THE MOST DELICIOUS TIME OF THE DAY

You have always heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you probably thought, "I don't think that's necessarily true". Well if you have thought that, you're wrong, my friend. There are a few very important reasons why breakfast truly is the most necessary meal of the day. The main reason that breakfast is the best meal of the day is that breakfast food is simply the tastiest food ever! I mean, breakfast contains bacon, cereal, eggs, french toast, COFFEE, etc... I mean honestly I am sorry for you if you don't like breakfast foods. But if you don't like breakfast foods, hopefully I can give you some reasons below to get you to at least consider it!

REASON 1:

Breakfast gets your metabolism going. Your metabolism is essentially the rate at which your body burns calories. Your metabolism is a complex set of hormones that will determine how fast you turn food into fuel and the efficiency at which you burn that fuel. Your age, weight, and sex are three big genetic factors for how fast your metabolism will be effected. Besides your genetics you can increase your metabolism by exercising, having more muscle mass (1 pound of muscle will burn 35 calories a day while 1 pound of fat will only burn 2 calories per day), and by eating more frequently. When you are sleeping your body slows down almost every chemical, hormonal, and physical process of your body which means that your metabolism will slow down because you are not needing to convert food into that fuel for energy.

Breakfast is truly a break from your fast. Think about it, you ate last at 7pm the night before and are just now getting food at 7am this morning for breakfast. Try to imagine going from 7am to 7pm without food! Since, you have not eaten in twelve hours and you have been sleeping your metabolism is extremely slow. In order to jump-start that metabolism you need to eat something to get your metabolism back into high gear. Studies have shown that by eating more frequent meals (not more total calories) will help keep your metabolism high and help keep your body burning calories more efficiently (aka gain less weight after eating). Getting breakfast in the morning (even if it isn't a lot) is very important to help your body wake up and start to burn calories!

REASON 2:

After a meal your body's metabolism is kicking into high gear and your body is going to start using that food for fuel. What you don't want to happen is to eat breakfast and then immediately feel hungry again. One reason that this could happen is because of the food choices we make. If we choose foods that are low in fiber, low in protein, high in sugar, and low nutritionally we will eat and then once again feel hungry. If we eat a bowl of sugary cereal with a Diet Coke for breakfast, we will not feel full and will want to eat again very soon. This is because when we eat simple sugars our bodies blood sugar will spike and then we will burn those calories very quickly and feel the crash feeling afterward. This is shown by the graph below.

By eating a breakfast that contains complex sugars such as fruit, complex carbohydrates such as whole grain bread, protein such as eggs, and fiber such as high fiber cereal you can reduce this peak and crash cycle. This type of breakfast helps make you feel full and will allow to not overeat at subsequent meals throughout the day. This allows you to crave less throughout the day and also help you make smarter eating choices as well. This is because if you are feeling more full during the day you won't feel the craving to go to the break-room at work and get one of the donuts sitting there.

A study done by Janet Warren et al. for the Journal of Pediatrics tested whether eating foods for breakfast that were lower on the Glycemic Index scale versus those higher on the scale would reduce the amount of food consumed at lunch. The study had four groups of preadolescent children where one group ate low GI foods, one group ate low GI foods with 10% added sucrose, a group that ate high GI foods, and a control group. These kids ate these specialized breakfast's and then ate whatever they want for lunch but while being monitored. The low GI  and low GI plus 10% sucrose ate around 200 calories less than the other two groups at lunch time. This shows that by eating foods that take longer to digest (which are usually more healthy) will help reduce the feeling to eat more, later. Now eating based off of the glycemic index is not always the healthiest or best way to go but remembering to eat foods that are high in fiber, high in vitamins and minerals, has some protein, and high in complex carbohydrates will help you reduce the desire to eat more throughout the day. (Article)

REASON 3:

Eating breakfast in the morning will give your muscles, heart, and brain the energy to keep going throughout the day. Breakfastfirst is an organization in California that works to provide children with a healthy breakfast every single day at school. This organization is striving to make breakfast available to everyone. Research has shown by an analysis of 1,400 schools in California found that eating breakfast was associated with higher school-wide test scores. The students that ate breakfast also experienced, "improved cognitive performance, visual perception, and short-term memory compared to students who did not eat breakfast". (http://www.breakfastfirst.org/benefits/brainpower.shtml)

Eating breakfast has been shown to increase test scores and mental capacity. When going without breakfast you are putting your brain power and mental abilities in Jeopardy. Now of course, this doesn't mean you will turn into Andy (see video) by not eating, but by getting those calories in the morning your brain will have more energy to draw from. When you are doing something very mentally taxing, your brain will actually be working hard and will get fatigued, which is why your head might hurt from thinking too hard. So essentially, by providing your brain with fuel it can work harder and longer. This is exact same principle as working out (you must take in energy to counteract the energy you are spending working out). Eating breakfast will help keep your mind sharp and brain energy high.


REASON 4:

Enough said.

REASON 5:

The last reason that eating breakfast is important is similar to reason number 2 and 3. When you eat a lot of calories for breakfast instead of a huge dinner, it gives your body time to burn off these calories.  If you decide to not eat breakfast and then only eat a sandwich and some chips for lunch you will be starving for dinner. Then you eat EVERYTHING for dinner, watch some TV, and go to sleep. Do you remember what I said above? When you go to sleep all of your body processes, especially your metabolism slows down. So when you go to bed with a very full stomach your metabolism has less ability to work through those calories and try to convert them to energy. So since you are asleep you store these extra calories from your large dinner because your body cannot burn them for energy since you don't need the energy while sleeping. These calories will then probably be stored as fat. One saying that I like to tell people is to "Eat like a king for breakfast, queen for lunch, and prince for dinner". This helps get a larger number of calories earlier in the day which gives your body time to burn them off, especially if you exercise during that day.

