Skipping Meals Leads To Muscle Loss & Fat Storage
By Las Vegas Certified Personal Trainer Mark Lani
In today’s on-the-go world, fast food has become, for some, a necessary part of daily life. Unfortunately this often means chowing down on grease, salt, and more grease, a habit, which inevitably leads to weight gain. So the dilemma stands—you need food on the go, but $.99 cent burritos end up expanding your waistline. With all the carbohydrate hype and fad diets out there, it’s confusing to the average consumer on what foods are healthy, and what will give you the best results in your current quest for that hot sexy body you have only dreamed about!’
Note: If the thought of you in your bathing suit at the pool has you petrified, don’t worry; you are not destined to spend another summer hiding behind your towel.
Diet! Friend or Foe?
I would like to bring to your attention, the word diet. What is a diet? When it comes to changing your weight, most commonly 10 pounds, people will go on some kind of a diet. Did you know that diet is defined as “limiting your calorie intake temporarily to lose weight?” It really seems like the right thing to do when you think about it. So you think to yourself “how could I gain weight if I’m not eating very much food?” “Wouldn’t I lose weight ie 10 pounds?” And “Isn’t it better to skip a meal?” “If I don’t eat, how can I get fat?”
To answer that question I am going to use an analogy. I want you to compare your body to a vehicle. As you well know, to get the best performance out of your ride, you need to put fuel it. And if you don’t put fuel in your car, well.. Need I say more? You see your body works in a similar way. If you don’t intake proper nutrients you won’t get the expected results from your hard work.
THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL
For the sake of keeping this simple, your body has two basic modes, Storing and burning. Now think about storing as starving-survival and burning as calories utilized for energy. To help you understand this better, let’s talk about the most important meal of the day. Breakfast! Yes your mother was right; you need to eat your wheaties!! Have you ever heard of fasting? Defined as “going without food” fasting, puts your body into storage mode. When we fall asleep, our bodies stay in this mode until we awaken and break the fast. Hence the name BREAKFAST. What would you guess is the most commonly skipped meal of the day? You got it. It’s breakfast!
Eating Breakfast literally gets your engine started and gets your metabolism going. Eating right when you wake up is vital to breaking the fast your body goes into every night. Three to four hours after you eat your body shuts down your metabolism and acts as if it needs to store food. This is a great function to have if a famine breaks out and you don’t see food for weeks. Since this probably isn’t the case for you, it is pretty annoying when your body starts packing on the pounds. So, in order to communicate with your body that it is healthy, well fed, and not in need of extra fat storage, you need to start your day off with a small meal and continue to eat small meals every 3 – 4 hours.
SKIPPING MEALS LEADS TO STARVATION
The alarm goes off at 6 am, you have to be at work by 7, so you hit the snooze button to sleep a bit longer, before you know it, 10 minutes have gone by in what seemed 30 seconds. So you jump out of bed, get in the shower, lather up your body with your favorite body wash, and dry off. Throw your clothes on, throw some product in your hair and you’re out the door. This is a typical morning for most! What happened to breakfast?
You enter the office to find your desk where you left it and the typical workload lying there staring you in the face! There is no way you can step away for a bite until at least 1 pm. You are still in storage mode from the night before. You are still fasting! In fact your body will remain in storage mode until you eat!
BODY LANGUAGE
If your body could talk right now it would tell you a thing or two. Your body does send you signals; you just choose to ignore them. Here are a few things your body might say to you!
· Hey you, you’re starving me!!
· When you going to feed me?
· I guess you want me to hold on to this 10 pounds of fat?
· If you don’t feed me I’m going to utilize your muscle for energy!!
· Congratulations, I just stored an extra pound of fat for survival!!
· You’re going to be tired in a few hours!
When you limit your calories below the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for a short period of time, that is called dieting. When you permanently limit your caloric intake at or around the RDA that is called a nutrition plan. Why would anyone want to do a program with the word DIE in IT.
SO WHAT DO I EAT?
