. .

Recent Blog Entries tagged with: "fat"

 

Your Daily Water Requirement. How Much Water Should You Drink.
Jul 23rd, 2010 - written by Stephan in Nutrition (0 comments)

Besides oxygen, water is the most vital substance to maintain life. The human body consists to about 50-70% of water. Without drinking water, we could hardly survive 3-4 days. Most of our metabolic processes, especially the synthesis of nutrients for building muscles and burning fat, are based on an optimum water supply.
Recommended_Daily_Amount_of_Water_01

Functions of Water in Your Body

  • Nutrient Supply. Water keeps the blood fluid and dissolves and transports essential vitamins.
  • Catalysis. Water is an important catalyst in many enzymatic reactions.
  • Digestion. Breaking down carbohydrates to glycogen and protein to amino acids requires water.
  • Cleansing. Water cleans the system and transports waste materials and toxins from the body.
  • Temperature Regulation. Water is required to regulate the body temperature, especially during physical activity.

Why You Should Drink a Lot

A regular and adequate water supply is beneficial for your health.

  • Optimum Water Budget. Even at rest the body is loosing about 1,5 liters of water per day through respiration and skin. Physical activity leads to an even higher withdrawal of water through increased sweat production and respiration. Therefore especially athletes have much higher demand for water.
  • Rapid Recovery. Muscular nutrient supply and regeneration require water. A deficient water supply will decrease your performance.
  • Muscle Building. Muscles themselves consist mostly of water. Therefore muscle growth happens only when the body is adequately supplied with water.
  • Fat Loss. The protein and fat metabolism is controlled by the liver. Water deficiency can slow down or even disrupt these processes.
  • Satiety. Water fills the stomach, which is why the feeling of hunger can be reduced by a regular water supply.
  • Improved Skin Image. A rapidly visible effect caused by an improved detoxification is a better appearance of the skin, because the body has less to do detoxifying through it.

    Strategies For a Regular Water Supply

    Many people find it hard to drink the recommended amount of water. You either have no feeling of thirst or simply forget to drink in the stress of daily life. Here's how to make it work anyway:

    • Start Early. Drinking your first liter of water in the morning makes it easier to reach the recommended daily amount.
    • Have Water Available. Place a water bottle within your reach, at home as well as at work or on the way. Drink from it regularly in small sips. Once it is empty, it should be refilled.
    • Take in Additional Water Through Your Food. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. It does not only improve your vitamin, but also your water supply, because fruits and vegetables consist of up 98% of clean water.
    • Water With Each Meal. Make it a habit drink a large glass of water with each meal. Either before, to create an early sense of satiety, but in any event afterwards.
    • Water During Training. Make a large bottle of water your favorite training partner and drink about 1 liter of water per hour of training. That should be done immediately. If not, the fluid loss must be compensated afterwards.

    Symptoms of Water Deficiency

    A lack of water in the body causes the following symptoms:

    • Color and Smell of Urine. A quick and reliable indicator is your urine. It should always be colorless and odorless, everything else is a sign of a lack of fluid.
    • Concentration Loss and Memory Disorders. Water deficiency causes the blood to thicken, which can lead to an under-supply of the brain.
    • Other symptoms may be: restlessness, fatigue, nervousness, dry mouth.

    The Recommended Daily Amount of Water

    In principle, the daily amount of water demand is related to the very individual metabolic rate.

    Which in turn depends on parameters such as body weight and level of physical activity. There's a simple rule of thumb:
    • 1 liter of water per day for every 45 pounds of body weight. Therefore a person weighting 160 pounds should drink about 3,5 liters of water per day.

    Bookmark and Share

... read more

tags: water |  nutrition |  muscle building |  fat loss | 





10 Ways To Increase Your Metabolism
Mar 31st, 2010 - written by Stephan in Health (0 comments)

The Metabolism

As mentioned before, our metabolic performance has great influence on our life, and vice versa. Of course, the metabolic rate itself is as individual as every person, but there are several internal and external factors that determine how well it is doing.

Surprisingly, genetic conditions, with just 5% share, have only minor influence on the metabolic rate. Therefore "bad" genetics don´t deliver a plausible explanation for a low metabolic rate

It is rather age, sex and lifestyle that influence the metabolism. The first two factors we have to accept as they are. From the age of 25 on the bodies energy requirement underlies an annual decrease of 1%, which means that during an adults lifespan the metabolism decreases by up to 40%.

