Nutrition Archives - Page 3 of 3

August 27, 2020November 11, 2023

In Nutrition, Trainingby ad

How to stay FIT during the season?

It’s that time of the year gain, the off season, the season of joy and sugar binges, the season of giving and cheat eating.. Christmas is notoriously a time to indulge, but don’t let this be the green light to overindulge, Eat smart

TRAIN BIG EAT BIG

If you know you are going to eat a lot of food (and that’s a lot) then you might as well exploit the anabolic powers of food to help you keep or make some muscle-building progress, use all those carbohydrates for a hard hitting workout either pre workout or post workout, working out a few hours after a large meal will give help burn those calories and keep your metabolism active after wards.

Your workouts could be Intense like a “Leg Day with lots of volume” for example, try include compound movements like the Squat, Lunges..etc to name a few as these will burn more calories during your workout, or If you are more of a cardio person ( that is if you are) you could do a HIIT session to get those calories burning, the amount of calories you burn depends on how much food you eat, so if you are on 3000+ calories for the day, your training should be more intense.

CARDIO

Cardio is the last thing you would want to hear or do during the holidays, and yes it sucks, but its effective and doesn’t necessarily have to be long and boring, try performing HIIT (High intensity training), these could last for around 15-20 minutes and should be completed within intervals, try to keep it short and intense, Combing high intensity with interval training speeds your metabolic rate and “translates into a metabolism boost for up to 48 hours after a complete HIIT routine, you will be still burning fat after you leave the gym after a HIIT session.

Calculate your Macros

Calculating your macros and your daily calorie intake will help greatly in knowing how much Protein, Carbohydrates and fats you need for the day, and especially during the holidays, it’s a 100% guarantee that your calorie intake is about to be off the hook, so before things go out of hand, know your daily calorie intake and balance things out through maintaining your diet and working out. Here’s a macronutrient calculator for your reference: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm

Monitor your calories

It might be hard and annoying to monitor your calories during the season , especially during December, but try to keep track of the calories you eat for the day, doesn’t have to be accurate at least an average of it, this will aware you with a target of the calories you need to burn at the gym while you workout, also for eg: if your daily carbohydrate intake is 200g , and you binge on some Christmas cake, try balancing it out later throughout day by eliminating your carbohydrates in the next meal or snack, this will help you from over eating.

Eat your Protein first

Start out with the protein first, Meat or anything that has a hint of protein in it

Eat a small portion of lean meat before beginning on mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, breads and rolls, etc, the reason for this is because your body uses more calories to digest and assimilate protein that it does for carbs and fat. The protein also has a stabilizing effect on your blood sugar and will help you to feel “full” more quickly.

STAY HYDRATED

Water can also help with the recovery process. Drinking water can help decrease your appetite when you’ve been overindulging and can prevent the dehydration that comes with drinking alcohol Plus, if you’re dehydrated you might be tired and suffer from headaches, which is not going to make it easier to hit the gym or make good food choices.

Getting water in will also help get your digestive system back in gear if you’ve overtaxed it with a bit too much food.

STAY ACTIVE

Yes its cold and you will feel the need to chill out with family and friends, and so often time we have to cut corners- eliminate some training sessions or do less cardio to make time for other holiday obligations and responsibilities. But even if you can’t keep to your regular training schedule, focusing on simply “moving more” will help increase your overall caloric expenditure and keep unwanted holiday weight gain away.

Some good ideas would be to park further away from entrances to increase the steps you take when running errands or shopping or to take the stairs and avoid elevators and escalators. You can also add in some short walks or cardio sessions daily, whenever possible. Walk during your lunch break for 5-10 minutes. Do the same after work. Come up with some workouts that require no equipment and can be performed outside of a gym so that in the event you have to miss a workout you have some fast options that you can easily perform in the convenience of your own home. Don’t allow the holiday season to become sedentary season- keep moving.

In Conclusion, Stay FIT and ENJOY the HOLIDAYS

Dont push yourself too hard if you went overboard on the food, there is always a new day and your body doesn’t change within a day of over eating , it changes to the lifestyle you perceive, so stay motivated and push harder the following day plus it’s the Holidays, so chill out and enjoy life!

August 27, 2020November 11, 2023

In Nutritionby ad

Good Food Habits for Sri Lankans

The trend for fitness and healthy living is growing at an escalating rate in Sri Lanka at the moment. Historically, Sri Lankans are known to be fit and strong because of the food we traditionally consume and because of the lifestyle we follow. But over the years, things have gradually changed and the advent of international food chains (fast food) have conquered us and we have started to change our lifestyles according to it. In addition to this, we have adopted a more physically relaxing routine where we have become stagnated in our own office chair and have become rather lethargic.

Time to change it Sri Lanka!

