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A BETTER BOWL AT BREAKFAST

One of the best quick breakfasts you can prepare is a bowl of oatmeal, especially if you are active and health conscious. Learn how to make it taste better!

By: Stella Juarez

One of the best quick breakfasts you can prepare is a bowl of oatmeal, especially if you are active and health conscious. Oatmeal is rich in complex, energy-sustaining carbohydrates, low in fat and high in fiber. What's more it is economically priced and easy to make!

Oatmeal is becoming so mainstream that it's available in disposable heat and serve containers and many flavors, including one with little sugar dinosaurs intended for picky kids. Did you ever notice while you were paying four times the price of a container of plain oats for a 10 packet box of flavored oatmeal that you were also buying 13 grams of sugar and less than an adult female serving in every packet?

Try some of these delicious and frugal oatmeal variations that pack the same energy and flavor without the high price point and added sugar of flavored oatmeal packets.

Ideas For Oatmeal

Apple Cinnamon: Add chopped apple or a few teaspoons of natural, unsweetened applesauce to oatmeal and cook. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Maple & Brown Sugar: Use sugar-free pancake syrup and a dash of cinnamon or artificial brown sugar replacement by Sugar Twin that is now available.
Fruit & Cream: Add a little milk or vanilla protein powder and a few strawberries, blueberries, peaches, or a teaspoon of sugar free preserves.
Maple Walnut: Add 1 tbsp sugar-free pancake syrup and a few chopped walnuts.
French Vanilla: Add 1 tsp vanilla, a splash of low-fat milk, and a packet of artificial sweetener.
Cinnamon Raisin: Try using a few dashes of cinnamon, a splash of sugar-free maple syrup and a teaspoon of raisins.
Protein Boost: Stir in 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder.
Butter Pecan: Add a splash of imitation butter flavor, teaspoon of Promise fat-free butter replacement or a few dashes of Butter Buds and a teaspoon of chopped pecans.
Other Grains: Try a multi-grain hot cereal, 5 or 7-grain hot cereal, oat bran, or get even fancier and splurge on some imported McCann Steel Cut Oatmeal for a little change of pace when you are bored with regular oatmeal. Any of the flavor varieties listed above work well with these complex carbohydrate hot cereals.

Stella's Kitchen Tips

On the Go? If you buy oatmeal in packets under the guise of convenience, remember they only contain 1/3 cup of oatmeal. A snack sized sandwich bag has just enough room for a true 1 cup sized serving of oatmeal. You can quickly pack a few without even having to measure and reserve them in the pantry for days when you need to grab and go.

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CARBOHYDRATES NOT CREATED EQUAL

Have you ever eaten a meal, or slammed a carbohydrate drink before you trained, to find yourself feeling lethargic mid-way through your workout? Well if you do, chances are you are experiencing a slight condition known as Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Increased insulin levels in the blood can attribute to low blood sugar, which often occur after the consumption of certain carbohydrates.

Let me use the habit of an average trainer or bodybuilder drinking a sugar-filled soda or high-glucose carbohydrate drink before a 2-hour work out, and the effect it has on the body. What usually happens is that most people during the middle of the day, or when they are feeling tired, grab a quick soda (or Carb drink for body builders) in the attempt to get that "Pick me up" that they need.

Sugar Rush vs. Sugar Crash

In actuality it harms them. After the soda or carbohydrate drink is ingested by itself, it rushes the body with an ample supply of carbohydrates. Your body recognizes this surge of sugar and releases the hormone insulin to regulate blood sugar levels in the blood. So for a short while the person feels the sugar rush, or "High", that will shortly be followed by a sugar crash. The hormone insulin is then released by the pancreas into the blood. One of the main jobs of insulin is to take the high amount of glucose in the blood and shuttle it out of your blood into the liver, muscle, and then into fat storage. As a result, insulin will bring the blood sugar levels way down resulting in low blood sugar.