Fortunately, this process can be delayed and even turned around by the third factor: living an active lifestyle has a positive effect of the body´s entire energy demand, even in the state of rest.

The following chart shows the most substantial metabolic rate influences.
metabolic_rate_01



Simplified the total energy consumption is calculated as follows:

Complete Energy Turnover = Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) + Energy used by Activities

The Basal Metabolic Rate is the body´s energy demand in absolute rest, which makes up about 60% of our complete energy turnover. Physical activity itself demands about 30% and temperature regulation about 10%.
energy_consumption_01

Concluding, a long-term and successful metabolic rate increase is mainly based on an improved BMR. There are many other possibilities, besides physical activity, to affect the the BMR in a positive way.

1. Regular Strength Training

Muscles are active body mass. They burn energy even at rest, during physical activity the become fat burning furnaces that burn plenty of energy.

Excess body fat can only be burnt inside the muscles, no place else. The more muscles you have, the higher the chance of having an optimum body fat percentage.

After lifting weights the BMR remains on a high level for the next 48 hours. Therefore working out 2-3 times per week causes a permanently increasing energy demand, day and night.

2. Cardiovascular Training

Cardiovascular Training has a far less influence on the BMR..

Aerobic exercise with a heart rate of about 65% of your MHR (maximum heart rate) burns about 300-400 kcal per hour. It would take almost three hours of low intensity cardiovascular training per week to balance one larger meal.

Also, after cardio training the BMR remains on a high level for only about 1-2 hours, which is much less in comparison to strength training.

However, endurance is also an important part of the battle. It can be done on a regular basis without a great deal. Especially short, but intense training sessions or interval trainings of aerobic and an-aerobic exercise burn plenty of energy.

3. Daily Activity

Abandon many of your everyday comforts to increase your energy demand.

  • Instead of using the car go by bike or walk short distances.
  • Recognize even the smallest stairs as a short training session. Avoid elevators and escalators whenever possible.
  • When sitting, get up at least once per hour and move. Maybe carry out tasks that require you to visit other floors or different departments.
  • Be active whenever possible, even home works burns a lot of calories.
  • Pick sporting hobbies, e.g. in team and ball sports.

4. Mental Activity

The brain makes up about 3% of our body weight, but burns 25% of our resting energy. In contrast to muscles, the brain can only burn carbohydrates (glucose).

Since the brain can´t store energy, it has to take carbohydrates from the body´s storages.

Demanding mental processes do consume much of the daily fed carbohydrates. Since the body wants to compensate this by an increased carbohydrate intake, mental activity is one major cause of cravings for sweets.

It is not possible to achieve a long-term increase in energy demand, but since mental performance is similar trainable as physical, they are good way to burn a little more energy each day.

5. Eating and Drinking

To maintain a high level of physical energy, you need to eat on a regular basis.

Have a small or medium meal every 3-4 hours. Doing this indicates a good supply situation and encourages the body to burn its energy storages (excess body fat).

However, what counts for training also counts for nutrition: Keep boredom at bay!

Ultimately you only may want to watch only your weekly energy balance. A long-term energy surplus leads to gaining weight, a long-term energy deficiency causes weight loss. Seek for an energy balance to maintain your bodyweight. The daily calorie intake should be subject of specific variations to not get your metabolism used to a certain energy level. Keep it interesting

Because almost all metabolic functions require water, drink a sufficient amount of fluid each day. 2-3 liters are a good estimation.

6. Heat

For most people an ambient temperature of 68-73°F is most convenient. Try to escape this area as often as possible, because then the body will have to use energy to balance its temperature.

Going to the sauna or taking hot baths are great examples for sources of external heat.

You can also put heat inside your body by drinking hot drinks or by eating hot meals, but beware to not burn your mouth.

7. Coldness

What is true for heat is even more true for coldness.

Have cold showers in the morning or have cold baths to push your metabolism. It will wake you up and costs lots of energy.

Don´t dress with too warm clothes. Rather leave it to the body to control its temperature.

Keep the room temperature below 70°F, which encourages your body to move and to maintain a certain level of physical activity to produce warmth.

Have cold food and, even better, cold drinks. Especially ice water, sipped over a longer period of time, is an ideal metabolism booster.

8. Spicy Food

Spicy food can also increase the metabolism.

You can recognize it when people begin to sweat while having a spicy meal. It is helpful, although it is not the perfect option.