SUMMARY

So the last thing I will give you guys is what I usually eat for breakfast. I LOVE breakfast food and could eat it for basically every meal of the day. But what I shoot for, is the MY PLATE guidelines on ChooseMyPlate.gov. I usually eat 2 scrambled eggs with spinach (and sometimes turkey) mixed in, a piece of wheat toast with crunchy peanut butter, yogurt (or blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries), coffee, and water. If I don't have as much time I usually will put some fruit (like those ^) in a healthy cereal like SmartStart, or Great Grains (the cinnamon hazelnut kind is awesome!). These breakfasts will give me lean protein, whole grains, fruit, a little vegetables, healthy fats, and a good amount of fiber. There are always healthier things I could go for, but if you enjoy breakfast don't be afraid to eat it!

So overall, there are quite a few benefits to eating breakfast. My final advice would be to make sure you are eating something every morning before work, school, or starting your day. I think that even if you don't sit down and eat as much as I do that is totally okay, but I would say that you need to eat something even if it is as small as a granola bar or a piece of fruit. By getting a healthy and nutritious breakfast in you each morning, you will have more energy sooner and will not be quite as hungry throughout the day which can help reduce the snacking or craving unhealthy foods. Eating more in the morning also helps you jump-start that metabolism to help you burn more calories throughout the day then not having anything to eat. Go out there and enjoy your breakfast!

RECIPE OF THE DAY:

Healthy Banana Bread- found on chocolatecoveredkatie.com

I personally have made it multiple times and it is super delicious! I recommend going higher on the banana amount (you will need 3-4 to begin with) and I liked the strawberry version better than the blueberry because it was more moist. Also I added more cinnamon because I love cinnamon. So get baking and this is great for a quick breakfast!

Below is recipe found online: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/10/10/fat-free-banana-bread/

(Makes 10-12 slices)

• 2 c spelt flour (or white, or Arrowhead Mills, whole wheat, etc)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 c milk of choice (or oil)
• 1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup agave or maple syrup (Or, here's a Sugar Free Version)
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 stevia packet (or 1 tbsp more agave or other sweetener)
• 1 and 2/3 c tightly packed, mashed banana (measured after mashing)
• 1/3 cup berries of choice, or more banana (I actually used 1 full cup of sliced strawberries. The resulting bread was extremely gooey, but I loved it that way!)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients, and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix into dry. (Mix by hand and don't overmix.) Pour into a greased loaf pan and cook for 35-50 minutes, depending on how gooey you want it. (Tip: If the top is cooked but the inside is still gooey, put tin foil over the top and continue to cook.)

After removing from the oven, let cool for ten minutes before slicing. After the first day, this bread is best stored in the fridge. or cut into slices and freeze for later.

YUMMMMMMMM

NEXT WEEK: HOW TO GET OVER THE PLATEAU

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

First off, sorry again for the delay in getting back to this. I have been busy with work, being gone, being sick, and trying to find an apartment these past couple of weeks. So hopefully I will back on track and ready to bring it. SO here goes.

There has been a recent push in commercials, products, and apps that help improve your brain. Now these may not always be the best products out there to help keep your brain in shape but they do finally get us thinking about the importance of our brain. Our brain controls every single facet of our being. You can't imagine living without your heart, but at the same time, the brain is even more important because it controls the function of the heart. Our brain is extremely important so why don't we focus on our brain health near as much as out muscle physique? This post will hopefully give you an appreciation for the importance of the brain and a few ideas on how to keep it working well.

ANATOMY

So the first step is understanding how the brain works, its' main properties, and what it regulates.

The brain's main functions are to process and regulate nerve stimuli from around the body, to control and regulate autonomic body functions, and to control our emotions and intellect. Needless to say, the brain does it all.The brain is the organ that contributes to homeostasis by receiving sensory input, integrating new and stored information, making decisions, and executing responses through motor activities (Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B. (2009). Principles of anatomy and physiology (12th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley.).

The brain is made up of around 100 billion neurons and over 10 trillion neuoglia. Neurons are the nerve cells and the neuroglia are cells that support the activities of neurons. Neurons are the most basic building blocks for the brain and you can think of them as electric cables to transmit signals from one site to another. One basic example of how neurons work is say you put your hand on a hot stove. Your nerve endings in fingers will recognize that the stove is hot and you send a signal to the brain to inform it of the hot stove. The brain then sends signals through the neuron from the dendrites, through the axon, and to the axon endings that then submit the signal to the next neuron and then to the next neuron and so on. Once the signal to remove the hand gets through the neurons to the muscles, the hand will move. This whole process is called an action-potential.

The grey line is the signal going to the brain
from the skin while the red is the signal
 coming from the brain to the muscle which
causes a movement.

These neurons come together to form the extremely complicated and important brain areas that help us do everything. These trilions of neurons and neuroglia have a mass of around 1300g (or about 3 pounds). On average each neuron forms 1000 synapses (a space where one neuron can communicate with another) with other neurons which makes the total number of synapses, around a thousand trillion, which is more than the number of the stars in our galaxy!! (Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B. (2009). Principles of anatomy and physiology (12th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley.) This shows the incredible amount of connections the brain has and the amount of nerve stimuli regulated by the brain.

All of these nerves are bundled together to form four principal parts of the brain which are the brain stem, the cerebellum, diencephalon, and cerbrum. The brain stem has three different parts which are the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain. These three parts regulate heartbeat, blood vessel diameter, normal breathing rate, voluntary movements of the limbs and trunks, controls reflexes for vomiting, swallowing, sneezing, coughing, and hiccups, plays a key role in coordinating and maximizing the efficiency of voluntary motor output in the body, and the midbrain especially control the reflexes of the eye, eye muscles, head and trunk muscles in response to a startle response such as a loud noise. This is a very brief breakdown of what the brain does and I could go into an entire post about just one of these areas.

The cerebellum's primary function is to evaluate how well movements initiated by motor areas in the cerebrum are actually being carried out. This means that the cerebellum is essentially an error corrector that checks whether the motor movements are being performed correctly. If not, the cerebellum will correct the mistakes, smooth the movements, and coordinate the correct complex sequences of muscular contractions. The cerebellum also controls posture and balance. Essentially, this area of the brain makes things such as catching a baseball, dancing, and picking your nose possible.