This crash in blood sugar is the reason for having the feelings of lethargy, mood swings, and increased hunger. The same thing happens to those consuming these high sugar carbohydrate drinks before a workout thinking they will receive a large boost in energy for their training session.

Insulin secretion and blood sugar levels all depend on the type carbohydrates you consume. Some carbohydrates are introduced quicker into the blood stream than others. The quicker a carbohydrate is released into blood stream, the higher the levels of blood sugar and insulin in the body. This leads to the rapid mood swings followed by decreased energy.

Simple vs. Complex

People have been terming different carbohydrates simple and complex. "Simple", being the carbs that hit the system faster than "Complex", which enters the system more slowly. The introduction of the Glycemic Index has proven to be beneficial in knowing the rates at which certain carbohydrates are released into the blood stream. The Glycemic index is a measure of how quickly a particular carbohydrate is formed into glucose and enters the body. The Glycemic Index has shown certain carbs known to be "Complex" actually absorb quicker than some carbs known to be "Simple".

The Glycemic Index (or GI) was originally brought about for those people who had Diabetes, but can be useful to many athletes looking for sustained energy and better recuperation. The GI is determined by feeding different carbohydrate foods to people in portions of 50g of available carbohydrates. The blood sugar levels are then monitored over the next three hours and plotted onto a response curve.

The curve is then made into a percent of the averages of the individual responses to obtain the GI for that particular carbohydrate. The more glucose that reaches the blood in the first three hours, the higher the GI for that carbohydrate. Thus, we can now group carbohydrates into "High Glycemic" and "Low Glycemic".

Low Glycemic Carbohydrates

Here is a preferred list of some of the foods that are "Low Glycemic", and are recommended for sustained energy levels (slower absorption, lowered insulin response):
  • Nuts
  • Legumes
  • Fructose (Basic sugar found in fruits)
  • Pasta (Boiled 5 min.)
  • Dairy ( Ice cream, skim milk, whole milk, yogurt)
  • Fruits (ONLY-plums, peaches, apples, oranges, pears, grapes, grapefruit)(contains fructose)
  • Rice (polished), or brown
  • Sweet potato
  • Oats
  • All-bran
  • Most Vegetables ( exceptions- carrots, corn, root vegetables)
Low GI foods can benefit your health and athletic performance. Being that low GI foods are assimilated at a slower rate, they supply a steadier supply of energy. Lower GI foods alleviate hunger, leading to a more controlled appetite. Selecting lower GI carbohydrates will prevent mood swings. Lower GI foods can also result in higher muscle glycogen levels (storing more carbs in the muscle), and less chance of storing the extra glucose as fat. You see elevated insulin levels can turn on your fat storing mechanisms.

So, if you are dieting low GI foods are the way to go. If you are going to eat before training, you should pick low glycemic carbohydrates. Low glycemic foods will prevent any premature lowering of blood glucose levels before training, which can lead to fatigue. I don't know about you, but I need to be 100% for every workout, so I can't afford to experience low blood sugar in the middle of my workout causing early fatigue.

High Glycemic Carbohydrates

Here is a list of some of the foods that are "High Glycemic"(quickly absorbed, high insulin response):
  • Sugars (from high to low: Maltose, Glucose, Sucrose)
  • Honey
  • Puffed cereals (white rice, wheat, corn, rice cakes)YES! RICE CAKES
  • Potatoes ( regular russet, instant, mashed)
  • Candy
  • Breads (especially white bread)
  • Instant products ( instant: rice, oatmeal, wheat, grits)
  • Carrots, corn, peas
  • Flaked cereals (corn flakes, etc.)
  • Corn chips
Surprise! Most of these carbohydrates are used in copious amounts for low fat diets, but in reality, people might be limiting their performance and fat burning effects. Research has shown that high glycemic carbohydrates before training should not be practiced as much as you see people do today. It can lead to lower blood glucose prior to training. This will lead to a quicker depletion of muscle glycogen and fatigue as a result. High glycemic carbohydrates before training can also hamper fat release from fat cells. Thus, not getting the complete fat burning effects from your hard workouts.