9. Sleep

Sleeping too little may cause your BMR to slow down, because the body is likely to suffer from poor recovery.

Sleep for 6-8 hours every day and try to get up in time without an alarm clock, which may require you to go to bed earlier.

Basically, start the day very early in the morning. Sleeping for too long , way longer than 8 hours, is also counterproductive and makes it hard for your metabolism to rise over the day.

10. Other Extremes

In general, all time your spend outside the everyday comfort zones are stimulating the metabolism.

As already mentioned things like heat and cold an important role, but also hormone-releasing states such as pleasure, fun, fear, or (positive :-) excitement. Add several of these ingredients into your daily routine and your metabolism has every reason to remain at a high level.

Bookmark and Share

... read more

tags: metabolism |  activity |  muscle building |  fat loss | 





Drinking Wine Helps Women Keeping Their Bodyweight
Mar 9th, 2010 - written by Stephan in Nutrition (0 comments)

A recently published 13 year study of more than 19.000 woman revealed that drinking alcohol regularly in moderate amounts can prevent women from becoming obese.
red_wine_01

Wine tasting. Image credit by _olasso / Redwine. Image credit by Habub3

This perception stands in contrast to deep-rooted dietary advices claiming that alcohol consumption leads to gain weight.

According to researches the body uses calories from alcohol in a different way, which positively affects the fat metabolism. Alcohol broken down by the liver is creating heat instead of body fat.

During the study 19.220 woman were questioned about their drinking habits. About 38 per cent did not drink alcohol at all. However, this group gained the most weight. The more alcohol women consumed, the less weight they gained.

Especially woman who drank red wine gained the least weight, while drinking beer and spirits lead to higher weight gains. The study report claimed that there was no significant connection between alcohol consumption and weight gain.

However, Catherine Collins, a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association, said women should not look on wine as a weight loss aid. She said: "If these women have a healthy diet and lifestyle and are having one or two units of alcohol a night then that has less calories than someone who instead has a chocolate bar to unwind. It's a question of "what's your poison?"

"Of course if women were drinking more than two units a day they would put on weight. What this survey shows is that moderation is key to a healthy lifestyle. People who drink wine may be more likely to snack on sugary and more calorific treats."


Ultimately it is a question of the right doses. Drinking red wine in moderate amounts has already been declared as beneficial for health years ago. All I would like to know is, whether the positive effects on bodyweight also apply for men.

Sources: Archives of Internal Medicine / www.telegraph.co.uk

Bookmark and Share

... read more

tags: wine |  fat loss |  nutrition | 





Effective Muscle Building and Fat Loss #2: Increased Metabolism
Feb 19th, 2010 - written by Stephan in Health (0 comments)

The Metabolism in Top Form

The secret of a slim and attractive body lies in the very personal metabolism of every human being. Those who are gaining weight from a (suspected) lettuce can assume that their metabolism is not running at high levels, meaning all body processes slow down and their physical energy and performance are low. A high metabolism causes a high basal metabolic rate, which means the daily energy need of the body increases.

Symptoms of Low Metabolism

  • increased need for sleep
  • weariness
  • decreased energy
  • often cold hands and feet

Very seldom it is "bad genes" that have a negative effect on the metabolism. Rather, the behavior and habits of everyone figure it. Building muscles and therefore burning excess body fat is directly linked to a good metabolism. Any kind of sufficiently intense physical but also mental activity has a positive influence on it. Besides physical activity there are a few other factors playing an important role in this game. Here are the most successful strategies on the way to a good metabolism.

Strategy 1: Physical Activity | Fitness and Everyday Life

Daily exercise is the best way to control your own body weight. A good combination of targeted and non-targeted exercise is the most effective way to increase your metabolism.

Targeted Exercise (Training)Non-targeted Exercise
  • Strength Training
  • Endurance Training
  • Flexibility Training
  • Sports
  • Walks
  • Cycling
  • Gardening / Housework
  • Climbing stairs
Targeted training is of priority, since the degree of intensity is higher, but works best when combined with less intensive regular activities of everyday life to increase metabolism and energy consumption long-term. In addition to the intensity a balanced timing of your workouts plays a crucial role. The following charts illustrate why:

Training Frequency| Metabolic TrendExplanation
timing_activity_02

Very punctual (although long) training session, e.g. only on weekends, with several days of rest have only little positive effect on the metabolism, it is stagnating.
timing_activity_01

Regular workouts of 30-60 minutes a significant increase of the metabolism. Have a strength training on at least two non-consecutive days.

