has been repeatedly shown by the medical community to NOT be the case. Most of the issues with heart disease and diabetes comes from consuming processed foods. If you have hereditary high cholesterol, you should consult with your physician before consuming large quantities of eggs, however it is unlikely that when combined with an exercise program egg consumption will increase LDL (bad) cholesterol. In fact, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "consumption of eggs instead of carbohydrate-rich foods may raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL/good cholesterol) levels and decrease blood glycemic and insulinemic responses."

Egg yolks are also a source of one of the highest levels of choline, a B-complex vitamin. Choline is associated with improved neurological function and reducing cellular inflammation. In addition to choline, eggs are also high in sulfur, which is a nutrient important for liver function as well as collagen and keratin production. This results in strong  nails, shiny hair and  glowing skin, perfect to compliment your shredded physique! Of course, when consuming a lower calorie diet, you may wish to avoid excess calories from the yolk. Consuming just the egg whites is a great source of lean protein as it is the easiest absorbable source for the human body.

Various preparation methods also make the egg a convenient food source. Hard-boiled eggs are a portable, easily consumed food on the go. Eggs also make for a delicious meal at all hours, cooked stove-top sunny-side up, over-easy, scrambled, or an omelette with your favorite vegetables. When designing your nutrition plan for the week, don’t neglect the simplicity right under your nose. Eggs to cut, eggs for size, eggs for everyone!

4 Tips To Overcome Cravings and Binge Eating

So, you've decided to start a healthy diet plan. Eating healthy aka "eating for fuel, not pleasure" is definitely challenging in the beginning, especially since you are most likely accustomed to salt and to sugar, and we all know that eating without these condiments is no walk in the park. It's no surprise that eating healthy is challenging for most people and it's easy for the inexperienced dieter to fall of the wagon and binge eat the least healthiest item in the fridge. Ice cream, perhaps? These cravings and urges to binge are no different then a recovering drug addicts urge to use drugs again. The difference is that your drug is delicious food and you have to eat every day, so avoiding food like an alcoholic avoids beer isn't going to work. The most important thing is learning how to deal with these urges to binge and to develop some effective strategies to combat the desire to "pig out".

Here are 4 tips to overcome the cravings associated with dieting:

1. Space out your meals into 5 smaller meals throughout the day. It's a lot easier to binge eat when it's 8 pm and you haven't had a bite to eat since 7 am. By consistently eating small meals throughout the day, you are WAY less likely to be so hungry that you end up eating out of control. 
2. Certain foods you may feel you just can't live without. Ice cream, perhaps? The best thing to do is identify a healthy substitute. For ice cream, I blend frozen strawberries and blueberries with 2oz of water to make sorbet. add stevia  for sweetness. If you like something a little more like vanilla ice cream, you can use frozen bananas and vanilla extract. Like chocolate? Throw in some cocoa powder and voila, delicious guilt free sorbet. 
3. Plan your meals in advance. If you fail to plan, plan to fail! If you know you are going to be in Miami all day, then you better make sure to pack food for the day. That could certainly turn into fast food run if you aren't prepared.
4. Keep motivated! The best thing to do is put up your meal plan on the fridge next to a picture of the body you want. This will keep your eye on the prize every time you go to open the fridge. 

For more information about IntensityX3 and our P90X and INSANITY fitness classes, personal training and boot camps in Boca Raton, go to www.intensityx3.com 

Eat More, Lose More

You eat healthy for the most part and your water intake is on point, but, you still can’t lose weight. You have been stagnant, remaining at your current weight for longer than you care to remember. What could be the issue? Most likely you subscribe to the belief that you must eat very little to lose weight, also known as a calorie restricted diet, or, as we like to call it; starving yourself. You most likely only eat one or two meals a day, and almost always skip breakfast. You've heard it before but just can’t get your mind around the fact that you need to eat several small meals a day to lose the excess weight. You my fitness friend, are in denial.


The primary issue is that with a calorie restricted diet is that your body will burn both fat and muscle to meet its caloric demands. Since muscle burns more calories at rest than fat, chances are your body will eat up it’s own muscle tissue before the fat cells. So you lose weight initially, but in reality you’ve lost muscle and fat, not just fat alone. By losing muscle you’ve decreased your metabolism and you will eventually gain the weight back and then some. Let’s look at a simple math equation that will help you to visualize the issue.

You eat one or two small healthy meals a day. You lose 10 lbs and you are excited about that.

Lets break down the number, shall we?