With your newfound knowledge of the GI, high glycemic foods can benefit your training just as well. You must however know the right times to ingest them so you can use them to your advantage involving performance and recovery. There are certain situations and times where you can use elevated insulin levels in your favor for positive effects. Like I mentioned earlier one of the roles of insulin is to drive nutrients, especially carbohydrates, out of the blood and into the liver, muscles, and any excess glucose into adipose tissue (fat).

So, using high GI foods after training can benefit you greatly. Consuming high GI carbs within the first 15 minutes to 2 hours after training can give you a big head start on replenishing depleted glycogen levels in the muscle. After training you want the insulin levels to rise causing the proteins, carbs, and other nutrients to be shuttled into the starving muscles. Higher GI foods are suggested for this recovery purpose because of the spike in insulin they cause. Absorption of supplements such as creatine, glutamine, and anti-oxidants can be enhanced if taken with a high glycemic drink (carb drink, juices).

Factors That Raise The GI Of Foods

PROCESSING: The GI's of carbohydrates can rise due to the processing of certain foods. Any carbohydrates that are puffed, made instant, or gelatinized, will have a much higher GI than if they weren't processed. An example is a rice cake. That has a glycemic index almost as high as glucose, about as high of a GI as you can get! Can you believe that, and for all this time people have been swallowing bags of rice cakes not knowing they are recognized by the body as worse than table sugar.

FOOD PREPERATION: The way foods are cooked and prepared can influence the GI. Pasta that is cooked for a long time will have a higher GI than that boiled for five min. The overcooking of certain carbs breaks up the starches and rises the GI. Potatoes that are microwaved have a higher GI than those that are baked. Baked potatoes have a higher GI than those that are boiled. So boil your potatoes for a less spike in insulin.

Factors That Can Lower GI Of Foods

REMEMBER: Low glycemic foods are absorbed at a slower rate than high glycemic. Combining carbohydrates with certain other foods can slow the gastric emptying of the stomach and absorption of foods lowering the total GI of foods substantially. The factors shown below will show you how you can eat your potatoes (or cake) and other high glycemic foods with other foods, and not have an illicit rise in insulin.

PROTEIN: When protein is added to a meal it lowers the GI because it has to be liquefied in the stomach before it is released into the intestines for absorption.

FIBER: This is a great one! A reason to eat your vegetables and beans. Fiber is a complex structure that takes a long time for the body to break down and absorb. Some fiber is indigestible by the body. Soluble fiber found in oats & grains, fruits, and gums are ideal. As they dissolve they gel up in the stomach and slow down gastric absorption.

FATS: Any time you add fats to a meal it will lower the GI. Fats also slow gastric emptying and slows the absorption of food. This explains why ice cream has such a low GI rating. It might have 30-40g of sugar in it but the high level of milk fat and little bit of protein make it low glycemic. (But just to play it safe, stay away from the ice cream!)

COMBINING CARBS: You can also lower the total GI of a meal by combining high glycemic carbs with low glycemic carbs. For example if you ate mashed potatoes (High GI) and then ate around the same amount of broccoli (Low GI), the total GI of the meal would be much lower than if you just ate the potatoes.

Summary

I admit a lot of this can be mind boggling at times. Don't get frustrated with memorizing all the different factors and science associated with the GI and its' effects on insulin and blood sugar. There is some simple things that you can remember and do to ensure yourself you are getting low glycemic meals.
  • First, to stabilize blood sugar levels, eat smaller more frequent balanced meals. Each carbohydrate in your meals must be combined with a quality protein source and some sort of vegetables.
  • Second, you should not have a diet too low in fat. The whole craze over high fat, high protein diets are to decrease spikes in insulin and to lower the GI index of foods and meals.
  • Third, you should purposely use mainly high glycemic carbs after you train. A carb drink with a scoop or two of a low fat protein powder will work wonders right after you train.
  • Finally, I would combine supplements like creatine, 10 grams of glutamine, and a good anti-oxidant with the post-workout drink. This will give you a big jump-start to recovery and glycogen replenishment.