Strategy 2: Calorie Intake | Nutrition

One of the most successful strategies to increase the basal metabolic rate is a smart diet. It is by no means about counting calories or living very ascetically. On the contrary, a sensible and intelligent handling of this issue creates enormous scope for culinary delights.

Basically, there are the following three options:
  • Losing body weight, caused by energy deficiency,
  • Keeping body weight, caused by energy balance,
  • Gaining body weight, caused by energy surplus,
but what seems so simple is difficult to control because no one can determine the own daily energy intake and consumption accurately. Fortunately, it is unnecessary, because there is a direct connection between metabolism, basal metabolic rate and caloric intake, as the following graphs show:

Calory Intake | Metabolic TrendExplanation
calory_intake_01

Energy Balance: To keep up your body weight, it is enough to adjust the average energy intake and consumption. This, of course, should of course happen at a high level.
calory_intake_02

Energy Surplus: An increased energy supply causes a higher metabolism. If this generates an energy surplus, the body weight increases, which is highly desirable at least for building muscles.
calory_intake_03

Energy Deficiency: A reduced caloric intake provides an energy deficiency, to which the metabolism adapts quite rapidly. First, the body weight decreases, followed by the basal metabolic rate, until you again reach a point of energy balance or surplus. That is why no diets will ever work without strength training.
calory_intake_04

Weekly Energy Balance: To occasionally surprise and stimulate your metabolism, get your weekly energy in balance, meaning that you can vary between daily energy surpluses and deficiencies. Consequently your metabolism increases along with the chance for regular days where you will have an energy deficiency. A very enjoyable way of keeping or even losing body weight.

Strategy 3: The Right Timing of Meals

Since the body needs energy on a regular basis, it should also be supplied this way. You body will reward a constant energy supply by an autonomous reduction of body fat. On the other hand, skipping meals for long periods of time leads to a decreased metabolism as it prepares itself for further possible shortages. At the same time you body increases readiness to store any energy supplied as fat. It just does not know better... A constant supply of energy is as important for weight loss as for the increase of body mass. To not produce the exactly unwanted results by mistake, you have to comply with the following rules:
  • Never Fill up Completely, unless you want to gain weight. It doesn´t make sense and may even be counterproductive to eat large quantities at once, because you will have to have a meal every 3-4 hours.
  • Eat Slowly and With Intention. Food eaten too fast is not digested correctly. A lack of concentration leads to unconscious food intake, and inadequate self-control.
  • Drink a Lot. Drink about two to three liters of water per day to maintain the body´s metabolism and detoxification capabilities. Add another liter per hour of exercise.
  • Prefer Whole Foods. If you are unsure what exactly to eat, remember to keep it as simple as possible. Avoid any industrially processed food. Instead, eat fresh, natural foods, and prepare your own meals from them.

    Example Daily Schedule

    TimeMealRecommendations
    06:00 am1. BreakfastIn the morning you should eat particularly easily digestible carbohydrates from foods such as cereals, bread, fruit or fruit juice spritzer. That will wake you up and saves the coffee. As source of proteins choose little sausage, fish or dairy products. In general: do not eat too much and too heavy, because that will promote fatigue and will make it difficult unnecessarily to start the day. In the morning it is particularly important to drink a lot of water, because it will support the still ongoing detoxification processes of the night.
    09:00 am2. Breakfast or SnackAs with each snack you should avoid hard to digest and fatty foods. Otherwise, there are no limits. Dairy products such as yogurt and some fruits and vegetables are a good choice. Again, remember to drink some water.
    12:00 UhrLunchFor most people lunch is the largest meal. Avoid high concentrations of fats and abandon the idea that lunch has to be a warm meal. Heat kills most vitamins, enzymes and takes away all vitality. Of course, some foods need to be cooked or fried to be made edible, but overcooked vegetables only suit as lifeless stomach filler. Drink a glass of water before and after lunch.
    15:30 UhrSnackIn the afternoon most people use to have coffee and cake or other sweets with plenty of sugar for desserts. A great idea if your intention is to feel tired and weak as soon as the blood sugar level returns to normal values. Again prefer fruits, nuts and a healthy source of protein, and drink some water.
    19:00 UhrSupperExcept on training days, avoid significant amounts of carbohydrates in the evening. Instead eat combinations of vegetables, e.g. as a salad, or fish and meat. It is perfectly okay to eat a little more of that in the evening, because hunger has a negative impact on sleep quality. Drink enough fluid.
    22:00 UhrLate SnackWhoever goes to bed very late or wants to build muscle mass, should have a late snack that in best case is content-wise related to the supper.

