Last month I explained the importance of eating breakfast. But knowing that something is important doesn’t always translate to being motivated to do it. For many of us, the thought of eating in the morning is more than we can “stomach.” To kick-start a healthy eating program, here are some tips on increasing our desire for breakfast:

1. Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation can make us feel nauseated and bloated.
2. Plan for variety: Map out a variety of choices for breakfast so you won’t feel rushed and anxious.
3. Control portions to suit work activity: Heavier work = a larger breakfast Light and sedentary work = a smaller, balanced breakfast. Plus, eat smaller meals more often.
4. Work out before breakfast. Exercise stimulates the appetite. Eating after a workout helps to replenish energy and energy reserves. It also keeps metabolism stronger for a longer period of time after exercise.

To Your Health and Happiness.

Debra

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This is the time of year when we head back to the gym with resolutions still freshly in mind.  More often than not, the first thing we do when we get there is sign up for a fitness class.  While this is a great idea for a number of reasons, you are still faced with the decision of which class is the best for you.  Here are three quick tips for narrowing down your choices.

1. Mix it up: Look for classes that focus on interval training and that incorporate both cardio and resistance training. Don’t just burn energy (calories). Make sure you’re producing something with that energy.
2. Ask questions: Ask your instructor to tell you exactly how his or her workouts will build aerobic conditioning, endurance and strength. Ask how often you should take the class and when you should expect to start seeing results. Make sure the answers are in line with your fitness goals.
3. Look for the results: When you are in a good class, you gain real fitness that translates into real health benefits more directly than simply losing weight and body fat. If you’re not getting the results you want, look for a new class.

Follow these pointers and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort experimenting with fitness classes that don’t help you achieve your fitness goals.

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We’re often told by nutrition professionals about the importance of eating breakfast every day. Yet, despite this advice, breakfast is still the least commonly eaten meal of the day, which many of us try to justify by saying we either don’t feel hungry first thing in the morning or simply don’t have enough time to eat it. Whatever our excuse, if you desire to be healthy, you can’t ignore this advice any longer. Here is one reason why:

In many ways, modern living goes against our natural biorhythms. Our bodies were designed to wake up at sunrise and to go to bed at sunset. Unfortunately, this is not the lifestyle most of us lead. We tend to burn the midnight oil on a daily basis, necessitating that we set an alarm clock to wake us up, regardless of whether we were able to sleep well or enough the night before. Without sufficient rest, many of us depend on caffeine to jolt us awake.  While this liquid stimulation may provide us with a quick dose of adrenaline, it also uses up our reserves of blood sugar that we need for energy. As a result of this, within an hour, we are craving sugary foods to keep us alert. This vicious cycle may continue for the rest of the day as we crave more stimulants and sugar to keep us going. Eating a healthy, well-balanced breakfast takes us out of this cycle. Your energy will be more stable throughout the day and your cravings will be minimal.

Stay tuned for more breakfast tips including…

- How to feel like eating in the morning
- Tips on eating a good breakfast
- Quick & easy breakfast options

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Beach Volleyball is a physically grueling sport. Don’t think so? Just try walking in the sand. Now imagine jumping, sprinting, diving, lunging, and squatting on and off as fast as you can for up to 60 minutes in the sand. That is just one match and as a professional, I can play up to five matches in one day. While training has helped me endure these grueling day long sessions, it is equally important to my stamina and performance that I eat right as well.

While I try to eat  lots of foods that are healthy, natural and packed with energy like dried fruits, nuts, oatmeal, salad, and spinach, the frequency of my eating is equally important to my performance. On a day when I am playing in matches or just training, I try to eat every 2 to 3 hours. By eating this often I am able to avoid hunger, stay alert and keep my metabolism rocking and rolling. It is my key to getting through even the most grueling of workouts.  Of course, this practice of eating healthy and natural foods early and often is not just for professionals. It is also a great dietary approach for anyone looking to control cravings, have more energy and maybe even lose some weight. If any of these things match up with what you’re looking to accomplish with your diet, then I recommend you try eating like a pro.

- Angie Akers

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You’d be amazed at what eating a coconut can do to help you lose weight.

Coconuts contain Medium Chain saturated Fatty Acids (MCFAs), which are digested and handled by the body differently than other fats.  MCFAs do not circulate in the bloodstream and are instead immediately converted into energy, meaning they are burned instead of being stored as body fat.

An additional benefit of MCFAs are that they speed up the body’s metabolism (up to a 50% boost!), allowing you to burn more calories, resist weight gain and even shed some unwanted pounds.

Lastly, MCFAs burn longer and more steadily than other foods so there are no spikes or slumps in the blood sugar levels, which helps fight off two driving factors behind weight gain: cravings and bingeing.

So if you’re looking for a smarter snack between meals, crack open a coconut.

- Debra Santelli

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