The diencephalon is broken down into two parts; the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The thalamus is the major relay station for most sensory impulses that reach the primary sensory areas of the cerebral cortex from the spinal cord and brain stem. The thalamus also plays a role in the maintenance of consciousness. The hypothalamus is one of the most important areas for maintaining homeostasis (the body is constant, normal, and even). The hypothalmus controls the ANS (autonomic nervous system) which regulates contraction of smooth muscle (what organs are made of), controls the production of hormones, regulates emotional and behavioral patterns, regulates the desire to eat and drink, controls body temperature, and finally, regulates circadian rhythms and states of consciousness.

The cerebrum, the largest area of the brain, has four lobes: the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes. These lobes are also broken into right and left hemispheres by the longitudinal fissure which is the crease in the middle of the brain that breaks it into left and right halves. The main function of the cerebrum is described by it's nickname; "the seat of intelligence". The cerebrum provides us with the ability to read, write, speak, make calculations, compose music, remember the past, plan for the future, and imagine new things.

Within these four lobes there are sensory, motor, and association areas. The sensory areas receive sensory information from the body and other parts of the brain, the motor area control the execution of movements, and the association areas deal more with complex integrative functions such as memory, emotions, will, reasoning, judgement, personality, and intelligence. All three of these areas work together to process information and react to it. Damage to each area can effect the brain in different ways. Damage to the primary visual area would cause the person to have blindness while damage to a visual association area might mean that the person could see the object but not tell you what it was.

All of these areas in brain from the brainstem, diencephalon, cerebellum, and cerebrum all work together to process and interpret stimuli from around the body, provide the body with necessary homeostatic control, and allow us to be respond with emotion and personal thought. The brain is truly an amazing organ! (Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B. (2009). Principles of anatomy and physiology (12th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley.)

So now that we understand or at least can see how important our brain is, the question now is how do we keep it in tip-top shape.

FITNESS

This whole process may sound like it takes a good amount of time but the whole process of an action potential can travel at over 100 meters/second (david myers, psych)! This speed can speed up or slow down depending on the myelination of the neuron. The electrical signal is typically transmitted through a constant wave down the neuron through the axon and into the next neuron. When there is myelination on the axon, however, the process speeds up because the electrical signal can jump over each myelin sheath. So basically, instead of having to pass through the entire axon, it can jump quickly down the axon. This speed is extremely important to making quick decisions and being able to react to the stimuli around us.

The very basic diagram of the nerve impulse (or stimuli) jumping
 over each myelin sheath which speeds up the signal.

So one way to keep our brain quick and thinking fast is make sure our neurons are myelinated. As we grow and mature from an embryo to adulthood our neurons are growing myelin and will continue to myelinate as we grow. So once we reach adulthood, we can't add anymore myelin to our neurons to speed up the nerve signal process. So it is important to keep the myelin healthy and damage free so that our brain can send processes extremely quick. There are some diseases that can cause demyelination such as multiple sclerosis also just known as MS. When there is damage to the myelin our nerve processes are slowed and there can be slurred speech, double vision, coordination issues, weakness in limbs, and fatigue. So we want to keep the myelin as healthy as we can.

To do this naturally you should focus on a few different things such as eating all of your vitamins and minerals while specifically focusing on D3 and B12. This can be done by eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Another step to protect your myelin is to stay away from heavy metals and chemicals in food. So keeping away from extremely processed foods, foods high in chemicals and potential toxins such as food coloring, additives, MSG, and even artificial sweeteners. Eat essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 because the myelin sheath is made up of fatty tissue. So by eating healthy fats found in avocados, almonds and nuts, fish/fish oil, and olive oil you can get the healthy fats to protect the myelin sheath. Lastly, toxins and chemicals (like above) can also damage the myelin sheath, so smoking or ingesting too many toxins from alcohol can also damage the myelin sheath. So it appears there are a few pretty basic ways to keep the myelin sheath healthy: eat natural foods, get all of your vitamins and minerals from whole foods ideally, get plenty of exercise, and stay away from toxins such as those found in cigarettes. (http://www.nationalmssociety.org/)

Another way to keep the brain healthy is to test it. According to the Alzheimer association (www.alz.org) there are some simple tips to keep your brain healthy. The first is to stay physically active because this helps circulate blood flow to the brain and also helps stimulate new brain cell growth. The exercise does not even have to be str
enuous or difficult but by being active at least 30 minutes each day you encourage oxygen and blood flow to the brain. The next step was one thing I listed above, which was to eat a brain healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables (especially dark leafy vegetables), healthy fats, and lean protein. Next, maintain social activities such as being apart of a work team, volunteering, or having a small group of friends.

One last way to keep the brain healthy is by mental activities. Mental decline is usually caused by a reduction of the brain connections and decline in brain cell usage. By constantly testing your brain and participating in brain "exercise" you can help maintain those brain connections and even regenerate new brain cells. Such "exercise" can be taking classes, working on a crossword puzzle, reading and writing, and playing games that require strategy and planning. These things can help you use each aspect of your intelligence and keeps the whole brain active and constantly growing. A study of 147 twins discordant for dementia (one twin had it, one twin didn't) found that those that combined physical activity, mental activity, and social activities during their midlife were less likely to develop dementia later in life. These are very simple ways to keep the brain sharp and prevent dementia, Alzheimers, and mental sluggishness. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673771/).

SUMMARY

Our brain is the most important organ in the body and we need to keep it healthy with diet and exercise just like the rest of our body. We train our muscles to being able to work hard and grow but sometimes we forget about the brain. Our brain is in charge of every intelligent thought, physical movement, thought-out plan, and sensory impulse we have. We need to keep our brain healthy by eating well, exercising, enjoying social activities, and testing our brain with mental activities. Each area of the brain is made up of neurons and neuroglia that transmit signals to and from other parts of the brain and body. The myelination of the neurons can help speed up these processes to allow for quicker reactions and faster thoughts. By losing that myelin sheath, we slow down the action-potentials that are responsible for movement and thoughts. As well as the myelin sheath on the neurons, the connections between neurons provide the speed for each electrical stimuli. By eating healthily, exercising, and focusing on mental activities we can encourage the building and strengthening the nerve connections in the brain.

WORKOUT:

So finally the weather has gotten pretty outside, at least in Ohio. So in order to take advantage of the weather, while still getting in a workout, here is one you can try that is very easy to do in a park, your backyard, or the beach.