Alot of our fellow Sri Lankans sport a huge belly and muffin tops especially the people who does desk work. Our most common excuse is, “How can we catch time for a workout?” or “It’s easy to eat something from a fast food stop than making food at home”. Those are few of the common recurring excuses that come up from time to time. It’s the getaway answer and like it or not, at the same time we say “Hello” to all the health issues. This is why we must ensure that we allocate at least 1 hour from our daily schedule. This is why we must eat clean because at the end of the day, we are doing it for us.

Eat Clean, Always!

Before you start any fitness activity, eating healthy plays a huge role. They say it’s 30% Workouts and 70% Diet. This has a truth behind it.

In Sri Lanka, it’s difficult to go for a calorie counting practice as most of the food doesn’t come with the nutrition facts. But controlling the quantities of food is a must.

In Sri Lanka, we have a wide variety of foods which provides an array of health benefits. Especially from the organic food items which is found all over Sri Lanka. It’s a matter of thinking twice and replacing the food we typically consume with healthy food.

Simple things that won’t cost you a thing but in-return will help you to be energized.

For an example-

Drink a lot of water. Water doesn’t have calories! Water does have many benefits!
Red rice as a substance for white rice.
Adding more food with proteins such as dhaal, soya beans, meat, fish to your daily intakes
Adding greens to your food which gives many benefits.
Avoid bread which is full of carbs.
Avoid deep fried food.
Avoid processed meat.
Control your liquor intake. It’s preferable if you can stop altogether.
Avoid saturated fats as much as you can.
Fizzy drinks just adds calories to our body and are extremely high in sugar. Avoid it like the plague!

The list goes on and on, but for starters we all could adhere to these few tips.

This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a comfort food once in a while. Yes you can. But always remember, if you eat, you must burn. It’s always better to have an idea about the number of calories the standard food contains. So you automatically start thinking of ways to avoid unhealthy food.

One thing you can assure is when you start eating in a healthy way, you will feel a sense of immense lightness in your body. When you consume the right amount of proteins for your breakfast and your lunch, you will not feel hungry in between the meals and especially during the night.

Good food habits will drive you towards a healthy lifestyle. It’s the starting point of your Fitness Journey. When you think about achieving a chiseled mid-section, you are skipping one major point; the food. A lot of health problems such as Diabetes, Cholesterol and Obesity exist because we eat the wrong food and we don’t think when we eat.

Try it once and then your mindset will be changed, your lifestyle will be changed! In a positive way for a positive future.

Written By – Shehan Perera.

August 24, 2020November 11, 2023

In Nutrition, Trainingby ad

Have a Low Metabolism? Here’s why!

SKIPPING BREAKFAST

Eating a nutritious breakfast is always a good way to start your morning. Because your metabolism slows down during sleep, eating can fire it up and help you burn more calories throughout the day. According to Rush University Medical Center, “When you eat breakfast, you’re telling your body that there are plenty of calories to be had for the day. When you skip breakfast, the message your body gets is that it needs to conserve rather than burn any incoming calories.”

so it’s about more than just eating something in the morning. If you grab a sugary donut or eat a muffin in the car, you’re setting yourself up to crash later. Instead, choose something with filling protein and fiber like eggs, yogurt and berries or whole-wheat toast topped with peanut butter.

LACK OF ACTIVITY

Going from your office chair to your car to your couch can lead to a very sedentary routine. And sitting for extended periods puts your body into energy-conservation mode, which means your metabolism can suffer. According to the UK’s National Health Service, “Sitting for long periods is thought to slow metabolism, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat.”

LACK OF STRENGTH TRAINING

Cardio is great, and it can quickly burn calories, but once you’re done running or cycling, your calorie burn quickly returns to normal. When you do HIIT and resistance-based workouts, however, your calorie burn stays elevated for longer as your muscles repair themselves. Per the American Council on Exercise (ACE): “Strength training is a key component of metabolism because it is directly linked to muscle mass. The more active muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolic rate.” And, according to ACE, a pound of muscle burns an additional 4–6 calories each day compared to a pound of fat.

LACK OF PROTEIN IN DIET

Protein feeds your muscles, promotes satiety and is an important component to sustaining a healthy weight. Eat too little, and you may have trouble building or maintaining muscle mass — and per the above, we know muscle’s importance to metabolism. Also, protein requires more energy to break down than carbs or fat, so you’ll actually burn more calories during digestion.

NOT ENOUGH SLEEP

One bad night’s sleep is enough to leave you feeling sluggish and impair your cognitive processing. String together several nights in a row — or a lifetime of inadequate sleep — and science shows decreased metabolism and hormonal imbalances may follow.

HYDRATION

In a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers found drinking 500 milliliters of water (about 2 cups) increases metabolic rate by 30%, and that spike lasts for more than an hour. So, drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated, and you’ll get the added benefit of a boosted metabolism.

STRESSING OUT

When stress levels increase, your body produces a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol leads to increased appetite, makes us crave comfort foods, decreases our desire to exercise and reduces sleep quality — all things that negatively impact metabolism. So, while you can’t always control your stress levels, managing stress can go a long way toward protecting your body’s internal fire.