So go out there, TRAIN HARD, TRAIN SMART, and use the Glycemic Index to your advantage to more energy, a leaner physique, and increased recovery!

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CARDIO - HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

Admit it. Yes, I am talking to you. Your diet is not perfect and if you are like most people, it is far from it. You know that cherry cheesecake that you ate right BEFORE dinner was not a good idea, but what else goes good with pizza and beer?

Diet is Very Important

To achieve your goals in bodybuilding and/or fat loss, you must have a near perfect diet. Eating should be viewed as something that is not just a side part of bodybuilding, but a major part of it. The truth is that you can't get half the results no matter what workout program you are following if your diet is a stinker. There are no two ways about it.

Okay, so what do you do about it? Empty all your current food out of your cupboards and refrigerator into the trash and replace it with tofu? Don't worry, it does not have to be that hard. The easiest way to acheive your goal of perfect nutrition is to take BABY Steps. The main idea of BABY Steps is that you slowly replace the bad foods that you are currently eating with better foods. The change will be so small each week that you won't even notice it. All you will notice is the ripped abs and huge biceps that suddenly came out of hiding!

Use BABY Steps

Follow these example BABY Steps to get you started:

Drink skim milk. Ugh! Skim milk is sick... right? If you are currently drinking whole or 2% milk, you probably think so. It is just too hard for you to drink white water. Understand that by drinking even 1/2% milk over skim milk gives the average person hundreds or thousands of extra grams of fat per year! This can add up to extra pounds of fat each year! It has to go somewhere...

Make it easy on yourself. If you are drinking whole milk right now, immediately move down to 2% milk. The first week or so you may notice the taste difference a little, but your body and tastebuds will adapt. You will enjoy 2% just as much as you used to like whole milk. I promise you that this is true! Give it a chance for two weeks.

After a few weeks or a month of 2% milk, switch to 1%. Wait until you are used to it, then change to 1/2% and then to skim milk. This little change in your diet can make a huge difference in your body in just a few months. Skim milk has all the same protein and vitamins as whole milk, but without the fat.

Cut the sugar! Sugar is the evil nutrient just waiting to turn you into a fat blob. These days, there is no excuse to consume a large amount of sugar. With stevia, aspartame and all the other sugar substitutes that taste great and have been proven to be safe, you can still satisfy your sweet tooth.

The main place that sugar is hiding is in soda. It is easy to get addicted to this stuff. Right now, make a vow that you will NEVER drink another regular soda again... no matter what! Switch to diet soda. "But diet is so sick!", you say. Just give it a few weeks. I used to say the same exact thing a year ago. I drank soda each and every meal and loved it. I switched to diet when my bloated stomach asked me to. It was not great at first, but at least it was better than water. After a few weeks, I HONESTLY could not tell the difference between regular and diet! My tastebuds adapted and I haven't had a regular coke since. I don't miss it or the sugar and calories at all. I saved myself at least 1000 calories per week just by making this small change in my diet.

Once you are used to the changes you made above, it is time for the next step. Note: The next sentence may freak you out. Completely cut ALL pizza and burgers out of your diet. Okay... breathe. It is going to be okay. We can do this together. In fact, you should make a pact with one of your diet buddies that you will help the other stick to it.

Pizza and burgers are just about the worst things you can eat. The problem is that they are SO convenient! On every corner there is a pizza or burger joint just a smell away. Studies have shown that one of the main reasons so many Americans are obese is because they constantly eat fast food. Cutting out all fast food would be ideal, but usually not practical on a quick lunch or dinner. There are healthier selections on the menu at most places. As long as you completely avoid pizza and burgers, you are on the right track.