Do 1-3 times through!

50 Jumping Jacks
25 Lunge Steps
25 High Knees
25 Mountain Climbers
15 Pushups
20 Squats
20 Box Jumps (use a curb, a bench, a porch step, a fallen log, or anything you can jump onto)
100 yard sprint

Do this at the park, in between tanning sessions, after playing in the ocean. Enjoy the outdoors and get some Vitamin D!

I hope you guys all remember this theme song... If you don't then I am sorry and you must not have learned how to read. Such a pity.

NEXT WEEK: THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAKFAST

AB RIPPER X

So this week I am going to talk about P90X and some the claims it makes and whether it truly works. So first lets see what P90X actually claims it can do for you.

P90X Creator: Tony Horton

The main claim of P90X is that you will get ripped in 90 days. It markets itself as a fat burning exercise program that will melt the fat right off of you and get you ripped. P90X states that it uses the main science of muscle confusion to keep your body guessing in order to prevent the plateau effect like normal workout programs. Every 30 days the workouts will change up and so each 30 days it is like starting a brand new workout program. It also includes a meal plan that is designed to help lose fat, boost energy, and maximize your endurance. The P90X program includes twelve different workouts that are designed to shock your body and keep it guessing.

So those are the main claims that P90X makes. Now the question is that are those claims legitimate or are they just wild claims that other workout fads make?

THE MAIN PROMISE

Will you really get ripped and lose all of your fat? Well let's look at this logically. If you weigh 180 pounds and are 33% fat then you can say you have 60 pounds of fat on your body. The recommended safe and healthy weight loss is around 1-2 pounds per week. That means that over 90 days (13 weeks roughly) you would could safely and healthily lose up to 26 pounds. So if you weigh 180 pounds and have 60 pounds of fat but only lose 26 pounds of excess fat you will still have 34 pounds of fat mass. That brings you down from 33% fat to around 22% fat. Most people would not consider 22% body fat to be "ripped". Now it is a great improvement but I wouldn't say you will go from the guy on the left to the guy on the right in 90 days.

Now let's look at someone that is 180 pounds but only 10% body fat. Imagine that over the 90 days they lose 5 pounds of fat. They will go from 10% body fat to 7.4% body fat. Now if you asked most people who is closer to getting ripped the person with 33% fat or the person with 10% fat, everyone will say the second person. That means that if you are starting at a level that is far from "ripped" then the claims that you will get ripped in 90 days might be a bit unrealistic. Now if you are already in decent shape or used to be in great shape but lost some of it, then the 90 day claim is very doable. So you need to be realistic with your expectations going into it and expect to get in better shape, lose fat, and feel healthier but not necessarily get "ripped".

From skinny to the "ripped" look.

WORKOUT STRATEGY

The P90X workout strategy as I stated earlier is it's patented "muscle confusion". This focuses on the fact that most people when they workout on their own in the gym get into a routine of the same exercises over and over. The human body is an amazing machine and can self regulate and can actually get used to things stresses that you put on it. So, going into the gym and walking on the treadmill used to help you lose 2 pounds per week but now you stopped seeing results? That is because your body starts to expect it and can actually just adjust for the 30 minutes you are going to walk and then go right back to normal. It doesn't need to change or adapt because it knows it can easily get through the workout. This a pretty awesome adaptation that the body has, but not so awesome if you want results.

P90X combats this plateau by constantly changing up the workout you are going to do with the twelve that I listed below. To get your body out of that plateau you need to get it out of your comfort zone and try something new. This is something that is very easy to do that most people don't like to do on their own. People love their comfort zones and staying in it is safe and won't be difficult. This is another reason people will see massive results because it takes you away from the typical bench press and makes you use more muscles and keeps the variety high.

1. Chest and Back
2. Plyometrics
3. Shoulders and Arms
4. Yoga X
5. Legs and Back
6. Kenpo X
7. X Stretch
8. Core Synergistics
9. Chest, Shoulder, and Triceps
10. Back and Biceps
11. Cardio X
12. Ab Ripper X

NUTRITION PLAN

There are 3 phases to the P90X nutrition plan. The first stage, The Fat Shredder, is a high protein stage that helps reduce the amount of food you eat by eating more of the filling protein. I can see why the makers of P90X chose this type of meal plan. The first phase has been shown through various studies to provide results. One study done by Donald Layman et al. showed that between four groups (high protein, high protein plus exercise, high carbs, and high carbs plus exercise) the high protein group and the high protein plus exercise groups lost more overall weight, lost more fat mass , and lost less lean body mass (good body mass) than the high carbohydrate groups. The study kept all four groups eating a diet of 1,700 calories while replacing carbohydrates with natural protein such as nuts, eggs, and dairy for the higher protein groups. The reasons that this study gives as why this result happened is that the higher protein diet helped keep lean body mass high, protein is less efficient in metabolism so you feel full longer, and there is a lower insulin response due to the lowered carbohydrate diet. Needless to say, studies have shown that a higher protein diet will help you reduce fat mass, like P90X claims.
Layman et al. (2005)

The next stage, Energy Booster, focuses on a more balanced diet of carbs and proteins with a reduced amount of fat. These extra carbs will help give you more energy to work harder during the workouts and to stay energized even after a workout. The last phase, The Endurance Maximizer, gets you closer a normal athletic diet that focuses on whole grain carbohydrates and lean protein. This diet plan is designed to help burn a lot of fat and keep the lean muscle loss low in the first month, in the second month it is designed to allow you to work hard and build muscle while still reducing fat mass, and in the last month it is designed to get you closer to a diet you should keep every day with lean meats and whole grains.



P90X RESULTS

So why do you see all of these pictures and testimonies of people claiming that they lost 40 pounds in 3 months due to P90X? Well, there are a couple reasons why P90X can work as well as it claims. The first is that it provides a large variety of workouts. The workouts themselves are good and definitely push you hard but the key is in the "muscle confusion" they claim. Keeping a large variety of workouts and routines is honestly a great way to push you over that stagnant feeling you have while you are at the gym. Almost every single person that goes to the gym by themselves will get to a point where you run out of exercises and start to just repeat the same routine every couple of days. This is how people get bored with exercising and fed up because they aren't seeing results. This is the key for P90X for keeping people on their workout program. There is always a large turnover rate for people starting a new workout program because they will get bored and decide to stop the program. With P90X, you get a large variety of workouts so you don't get bored and are more likely to stay in it for the whole 90 days.