With calorie restricted diets, you generally lose fat and muscle in an equivalent ratio, about 50/50. So.... 

Out of your 10lbs of weight loss, 5lbs is fat and 5 lbs is muscle, which equals a total weight loss of 10 lbs.

So what’s the big deal? By losing muscle you have effectively decreased your metabolism by ~200 calories per day. That’s 73,000 calories per year that your body will no longer burn which is the equivalent of 21 lbs of fat.  Your body will also respond by going into “starvation mode” which can further decrease metabolism by upwards of 40%. Obviously you can’t maintain a starvation type diet for too long, so what happens when you enter back into the real world? You start eating a normal amount of food and since your metabolism is ice cold and barely moving, you gain the 10 lbs back plus another 5 lbs faster than you lost it.

So, lets look at the 15lbs you just gained back. How much of the 15lbs do you think is muscle? If you guessed ZERO then you’d be correct! So you gain the weight back but this time it’s all fat and water weight and you are still missing 5 lbs of muscle. Even if you only gained 10 lbs back and were at the exact same weight you started, your body fat percentage has effectively gone up. Take a look.

Example:
starting weight 150 lbs @25% body fat
body fat = 37.5 lbs
lean weight = 112.5 lbs

After calorie restriction
140 lbs @24% body fat (you lost 10lbs but only 1% body fat! Thats because you lost MUSCLE)
body fat = 33.5 lbs
lean weight = 108.5 lb

After weight is gained back
150 lbs
body fat = 43.5 lbs
lean weight = 108.5 ( muscle didn’t come back)
body fat percentage: 28%!!!

Same body weight you started, but now you're at 28% body fat with a slower metabolism.. Does this sound like a good strategy for weight loss? Probably not.This starvation roller coaster is GUARANTEED to make you bigger and fatter than you have ever been before.

A nutrition plan broken down into smaller meals throughout the day is most effective to ensure the preservation of lean muscle, increased metabolism and maximizes nutrient absorption. Focus your effort on small meals and snacks, easy to prepare, portable and low maintenance to consume. Messy meals that force excess preparation may discourage you. Of course start with BREAKFAST, and follow through roughly every 2-3 hours with a small meal. This could range in size from a piece or two of fruit, a smoothie, to even an egg with a piece of toast. You may integrate larger meals during the day but keeping the calories more evenly dispersed will do the following:

- Deliver consistent nutrients to active bodies
- Increase parasympathetic (digestive) caloric burn
- Improve ease of preparation
- Minimize bloating and “fullness”
- Reduce late-night cravings
- Increase and help to maintain lean muscle tissue


Okay, so stuffing your face with hot dogs isn't what we are suggesting, but it did get you to click on the link.

Breakfast To Success

Ever wonder why you hit that plateau? Feel fatigued in the afternoon, unable to motivate yourself into the gym? Lack of proper nutrition could be your problem. The first step to success starts with the first meal of the day. BREAKFAST.

Starting with the word itself, breakfast means exactly that: BREAK your FAST. During sleep, your body is utilizing stores of energy to maintain function throughout the night. Obviously, you are not eating while you sleep, so this process of tapping into energy reserves is a welcome occurrence. Skipping breakfast is an easy way to side track away from your fitness goals. Here are some ways to avoid this destructive path.

#1: Easy Meal: Prepare an easy meal in the morning. If you are not an early-riser, the prospect of cooking in the A.M. can be a monumental task. A simple Smoothie can be the cure, allowing for a quick, out the door nutritious blast to start your day.

#2: Prepare in Advance: Always rushing out the door in the morning? Make your meal the night before. If you don’t have time to throw it in the microwave or eat it straight from the fridge, set your alarm clock earlier!

#3: Choose Wisely: Eating just anything for breakfast won’t suffice. It is important to select quality foods that will power you through a busy day. Oatmeal, Ezekiel bread, Eggs, and even a simple smoothie blend with your favorite protein powder or greek yogurt will give you the power calories to fuel your daily routine.

#4: Take Ownership: You are in control of your life. Only you are responsible for your success or failure. Understand the consequences of your lack of commitment to your health and fitness. If you do not take the start of your day seriously, then you are attempting to build a skyscraper without a proper foundation. Take the time, plan your first meal, and get the ball rolling towards reaching your goal.

Need some ideas for breakfast? Make sure to check your Insanity or P90X nutrition manual for recipes and meal planning.

Simple Thai Chicken Stir-Fry

This recipe is quick and delicious! Plus, it's a very healthy alternative to going out to a restaurant for your thai food fix.