    Under the condition of maintaining the distance of about 3-4 hours between meals, the times listed here must be adjusted to the individual possibilities and requirements.

    Also read part 1: Effective Muscle Building and Fat Loss #1: The Basics

    Bookmark and Share

... read more

tags: fat loss |  muscle building |  nutrition |  advice |  metabolism | 





Effective Muscle Building and Fat Loss #1: The Basics
Feb 16th, 2010 - written by Stephan in Health (0 comments)

The long-term goal of effective muscle-building and fat loss is to get your own body weight in a desirable area and to keep it there, which requires a daily confrontation with your actions and habits. There are really no secret tricks or weapons on the way to the body you want to have. Any success is based on your personal behavior and the understanding of the functioning of your body and your metabolism.

Why Should I Lose Weight?

Normalizing your body fat level entails very significant benefits for both, your body and your feeling of well-being:

Improved Cardiovascular PerformanceObese people suffer from a permanently overstressed cardiovascular system, because the extra body fat needs to be supplied with blood and to be carried around. Each pound of body fat has about 8.5 miles of capillaries, which are the smallest of the body´s blood vessels. The consequences are high blood pressure, many of cardiovascular and other lifestyle diseases and premature death. In particular, the excessive intake of animal fat leads to a high concentration of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream, one of the main causes of strokes. Reducing body fat by a healthy diet and activity leads to a significant improvement in physical performance.
Relief of the Musculoskeletal SystemExcess of body fat is a major burden for the body´s passive structures such as bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons. Consequently the untrained muscles and tendons cannot withstand the load, which ultimately leads to joint pain as another reason to not move at all.
Decreased Risk of DiabetesThe risk of developing diabetes increases with each pound of excess body fat. Studies have shown that the number of diabetes patients in a country is directly linked to the number of overweight people.
Decreased Risk of Premature DeathCommon sense alone is enough to know from that obesity and healthy living even in older age very seldom go hand in hand. The average life expectancy of overweight people is about 8-15 years below the normal levels. In addition to that it results in an enormous loss of quality of living, especially in the last third of life, when the overall physical performance declines and excess body fat becomes an even higher burden.

The Ideal Body Weight via the BMI

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool to decide, whether the average adults relation of body weight and body size is in an acceptable range.

Calculating the BMI

Metric SystemAmerican SystemBritish System
BMI = weight (kg) / height² (m²) BMI = 703*weight (lb) / height² (in²) BMI = 6,35*weight (stone) / height² (m²)
body_mass_index_01

Calculating the Body Mass Index does not meet the requirements of athletes, because it does not consider the body composition, e.g. an increased level of muscle mass. It is generally preferable to have a look at the body fat percentage.

The Body Fat Percentage

The body fat percentage is expressed as a percentage, indicating how many shares of the body are consisting of body fat. The following figures are averages. For athletes the normal range can be lowered by up to 5%.
body_fat_english_01

Nominal Body Fat

Based on the percentage of body fat one can calculate nominal amount of body fat as follows.
  • Weight Body Fat(lb) = Body Fat Percentage(%) * Bodyweight(lb).
The ideal range of the nominal weight of body fat is almost the same for men women.
  • 20 lb < body fat in pounds < 30 lb,
i.e. values below 20 lb as well as values above 30 lb are unhealthy.

Somatic Intelligence

Regular and consciously executed training does not only improve your physical performance, but is especially increasing the awareness of dealing with your own body, which is an intelligent and perfect system, but that is only capable to respond to actions and circumstances according to its possibilities.

ActionReaction
An excessive food and thus energy supply.arrow_green_left_rightGrowth of the body's energy stores, the fat cells.
Consuming unhealthy food and dead calories.arrow_green_left_rightPoisoning and weakening of the body. Reduced performance.
Too little fluid intake.arrow_green_left_rightDecreased metabolic functions and poisoning of the body.
Lack of physical activity and sport.arrow_green_left_rightLoss of muscle mass, growth of fat cells and decreased metabolism.

The reasons for being overweight, underweight, sickly or not having enough energy can ver rarely be excused with bad genetics or "heavy bones". Our body is nothing but a mirror of our own expectations for ourselves Train and move (use ) it regularly, befriend with it and your body begins to tell you what it is doing well and what does not.