The next reason why P90X can be very effective is the 90 day meal plan. When you start a workout program or just start going to the gym for the first time, how often do you completely overhaul your diet at the same time? Almost never. Usually, you try to make one small change, like walking 20 minutes a day, then work your way up to working out, and then to making large changes to your diet. All of these steps are compounded into one 3 month period. So if you actually stick with the meal plan and reduce the amount of cheating then it is possible to drop a lot of weight like P90X claims.

VERDICT

P90X is a great workout program that gives a large variety of workouts to keep you motivated and excited, provides a meal plan designed to reduce fat but keep lean muscle, and it gives you a plan to keep you focused on your goal. So in my opinion, it IS a workout program that can get you very good results if you are motivated and focused on your goal.  The best part about P90X is that it is as easy as eating what they give you and doing the workout they give you each day. It takes the thinking out of eating healthy and making your own workout plans. This is what most people need; someone telling them what to do and eat each day.

BUT, P90X is nothing more than a workout plan that keeps you muscled shocked, a diet that helps reduce your fat intake, and a plan to keep you on track each day. There is nothing special about the P90X plan that is extremely new or ingenious to the exercising world. People that are very overweight that start P90X will see a lot of results but mainly because they are exercising for the first time in a while, not purely the P90X system. Also, the results that you see in the commercials, as I said above, usually come from people that are in decent shape before hand or have been working on losing weight for a while and then with the P90X aid, saw the cut look they were wanting.

It took him 18 months (not 90 days) but he still got there!

SO, yes P90X can work and can provide you with a more lean, fat reduced body but I wouldn't expect miracle results with it. If you have been sedentary for the last 10 years don't expect to lose all of your fat and weight in 90 days. It might take years but a system like P90X is a great way to lose that excess fat, get cut, and get in better shape. I give P90X a stamp of approval but also know that the system P90X is using is something that you can devise on your own for a much smaller price tag. This is the case with most other workout programs such as T25, Tai Bo, BeachBody, Insanity, or any other workout plan.

By eating healthily and focusing on a large variety of exercises and workouts you can achieve similar results as what the P90X plan promises.

EXTRA POINTS

Another thing I wanted to show you is how some companies make these drastic fat to fit pictures. Sometimes the heads are photo-shopped but sometimes it is actually the same person. This video shows you how they sometimes make these images happen.

WORKOUT OF THE WEEK

Warmup (Jog in place, slow jumping jacks, ballistic stretches, etc)

Set 1: (20 of each)

Crunches
Flutter Kicks
Donkey Kicks (10 each leg)
Fire Hydrants (10 each leg)
Back Bows

Set 2: (20 each)

Situps
Knee Tuck Jumps (Example)
Jacknife Crunches
Jumping Lunges (Example)
Plank (1 min)

Set 3:

Run 4 quarter mile intervals. (Run a quarter mile as fast as you can, rest for 2 minutes, repeat for all 4. Also, try to beat your previous time each interval)

Set 4:

Repeat Set 1

Set 5: (20 Each)

Jumping Jacks
Burpees
Russian Twists (Example)
Plank Oblique Crunches (10 each side) (Example)
Squat Jacks
Glute Bridges (Example)
Mountain Climbers
Jumping Jacks

Cooldown (Jog and stretch)

Or you can always go to a spinning class, but you might run into this:

NEXT WEEK: HOW TO KEEP YOUR BRAIN IN SHAPE

13.1 OR BUST

This week I am going to give you some tips, pointers, and advice on how to train for a half marathon. This post will be mostly for the first timers or second time runners that just want to increase their time and not feel quite like death afterwards.

The first thing that I will say is that ANYONE can run a half marathon. It may take a little longer to train or require more perseverance but, anyone can do it. Even if you are completely out of shape you can do it. So before we get into the actual topic I wanted to share a brand new workout craze I have recently stumbled upon. For your viewing pleasure...

CHOOSING YOUR RACE

The very first thing you need to do when wanting to complete a half marathon is to sign up for one. Once you have paid and committed to a date in the future you will be MUCH more likely to complete it. No one likes to lose 70 dollars. So the question comes, what race should I choose? If you have a zero level of fitness and are reading this from the couch you have been sitting on for the past two weeks I would say you will need to commit around 6 months to train for this training program. Now if you are moderately active and workout or run a couple of times a week, I would advise around 3-4 months to train for your very first one. So that means when choosing a race shoot for a race that's around 4 months away. So, most people that start thinking about a half marathon around this time usually shoot for a September or October race. That gives them all spring and summer to train. If you find a race that fits in July or August I would say go ahead and sign up for it but just be cautious of the hot weather that you might experience that day.

Here is a website that list almost all of the Half Marathon Races in our country.

The next part of choosing the race is the cost. For me, cost is a big factor mainly because I am a poor post-grad college student. There are races that can start at $40 and go all the way up to $120 dollars. The price depends on how early you sign up (i.e. sign up for that September race now!), the location (big city vs. country side), and the number of people running. The Greenville Spinx Half Marathon costed me around $50 and the Flying Pig Half in Cincinnati would have costed me around $115 dollars! So choose one that is reasonably priced. I would shoot for a lower cost race for your first one. There will probably be less people, less extreme runners, and if you do happen to not be able to complete it then you won't feel as bad for spending the money. Also, if this is your first one, unless you want to make a weekend trip of it, choose one that is closer to your house. If you pick one that is farther away you will have to think about the added cost of gas, hotel, food, etc. But if you want to make a weekend out of it then feel free to go wherever you want!

The last part is choosing a race that sounds enjoyable to you. There are races that run through a downtown, races that run through the mountains of North Carolina (one I am going to do in early May), and ones that feature a wide variety of terrain. Choose one that has scenery that you won't mind looking at for a couple hours. I ran the Wright Pat Air Force Marathon last October and for about 6 miles I ran around an empty airfield where no bystanders were allowed. That was a very boring hour or so. So choose one that you will enjoy. Next, look up the elevation of the race. Most race websites will show the elevation changes. There are some half marathons that are all hills, one long up hill, completely flat, mostly downhill, or a couple big uphills but flat after that. If this is your first one I would choose one that is flatter and so therefore a little easier to complete. But once again choose one that you will enjoy.