The cool thing about the human body is that it adapts quickly. You LEARN to crave fattening food like pizza and burgers. You can also UNLEARN it. After a few weeks without it, you won't miss it as much... then not at all. Ask any healthy bodybuilder.

It's Easy and It Works

These are just a few steps you can take. You know what bad foods you eat too much of that need to be slowly cut out. If cutting out a certain food is too hard, make a deal with yourself to only eat it once per week. Cheating is okay! In fact, it can help you stick to your diet in the long term.

After a year of slowly cutting out and/or reducing the bad foods and replacing them with healthier ones, your diet will have made a 180 degree change... and you won't even have noticed it! So many people say that starting today, they are going to eat perfect. Almost always, they do pretty well for about a week and then give up. The change is too drastic and they can't do it. By following the BABY Steps plan, you will change your diet effortlessly and your body will thank you for it.

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FAT BURNING FOODS

Fat Burning Foods & Foods That Burn Fat

Q: What are the best thermogenic fat burning foods for burning body fat?

A: That depends on your definition of a "fat burning food." When you say "thermogenic," many people instantly think of supplements or exotic herbs, hot spices or foods like cayenne, chili pepper, mustard, cider vinegar, guarana, green tea, etc., which "magically" ramp up your metabolism and burn off body fat.

There might be some science behind some of those things, but focusing on tiny details (especially before you've mastered the nutrition fundamentals) is putting your attention in the wrong place. It's like getting excited by the (misguided) idea that drinking enough ice cold water is "thermogenic" and is going to get you ripped because the body has to "warm it up" and that expends energy... when meanwhile, you're skipping meals, drinking beer every weekend and working out sporadically or not at all. That makes no sense.

I agree that details are important and that little things matter, but when you give too much attention to small stuff (and "weird stuff"), before you know it, you've fallen for the latest cabbage or grapefruit diet. Focus on the big stuff first - the fat burning fundamentals - only then begin to "nit-pick" and take advantage of those "little things" that might help an extra percentage here and a percentage there.

Actually ALL foods are "thermogenic" because the body must use energy to digest them. This is known as the "thermic effect of food" (TEF) or "specific dynamic action of food." When you say "thermogenic food" to me, I think of REAL, WHOLE FOODS, and the most thermogenic fat burning food (my "favorite") is lean protein from solid foods, especially chicken breast, turkey breast, game meats, very lean red meat (grass fed beef is especially nutritious), various types of fish, seafood and also egg whites (limit the yolks).

Protein powders are great for convenience and some - like whey - even have functional properties (as antioxidants and immune boosters), but powders aren't as thermogenic as real food. This is one of the secrets in my Burn The Fat program - Focusing on highly thermogenic WHOLE foods (and not a lot of shakes or powdered drink mixes) can really crank up yourmetabolism due to the thermic effect of whole food.

It's commonly known that of all the macronutrients (protein, carbs and fat), lean protein has the highest thermic effect. Personally, I believe the thermic effect of protein is even higher than most people realize. This is one of the reasons that bodybuilders eat a diet high in lean protein and they are the leanest muscular athletes on earth. My entire fat loss program is based on these "bodybuilding diet" secrets (although the diet is not just for bodybuilders).

When you combine thermogenic lean protein foods with the right amounts and types of essential fats, add in plenty of green vegetables and just the right amount of natural starchy carbs and whole grains (at the right times), your body will literally turn into a turb-charged fat burning machine or weird diet gimmicks. A simple way to put together a highly thermogenic fat burning meal is to select a green vegetable or fibrous vegetable such as asparagus, green beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, salad vegetables, etc., and combine that with one of the lean proteins I previously mentioned. That is the foundation of your fat burning meal. From there you add in some fruit and also starchy carbs (natural only) like brown rice, oats, or sweet potatoes to the degree your body can tolerate starches.

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RECIPES

IP Menu & Recipe
Lifestyle Cut Diet
Chocolate Cookies
Grilled Fish
Roast Beef

Click to view the recipes.

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