The experts make it sound so easy but the reality is, it’s almost impossible to count calories unless you have
·
paid chief,
· calculator at
every meal
· eat exactly the
same food items every day.
I hope
for your sake the latter is not true but I’ll take the chief idea anytime. Take the example of dinning at a restaurant....the
food is served and you look at your significant other and say excuse me for a minute...... you then pull out your calculator,
little calorie counting book and just to be on the safe side a calorimeter (a device used to measure the heat that is given
off in food items to determine caloric density), boy doesn’t that sound like a real intimate moment!
The added stress alone will make eating food a task instead
of a pleasure. Even trying to take an educated guess at what the numbers might be is
a challenge. In a 1996 survey conducted by New York University trained dietitians were asked to estimate
the content of five restaurant meals? The results: they underestimated the calorie content by an average of 37 percent and
the fat content by 49 percent. If dieticians find it difficult what chance do we have!
If
you are concerned about your weight and want to achieve your fitness goals try these basic and easy to following guidelines:
· Don’t eat any carbohydrates at your
last 2 meals (dinner and bedtime snack). When the sun goes down, protein should be the bench mark for the rest of
your meals. When carbohydrates are broken down into glucose.
Glucose has 3 fates
1) It can act as the main fuel source used for bodily movements,
including muscle contraction during exercise.
2) It can be used to replenish depleted glycogen stores, before, during and after exercise.
3) If glucose
is not used as energy and if glycogen stores in the muscles are full, the glucose will be stored as fat.
So it makes sense
at night when most people are home relaxing not to eat any carbs.
There are however a couple
of exceptions: Vegetables and salads are healthy choices and are low in carbohydrate calories. They
go perfectly with any kind of meat or fish. After working out, your muscles are depleted of glycogen so the
best time to indulge in carbohydrate goodies like pasta, bread, and cereal is right after a hard workout. You are less likely
to store a meal containing carbohydrates as fat if the carbohydrate meal is consumed between 20-90 minutes post workout. So
if the workout is at night you get a free pass with the carbs. I bet a lot of health clubs will see a rise
in the number of members working out at night, real soon!
·
Portion control your food at every meal. Read labels to discover what constitutes 1
serving. More than likely you will discover most people eat 3-4 servings instead of the suggested 1.
·
You must exercise! Folks don’t believe the hype in some popular infomercials...
exercise is hard work and it takes disciple and time to get in shape and
lose weight. You must exercise at least 4-6 times weekly, 30-60 minutes each session. If you don’t know where to begin,
find a good personal trainer for guidance and support
· Eat 5-6
smaller meals throughout the day. Well designed meal planning through out the day will raise your metabolism and
turn on the fat burning process. Turn to How Not to Get Fat by Listening to a Groundhog and
Sumo Wrestler for more details
· Keep
tabs on protein intake. Any exercise program will produce better results if the proper protein requirements are administered.
Protein is the only digested food product that can rebuild damaged tissue, including muscle tissue.
·
Drink at least a gallon of water a day. Water makes up 55-70% of total body weight.
Studies show that ideal spacing must exist between the contractile proteins actin and myosin in order for optimal muscle strength
to occur. Dehydration causes the spacing to actually decrease, which causes the muscles to get weaker.
This may explain why strength decreases when a person is dehydrated. It also explains why creatine is such a powerful strength
aid. Creatine causes muscle cells to be extra hydrated. This causes you to get stronger (the optimal spacing thing). The take
home message is.... your muscles are constantly begging you for water.
Here are some simple but effective methods that if implemented can help you achieve your
fitness goals without interrupting your romantic dinner!
“We
suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces, regret
weighs tons.”
-Jim Rohn