WORKOUT PLAN

Now that you are signed up for your first one. Congrats! Now you need to figure out how you will get your lazy butt off the couch to go run. So that's where you need to find a training plan. When trying to figure out how to complete a half marathon the first thing you need to do is pick a plan that fits best for you. You can type "half marathon training plans" into google and find about 15 different plans that you could follow. I think there are 3 important things to consider when choosing a plan. My Google Search For You

First, you need to  analyze your schedule to figure out how much time each week that you have to complete the training. You need to be realistic and honest with yourself about how much time you have. Don't commit to using a training program that requires you to run 5 days a week if you know you won't have enough time or motivation to do that. That is one big mistake people have. Some people start with a 5 day a week program and only end up running three days. If you might do that you might be skipping a valuable workout and lose a large part of the program itself. So if you have a flexible work schedule you might want to choose a plan that has a few days but longer workouts. Now if you work from 9-5 everyday but you have an hour or so after work each day, you might want to pick a plan that is more days per week but might be less time each day. Once again, this is where you need to be honest and realistic with yourself.

The next part of picking a training program is to find one you are comfortable with. There are programs that ask you to run different intervals, run hills, or do cross training. If you don't have access to a gym, or a track to run intervals you might want to pick a program that fits better with the equipment you will have available to you. There are some people that will despise doing a sprint workout, or not have access to a gym or bike to get cross training in, so if that is the case you need to choose a plan that consists of mostly running. Now, I would say that you get a bigger benefit from adding in cross training and strength training but this is your marathon so choose what you like.

Lastly, you need to find a program that fits with the amount of time you have until your race. If you find a program that you like but it is 18 weeks long when you only have 12 weeks, that obviously won't work. You need to assess your fitness level and then find a program that gives you enough time to train for your race. If you followed my advice up above and signed up for a race 5-6 months in advance you have a wider variety to choose from. Also, if there is a program that is only 3 months long but really want to do it, then you can start running a little and working out at your own pace before you start a program.

Scott Murr and Bill Pierce

After saying all of this my preferred training plan was developed by a few of my professors at Furman University. It is laid out in a book they wrote called Run Less, Run Faster by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, and Ray Moss. Basically, this training schedule only has you running three days a week so it is very convenient for those with less time. I found it very easy to complete for my marathon and my half marathon training. The first day is a shorter run with intervals, the second day is a medium length run that is run at the pace you are trying to complete the race in, and the last day is a long run day that is run slower than the pace you are shooting for. I liked this plan because it is simple, variable because you can change up the days of the runs, and few enough days to complete each run. Now, I know this plan starts off strong but it can be done and you might need to work into this plan a little. So, if you are in decent shape already this plan can work well for you. FIRST Training Plan

RUNNING ADVICE

The last few things I have are just some basic advice that can really help you stay away from injury and enjoy your training. The first thing is to buy good running shoes. Buying running shoes that are right for your feet will help you reduce knee pain, shin splints, and other pain. You can go online and find good running shoes anywhere from $65 to $120 dollars. Honestly, the more you pay the better shoe you get. I would stay away from the $30-$40 dollar shoes. They will wear out quickly and will not fit your feet properly. Go to a good running store like Fleet Feet and they can get a shoe that fits your foot and your running gait. Also, if you do that bring in your previous running shoes and they can look at the wear pattern and get a shoe that best fits how you run.

The next piece of advice is to focus on a variety of training. Cross training is a great way to keep up your cardiovascular endurance while reducing the wear and tear of running on the knees. Swim, bike, or row on the off running days and it will help you stay in shape without developing an overuse injury. ANother important aspect that can help improve your time is interval training. This is jogging with sprints in between. This can help raise your VO2max and help you to better be able to control your breathing during your long run. Also, do not abandon strength training. Now, you don't need to go out and shoot for upping your 1 rep max but you do want to maintain that muscle strength. The stronger you are the easier it is to keep those feet going when you are tired. Another big part of strength training is keeping your core strong. Your core keeps the entire body strong, upright, and stable. With a weak core, as you get tired, your running form will fade even more. Five simple leg workouts that are good for marathon training are:

Single Leg Squat

• Body Weight Squats
• Single Leg Squats
• Single Leg Deadlifts
• One Leg Calf Raises
• Walking Lunges

Also, core exercises like these are great for core strength:

• Planks (Regular and Side Planks)
• Flutter Kicks
• Hip Thrusters
• Crunches
• Back Bows

One last piece of advice I would give is to focus on your diet and eating well during a training run and after it. When you are trying to run 13 miles you have to carry all 200 pounds that you weigh with you. So if you lose weight then each step is easier and easier. I know it sounds simple but if you lose weight then completing the half marathon is even easier. Your diet should change from the normal 55% carbs, 25% fats, and 20% protein to closer to 65% carbs, 20% fats, and 15% protein. Carbohydrates provide the energy for the cells to keep the muscles going for the long run. Focus on eating smaller but more meals throughout the day with whole grain carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, and lean meat for each meal. You also need to increase the number of calories you eat around 100 calories per mile you run throughout the week. This will help refuel and keep your body full of energy for the next run.

Endurance athlete food pyramid. Focus on the carbs!

During the race you need to consume around 30-60g of carbohydrates each hour that you are running. That means if your half marathon takes you two hours you need to consume around 60-120g of carbohydrates during the race. During the race there will be tables with gatorade, water, sports gels, and even bananas. Use these to refill your body with carbohydrates and also rehydrate. It also takes around 45 minutes to get the carbohydrates into your blood stream, so when in doubt hydate and refuel early and often. You want to practice this during training runs to see how your body responds to eating and consuming sports gels or bananas during a race. If you try this and feel sick by eating anything then focus on having enough carbohydrates before the race and just rehydrate with water during the race. Or, if you feel like you can put anything in your stomach while running then focus on getting closer to the 120g of carbohydrates for the race. You always want to make sure that you getting enough fluids and carbohydrates during the race. Don't just consume sports gels and nothing else, make sure you are getting water as well.