Takes 20 minutes

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

• 2-3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed

• 1 shallot OR 1/4 cup purple onion, chopped

• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 thumb-size pieces of ginger, thinly sliced

• 1 fresh red chili, thinly sliced, OR 1/4 to 1/3 tsp. dried chili (chili flakes)

• 5-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

• 2 cups snow peas

• 1 red pepper, sliced into strips

• handful fresh basil

• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil

• STIR-FRY SAUCE:

• 2/3 cup coconut milk

• 2+1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce

• 3+1/2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

• 1+1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

• 1/3 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili (chili flakes)

• 2+1/2 tsp. brown sugar

Preparation:

1. Combine the stir fry sauce ingredients in a bowl, stir until completely dissolved.
2. Marinate the chicken in a bowl and pour over 1/4 cup of the stir-fry sauce, set aside to marinate for 5-10 minutes.
3. heat up a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add coconut oil and make sure it's spread out evenly in the pan, then add the shallot/onion, garlic, ginger, and chili. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Then add chicken together with the marinade. Stir-fry 6 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked. slowly add extra stir-fry sauce as you cook, don't let it dry out.
4. Now, Add the snow peas, mushrooms, red pepper, and enough stir-fry sauce to just cover ingredients. Now turn down heat to Simmer 3-5 minutes, or until the vegetables have turned bright in color. Don't overcook the veggies.
5. Reduce the heat. add lime juice if too salty or sweet
6. Sprinkle on fresh basil and serve with jasmine rice. ENJOY!

P90X for Runners and Cyclists

Most athletes and enthusiasts train predominantly in their sport to improve performance.  Which makes sense right? If you want to run faster you must run. This principle is known as the “SAID” principle and is descriptive of our body’s ability to develop and adapt as a result of a specific training stress. Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand (SAID) in short means that if one cycles regularly, the body will physiologically adapt to improve cycling performance. However, if the only type of training your doing is specific, like running to improve run time, than you are certainly missing out on many physiological adaptations that will improve your overall ability. For example, incorporating yoga into your endurance program can greatly reduce your risk of injury by increasing flexibility and improving muscular imbalances. Another example is strength training to improve lactate threshold and muscular force which will improve run speed. P90X fitness classes in Boca Raton focus on a wide range of physiological adaptations. If you are an endurance athlete, expand your horizons to improve your performance and accelerate your goal timeline.

Hirofumi Tanaka and Thomas Swensen from the University of Colorado and Ithaca College, respectively, tackled the impact of resistance training on endurance performance. They concluded that although standard cause and effect for resistance training is an increase in strength and anaerobic power, benefits are seen crossing over into the endurance realm.

“…adding such a program to an ongoing endurance regimen, including running or cycling, increases both short and long term endurance capacity in sedentary and trained individuals.”

P90X fitness classes in Boca Raton properly integrate the strength component to compliment an aerobic based sport or activity. Altering strength with cardiovascular days on a regular basis coerces the body into a dynamically adaptive state. Take advantage of a P90X boot camp in Boca Raton. Classes run six (6) days per week and workouts constantly change to maximize muscle confusion. If want to improve your running or cycling performance, than you will definitely benefit from doing P90X in Boca Raton.

References:

Impact of resistance training on endurance performance.A new form of cross-training?

Boca Raton Boot Camps Vs. INSANITY

Have you ever thought about doing a boot camp in Boca Raton to get in shape? Maybe you stumbled upon this blog because you’re looking to do just that. Boca Raton has many different boot camps and they can be a great way to get fit while having fun. But, there’s something even better that has come to Boca than boot camps to get in shape. It’s called Insanity. Insanity group fitness classes are now being offered at IntensityX3 in Boca Raton and these classes are guaranteed to get you in shape 3X faster than traditional boot camps.

The Insanity workout might just be the most difficult exercise program currently being offered in Boca Raton. Your certified personal trainer will push you to the limit with fat melting plyometric drills, nonstop H.I.I.T (high intensity interval training), strength, power, resistance and core training exercises. Each Insanity workout keeps you constantly challenged as you alternate between aerobic and anaerobic intervals performed at your MAX. The best part is that there is no equipment needed like most boot camps. The Insanity workout in Boca Raton focuses on building mastery of your own body weight, which is crucial in developing functional strength. The result: burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour and get the most insane body in 60 days. So forget about the boot camps and come try the best workout in Boca Raton. Insanity!

“By far the best program for weight loss in Boca Raton.” –Allan Prince, CPT