Self Awareness

It is important to have an exact picture of yourself, but don´t take it too seriously or compare with others. Realize your strengths and weaknesses, without apologizing for it, it makes it easier to give life a new direction. You are overweight? Great! Accept it as a result of your recent actions and ways of thinking and change it. You are not motivated and do not feel strong enough to do so? Get up and move you. The more energy your body and mind demand, the more they get. Open the windows, take a deep breath and do 20 squats, take a brisk walk around the block once and drink a liter of cold water. (and then please continue reading...)

Focusing

How does a piece of coal happen to become a valuable diamond? It is two crucial things: pressure and time.

Transforming your body also needs regular pressure (training) a lot of time (patience). Time is especially important because the organism has to adapt to the new situation. Rapid changes, as the media often praises them to get you to buy useless products, are medically questionable and the results usually are not long-lasting. It is unrealistic to expect the perfect body within a few weeks of training. That´s one of the main reasons why so many people fail: they give up, because their expectations do not fit into the concept of their present life.

Expect a lot, but do not expect a convenient way!

Also read part 2: Effective Muscle Building and Fat Loss #2: The Metabolism

Bookmark and Share

... read more






10 Nutrition Rules for Healthy Living, Muscle Building and Fat Loss
Jan 15th, 2010 - written by Stephan in Nutrition (0 comments)

„You Are What You Eat.“

A sensible diet along with regular exercise is the key to a healthy life. The following 10 diet tips primarily aim at athletic or physically active people. But everyone else can also benefit from this. Maybe the increased level of energy, as result of a healthy diet, sooner or later leads to an interest in (strength)training.
frisbee_fitness_nutrition_02

Nutrition Rule 1: Eat Regularly

The intake of several small meals throughout the day has the following advantages:
  • Less Hunger: The stomach is elastic. Large meals stretch it, which ultimately leads to a delayed feeling of fullness. After switching to several small meals in regular intervals, they very soon saturate as effectively as the previous large portions.
  • No Cravings: People who avoid to eat for a long period time over the day, increases the chance of binge-eating in the evening, which is in most cases satisfied with candy instead with healthy foods.
  • Nutrient Supply: Regular meals give a steady supply of energy an nutrients to the body, which results in steady performance and good muscular development.
  • Fat Loss: The body rather tends to cut excess fat, if it recognizes it as superfluous due to a regular energy supply .
A certain timing of the daily meals is of great advantage. Have a meal or at least a snack every 3-4 hours between waking up in the morning and going to bed in the evening.

Nutrition Rule 2: Eat Consciously

This is a very important point, which is very often neglected in the course of a stressful day. Concentrate on what you eat. Make yourself aware of it and maybe write what you eat down in the beginning of a dietary change. Once you consciously deal with the issue, you´ll recognize bad habits, which makes it easier to control them.

Nutrition Rule 3: Eat Slowly

"We don´t live by what we eat, but only by what we digest." (Hufeland). The prerequisite for an ideal digestion of the food taken in is an adequate preparation in the mouth. To do that, you have to chew long and calmly. Every single bite swallowed in a hurry is a challenge for your stomach, at the cost of your own life energy and health. Also, eating too fast is always a breach of Nutrition Rule 2.

Nutrition Rule 4: Have a Breakfast

Breakfast is often declared as the most important meal of the day. That's true, but there a few things to be considered:
  • Drink a Lot: Besides the often obligatory coffee, a large quantity of water or tea belongs to good breakfast. Why? During nighttime the body is quite busy regenerating and detoxifying the body. These processes need to be supported with lots of extra fluid in the morning.
  • Don´t Fill up Completely: This advice may sound a little strange, but we all certainly made the following experience before. After a large, heavy and energy-rich breakfast, instead of a having a dynamic start to the day, a sudden tiredness and lethargy, caused by the enormous work of digestion the stomach has to do in this a case, makes us want to return to bed again. Eat a light breakfast, avoid the intake of large amounts of indigestible foods such as whole grains and cereals. Instead eat fruits and vegetables (bonus: they contain a lot of water), low-fat dairy products other light sources of protein and carbohydrates.