I have given a lot of little tips to help get you across that finish line but once again this is just a brief list and a small portion of what you can work on during training. Please do your own research and find what works best for you. Once again I am not a dietitian, or extremely experienced marathon runner so take my advice with a grain of salt. These are just some of the things that I have picked up from running myself. Always practice what you are going to do on your race day, and never go into a race day with a plan to try or even wear something new. Always run comfortably, relaxed, and focused on the end goal. Even if you need to walk part of it as long as you keep moving you are one step closer to the finish line. And maybe while you are running you will look like this guy:

In summary, you need to pick the race that is right for you, find a training plan that will be realistic with your schedule, and focus on eating well to keep your body healthy and refueled. This is your accomplishment so have fun with it! This might be the hardest thing you have ever done but if you make it your own and work hard you won't regret this decision. Just remember that with enough motivation and effort ANYONE can complete their first half marathon. And...

NUTRITION TIP

One very important aspect of our health that can be improved drastically by our diet is our HDL cholesterol. Not all cholesterol is bad and actually it is an essential fat in our body. HDL (high density lipoprotein) is the good cholesterol in our body. This cholesterol helps removes LDL (bad cholesterol) which can cause atherosclerosis or damage to the arteries. HDL also scrubs and keeps the arteries clean and healthy. This can drastically reduce the risk of heart attack and heart diesease. We can ingest HDL from our good oils (light olive oils, peanut, and canola oils), nuts, fish, and avocados. By increasing these healthy fats in our every day diet, we can help drastically decrease our risk for heart disease and arterial damage. So guacamole up!

NEXT WEEK: P90X. DOES IT REALLY WORK?

OUR BELOVED POISONS

SMOKING

I will start nice and easy and start with what cigarettes are. They are basically rolled up paper with tobacco leaves inside. The main active ingredient in tobacco is nicotine. Nicotine is a toxic, colorless, or yellowish oily liquid that acts as a stimulant in small doses but in larger doses blocks the action of the autonomic nerve and skeletal muscle cells. Nicotine has two different effects on the body. The first are pharmacologic effects: increase heart rate, increase heart muscle oxygen consumption rate, and increase stroke volume of the heart. The second effect of nicotine are psychodynamic effects: raised level of alertness, euphoria, and sensation of being relaxed. This second effect is the addictive properties that keep people smoking for years. (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240820.php)

So now that we are addicted to smoking let's talk about to what actually happens when you inhale tobacco smoke. Let's start with the first stop for tobacco smoke. When you inhale oxygen the air goes into your lungs and you exchange this good air with the built up CO2 in our lungs. So the lungs are the main organs that bring in oxygen and as we learned a couple weeks ago, this brought in oxygen provides us with energy (VERY IMPORTANT!). So when we breathe in tobacco smoke this smoke goes into our lungs and into the small sacs called aveoli. These small sacs is where the gas exchange actually happens. Tobacco smoke damages these small sacs (think of little balloons) by making them more rigid and inflexible. This severely cuts our ability to exchange the good air for the bad air. This means that you won't be able to exchange and move oxygen near as well and as we learned before, this means that you won't be able to create as much ATP or energy. You will cause you to feel out of breath much quicker than normal.

Alveoli look like a bundle of grapes.

Another consequence of smoking is the damage it causes to the normal cleaning and repair system of your lungs. Your lungs and trachea are covered in tiny little hairs called cilia and also are covered in a thin layer of mucus. This mucus helps trap the dirt and particles that you inhale and the cilia will move that dirt back up and out of the lungs. These two little mechanisms help keep your lungs clean and healthy. When you smoke you destroy the cilia that line your trachea and lungs. This means that the dirt and pollution will get trapped in the mucus but will not be able to move back out of your lungs. Your lungs will try to move it out but the only way you can usually get it out will be by a forceful cough (aka. smoker's cough). Since you can't move it out easily you will have more dust, pollution, and chemicals from the cigarette in your lungs. These particles can put you at a higher risk for COPD, bronchitis, chest infections, and chronic cough.

Atherosclerosis- The whole red ring was the functional blood
vessel but now it is only the white area at the top.

These are two main consequences from smoking cigarettes but the cigarettes damage is far more than just in the lungs. One other main issue of cigarettes is the effects on the heart and blood vessels. The chemicals in cigarettes (which there are around 4,800 different chemicals, 70 of which are known to cause cancers) harm the blood cells. With this damage to the blood vessels in the body, a buildup of plaque can occur and this is called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a buildup of plaque in the tiny blood vessels can cause blockages of blood flow and major problems such as Coronary Heart Disease and Peripheral Arterial Disease. This disease can be a big factor in heart attacks, stroke, chest pain, numbness, and more.
(http://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/health-effects/smoking-health/index.html)

Smoking can cause major damage to your heart and lungs but some people will say that "I only smoke every once in a while" or "I don't smoke but my boyfriend does" I have some news for you. According to the National Institute of Heart, Lungs, and Blood, "Any amount of smoking, even light smoking or occasional smoking, damages the heart and blood vessels. For some people, such as women who use birth control pills and people who have diabetes, smoking poses an even greater risk to the heart and blood vessels." NIH Smoking Once again smoking does not only damage the heart and lungs but effects every single cell in the body including and can cause a large variety of issues in the body including:

• Osteoporosis and bone damage
• Heart Diseases
• Lung Diseases
• Vision Damage
• And has been found to cause these types of cancers:
• Lung
• Trachea
• Bronchus
• Esophagus
• Oral
• Lip
• Nasopharynx
• Nasal Cavity
• Larynx
• Stomach
• Bladder
• Pancreas
• Kidney
• Liver
• Uterine Cervix
• Colon 
• Rectum
• http://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/health-effects/smoking-health/

So obviously smoking can damage a very large part of your body and is not just limited to your lungs. These problems have also been found to occur in people that ingest secondhand smoke. So even if you don't smoke but are inhaling smoke from others you are very likely to see some of these problems as well as the smoker next to you. Secondhand smoke causes over 3,400 lung cancer cases and 46,000 heart disease deaths PER YEAR!! California Environmental Protection Agency. Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant: Executive Summary. June 24, 2005.