For best results it is recommended that you consult a professional in the health and fitness industry to help you with your specific nutrition needs. It is necessary to know your body type and exactly how much you need to eat based on your age, height, and weight and activity level, to achieve optimum results. For more information contact PerfectImage4Life Fitness at 702-341-6052.
The solution to the fast food dilemma does not lie behind the window of a drive-thru, nor will you find it in the aisles of a convenience store. Instead, the answer to your healthy fast food quest lies in your cart at the grocery store. Learn to stock your house with healthy fast foods, and make a habit of keeping some with you at all times. What constitutes as a healthy fast food? Read on for 4 healthy and tasty substitutes that will make your drive-thru days and thing of the past.
Instead of a Fast Food Breakfast Sandwich…try a Bagel Sandwich
A fast food breakfast sandwich with sausage weighs in at 450 calories and 28 grams of fat. A homemade bagel sandwich only contains 234 calories and 9.5 grams of fat. If you scoffing at the idea of spending time in the kitchen before your commute—check out our 3-minute recipe.
The 3-Minute Bagel Breakfast Sandwich Recipe:
First, place a Sara Lee whole-wheat bagel in the toaster. While your bagel toasts grab a microwave safe bowl, a can of cooking spray, a carton of milk, a whole egg, and a fork. Spray the inside of the bowl with the cooking spray, crack the egg into the bowl and add a teaspoon or two of milk. Beat the egg and milk mixture with your fork until it is fully incorporated. Place the bowl into the microwave and cook it on high for one full minute. While this is cooking grab your bagel out of the toaster and spread one tablespoon of light cream cheese on it. Check that your egg is fully cooked, if it is still raw in the middle then place it back in the microwave at fifteen second intervals. Use your fork to transfer the fully cooked egg onto the bottom half of your bagel and slap that top half over it. There you have it—a healthy fast breakfast in 3 minutes!
Total Calorie Difference: 216 Total Fat Difference: 18.5
Instead of a Candy Bar …try a Granola Bar
A King Size Snickers Almond bar tastes great, but did you know that along with the chocolate and nut goodness you are also consuming 440 calories and 20 grams of fat? Instead of heading to the vending machine for your midmorning snack, and being stuck with only candy to choose from, keep a box of granola bars at your desk for a healthy alternative. Quaker Chewy Dips Chocolate Dip Granola Bars will satisfy your chocolate craving while saving you a bundle of calories. A single bar contains 150 calories and 6 grams of fat.
Total Calorie Difference: 290 Total Fat Difference: 14
Instead of a Hamburger …try a Turkey Wrap
The average fast food double hamburger will fill you with about 600 calories and 35 grams of fat. While this drive thru lunch is a great time saver, it will likely leave you sluggish and lethargic for the remainder of your day. Pack a Quick and Easy Turkey Wrap instead, which contains 302 calories and 8.9 grams of fat, your body and energy level will thank you for it!
The Quick and Easy Turkey Wrap Recipe: On a Mission 96% Fat Free Whole Wheat Flour Tortilla place a Kraft American Cheese Single, 4 slices of low fat turkey, and a few pieces of lettuce. Roll your wrap and enjoy!
Total Calorie Difference: 298
Instead of a bag of Chips …try a bag of Rice Cakes
Who doesn’t enjoy crunching away on a bag of chips? But in just 2 ounces of Frito Lay’s Potato Chips you will find 300 calories and 20 grams of fat. A great alternative to this classic snack is a bag of salted rice cakes. Rice cakes contain the same crunchy flavor of a potato chip without the guilt. Try two large rice cakes and only take in 70 calories and .5 grams of fat.
Total Calorie Difference: 230 Total Fat Difference: 19.5
Total Fat Difference: 26.1
By making the above changes to your diet you will save yourself a combined total of 1,034 calories and 78 grams of fat. Keep in mind that to lose one pound you need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories, so you are well on your way to substantial weight loss. Enjoy your newfound healthy fast food and weight loss Contact me today to get started on your very own personal training program.