Nutrition Rule 5: The Right Proteins

People who follow a routine of strength training have an increased need for protein. The limited digestive capacity of the stomach makes it necessary to take in a little portion of protein with each meal to eat the recommended daily amount. Basically, it is recommended to take in 1.5 - 2 times the body weight in kilograms in grams of protein per day, e.g. people with a bodyweight of about 80 kg need a daily protein intake of 120-160 g, provided a regular strength training. There are publications speaking of much higher amounts, but these numbers can be classified as unhealthy, especially because with the consumption of animal protein many by-products such as bad fats, purines, and the accumulated toxins from the individual animal are also being taken in. A significant part of the daily amount of protein should be of plant origin.

Low-Fat Protein Sources (selected):

Animal OriginProtein per 100 gPlant OriginProtein per 100 g
Chicken breast23 gNoodles12 g
Turkey breast24 gPotatoes2 g
Beef22 gSoybeans37 g
Alaska Pollock19 gLentils24 g
Tuna25 gPeas20 g
Trout20 gBeans (white)21 g
Mountain Cheese29 gOat flakes12 g
Cottage Cheese29 gSpelt13 g
Low fat quark14 gMillet11 g
Eggs13 gBuckwheat12 g
Egg-white11 gMushrooms (dried)17 g

Nutrition Rule 6: The Right Carbohydrates

As during the "low fat" hysteria of the past many foods were labeled correspondingly and to taste at all were fortified with carbohydrates, with the still growing fatty degeneration of the population we came to the realization that the increased carbohydrate intake must be responsible, leading to a "low carb" hysteria. A little education about the different types of carbohydrates and their purpose and effects takes away much of the fear of his excellent source of energy. Basically there are two types of carbohydrates:
  • simple carbs, that are digested very quickly and rapidly release their energy, and
  • complex carbs, are digested slowly and therefore their energy is provided uniformly over a longer period of time.
The intake of simple carbohydrates leads to a very rapid rise of blood glucose levels. Now the body is seeking for a normalization of these values. If this excess energy is not burned inside the muscles by physical activity, the body stores them as fat. Complex carbohydrates release their energy uniformly during the digestion process, which increases the possibility of burning it by muscular or mental activity and reduces the risk of storage of body fat.

Examples of simple and complex carbs (selected):

Simple CarbsComplex Carbs
all simple sugarsall whole grain products
fruits*vegetables
white flour productsrice (whole grain)
marmaladenoodles (whole grain)
honeymuesli & cereals
* Fruits occupy a special position here. Fructose or fruit sugar is indeed a simple sugar, but is slower digested than white sugar.

Nutrition Rule 7: Healthy Fats

They are one major supplier of energy, they support fat loss, they are slowly digested and they are part of many vital functions of the body. A daily intake of 60-80 grams of fat is recommended. When doing a regular strength training, one can also take in a little more, people wanting to loose weight should take in less. More important than the quantity is the type of fat. An increased intake of animal fats should be avoided. But even in the league of vegetable fats, there are "good" and "bad", depending on the relation of fatty acids. Here´s a selected overview:

Sources of "good" Fats of Plant OriginSources of "bad" Fats of Plant Origin
Linseed oilSunflower oil
Olive oilThistle oil
RapsölWalnut oil
Salmon oilWheatgerm oil
Sources of "good" Fats of Animal OriginSources of "bad" Fats of Animal Origin
ButterMargarine
FishMeat and Sausage

Nutrition Rule 8: Fruit and Vegetables

These two foods are one of the most fundamental basics for a healthy diet. They provide vitamins and minerals and can be eaten fresh and in large amounts. Fruits, due to the high content of fructose, should not or only in small doses be taken in the evening.

Nutrition Rule 9: Natural Food

Processed foods should be avoided. Their ingredients are often difficult to understand and in most cases they contain an excessive amount of sugar, salt, flavor enhancers and preservatives. There is a very simple rule: the more colorful the packaging, the unhealthier the content. Foods should be eaten or form the basis of self-prepared foods the way nature provides them to us.

Nutrition Rule 10: Drink a Lot

To supply the body with oxygen and nutrients and to ensure a proper detoxification, the blood needs to be as fluid as possible and to circulate freely. Therefore be aware to drink about 2-3 liters of fluid per day. The following table shows the kind of drinks to be considered or not.

"Good" Drinks"Bad" Drinks
Water (without gas)Milk
Tea (non flavoured, unsweetened) Coffee
Juice-water mixed drinksJuices
Alcohol-containing drinks
Fizzy drinks

Bookmark and Share

... read more

tags: protein |  nutrition |  diet |  advice |  carbohydrates |  fat |