Nuts To You

Imagine an eating plan with snacks so easy they tempt you to eat too many whenever you start eating them.  Not hard to imagine is it?  NUTS the perfect snack to overeat.

I am as guilty as anyone - nuts such as almonds, macadamias, etc. are all so enjoyable that once I start I find myself going back to the container a number of times.

1oz. of Almonds is approximately 20-24 nuts and contains 160 calories and 14 grams of fat which equals 126 calories from fat, and  6.5 grams of protein equalling 26 calories.  If I eat well all day I certainly don't have room for another 200 calories.  Although the fats may be mostly good fats it is very difficult to control your intake.

May I suggest that you either find another snack or put your nuts in small snack bags which contain the amount you REALLY want to eat.

Let me know how it goes.

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How Much Should I Do?

GREAT QUESTION

First answer what is realistic in your busy life?

The nitty gritty is this - never plan to work out more than you can commit to.  Consistency is very important. You can't call it a program if you can't stick with it.

I always suggest to a new client that they don't overextend themselves and see the process as a failure when they can't keep it up.

What have you been doing?

If your body is used to training it will be harder to make changes than if you have been sitting on the couch.  When you begin working out the learning curve is in your favor.  As time goes on your body adapts to your training.  Your fitness level increases and so must the intensity of your training program.

Be REALISTIC and ENJOY the process - this should make you want more.

Whether alone or with a trainer  make sure you are doing the exercises properly.

Injury is one of the best ways to insure a lack of consistency, enjoyment, and progress.

Last but not least, REST and RECOVERY are important to progress.

If you are always tired and hurting you need a day off.

No one can become a better judge than YOU as to what is enough.  Look at yourself, be aware of your energy levels and go from there.

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Challenge for Change

"If it doesn't CHALLENGE you - it doesn't CHANGE you".

Most people I see in gyms weight train without the intensity necessary for change.

If change is what you are trying for, you need to chose weights that will get you close to failure in a given range of repetitions. For example, if 10 is the number you are working with, you should not be able to do 15 repetitions with the weight you have chosen.  At the same time however, working to failure would be too extreme and by that I mean dangerous.

Go for leaving a little in the tank but not so much that you lose the intensity.   If you truly work hard enough and you have a plan, change should be attainable at any age.

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Convenient Protein

"I can't eat protein three times a day. What can I do?" 

So that must be the deal - not being able to eat protein seems to be the big obstacle holding many of you back from seeing progress with training and dieting. I believe that a high quality Protein Powder can fix that.

They come with all the possibilities you could want.

There are powders with whey protein, rice protein, vegetarian style, etc. Just get one that fits your lifestyle and try to find a way to get it down that doesn't increase the number of calories in your meal. For example if protein at breakfast is hard for you to figure out, make a protein shake. Use the directions on the container and add water (not milk or fruit juice which will add calories) and some fruit or yogurt with fruit. Use a calorie counter either as an App or in a book and figure out approximately the number of calories you are about to consume. 

Be reasonable - 500 calories on a 1000 calorie a day diet will take up too many available calories. Try to be in the less than 1/3 of your day allotment range. This should take care of at least one meal. I have a shake in the morning because I don't want to cook at 4a.m. - what ever your reason is - try it, it works for me.

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Body Fat and Resistance Training

If you are the same weight now that you were in High School, I can bet you aren't the same body composition. Starting at about the age of 20 if you are not doing anything to promote the growth of muscle mass then you are losing about 2lbs. of muscle a year. The take away is that we all must be doing some form of resistance training to gain muscle or we will be fatter every year even if our bodyweight remains the same.

 My preferred resistance training is a combination of bodyweight exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups, with free weight and machine exercises. Find a form of resistance that gives you pleasure and keep at it or change to a different one but, you can't give up the fight. I know it's working for me!!!

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