The last thing I will share about smoking is that smoking-related diseases are the number 1 preventable cause of death. So, smoking causes more deaths than any other preventable source. Around 446,000 people die each year from smoking related, preventable diseases EACH YEAR!! Around 8.6 million people have at least one serious illness at any time. Lastly, smokers die significantly earlier than nonsmokers: around 13.2 years for men and 14.5 years for women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic Costs — United States, 1995–1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. April 12, 2002; 51(14):300-3.)

Twin A is a non-smoker and Twin B smokes. Look at the difference!

Lastly, smoking has ZERO nutritional or positive benefits for your body and gives nothing that the body needs. There is NO reason why anyone of any age should be smoking, and quitting today would be the best decision for your life.


ALCOHOL

Now alcohol is a much more controversial topic. The first thing I will say about alcohol is that it should not be your primary beverage choice due to the high amount of calories in most alcoholic beverages. Once again you should not be drinking your calories and so sticking with water is your best way to keep off those extra pounds.

• Dry White Wine- 70 calories per glass
• Vodka- 70 calories per shot
• Guinness- 210 calories per drink
• Strongbow Hard Cider- 110 calories per drink
• Red Wine- 85 calories per glass

The next issue that comes with alcohol is the damage that it can do to your body. Now this is where some controversy comes in. Some research will say that alcohol only damages the body after repeated years of drinking or after a severe binge while others say that one drink can cause harm to the body. I would lean towards the repeated or excessive side of this but just know that alcohol is a toxin that you are putting into your body.

The main organ that alcohol damages when you drink to excess or for long periods of time is your liver. Your liver's main job is to filter the blood that is coming from the digestive tract. It also detoxifies chemicals and metabolizes drugs in your system. The liver is a VERY important organ of your body and will clean out your blood and keep you safe and healthy. By drinking to excess your liver will not be able to handle the amount of chemicals in your blood. The liver cells will then directly absorb the toxins in your blood and become damage and die. If this problem goes on too long (alcoholics) the damage can become permanent and your liver is now functioning at a lower level. 

When your liver is functioning at a lower level it becomes susceptible to diseases and other major issues due to alcohol. A few main problems are fatty liver disease- buildup of fat in the liver and can cause fatigue or weakness, alcohol hepatitis- liver swelling and damage and can cause nausea, vomiting, fever, jaundice, and alcoholic cirrhosis- scarring of liver which is permanent damage which can cause liver failure. All of these are very serious and the first can be reversed by a stopping of drinking alcohol. If you develop these and continue to drink, alcohol-related liver disease complications can arise such as: 

• Buildup of fluid in abdomen
• Bleeding from veins in the esophogus or stomach
• Enlarged spleen
• High blood pressure in liver
• Brain disorders and coma
• Kidney failure
• Liver cancer
• http://www.liverfoundation.org/abouttheliver/info/alcohol/

Alcohol can affect the brain by disrupting and damaging neural pathways and connections which can change your ability to think, feel emotion, process tasks, and it can damage coordination. The heart can also be affected and cause cardiomyopathy, high blood pressure, arythmias, and strokes. Another area that alcohol can damage is the pancreas. Alcohol will cause the pancreas to produce a toxic substance that can cause pancreatitis, which is a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels that can restrict proper digestion. Alcohol, since it is a toxin, has also been found to be linked to a variety of cancers including mouth, liver, esophogeal, breast, and throat. 

Remembering to drink in moderate amounts is very important! Remember that most of these issues can be caused by one night out drinking to excess! Here are some blood alcohol content levels and the various effects that each one can have:

• .04-.06: Feeling of well being, euphoria, relaxed state, behavior can become exaggerated
• .1-.125: Significant impairment in motor control and judgment. Speech, vision, hearing is impaired
• .16-.19: Nausea and dysphoria (feeling unhappy or unwell), "Sloppy drunk"
• .25- All mental, physical, and sensory functions are damaged. Serious risk of choking on vomit or injuring yourself from a fall.
• .35: Coma is possible and this is the level of surgical anethesia!
• .35+: Coma and possible death due to shutdown of organs including respiratory arrest
• http://www.brad21.org/effects_at_specific_bac.html

Now all of this might sound scary to you but just remember. MODERATION. If you drink every once in a while or on the weekends you have a couple drinks most research shows that you will be totally fine. But if you go out and party really hard and drink to excess there are possible lasting damages that can occur. Or if you are a one or drink a night type of person there is a much higher risk for developing a dependence on alcohol and future damage due to excessive use. So be smart and drink in moderation. 

Also, this might be my favorite meme ever...

But underage drinking is no laughing matter...

But he is just so cute looking...

WORKOUT OF THE WEEK:

This workout has three steps. A cardio portion, a pyramid, and another cardio portion.

1. Run one mile (or 3 miles biking)
2. Pyramid counting down from 10 to 1 of:                                                                                             (So do 10 reps of each, then 9 reps of each, then 8 of each, etc..)
1. Pushups
2. Jump Squats (Example)
3. Sumo Squats
4. Jacknife Crunches(Example)
5. Dips (on edge of couch or bench)
3. Run one mile (or 3 miles biking)

NEXT WEEK: HOW TO TRAIN FOR A HALF MARATHON

THE SMOKING FRY

In the past four years I have driven more miles than probably anyone else I know. I went to a college that was over 400 miles away from my house and traveled to and from quite often. I also am dating a girl that lives over 500 miles from my house. So needless to say, in the past few years I have put on close to 40,000 miles on my car. Also, this driven miles don't account for the time I have spent in airports traveling to and from Raleigh and Greenville. I am actually flying to Raleigh tomorrow as well! So, I know I am not a traveling businessman but I think I have a pretty decent experience of eating while traveling and on the go.

There are a few very important things to remember about nutrition that you need to focus on whether you are away from home or cooking in your own kitchen. Choosemyplate.gov is actually a pretty good government run website that helps show what to eat and how to track and maintain your diet. The most important thing about the choose-your-plate website is the simple graph of what your plate should look like each meal. It shows that our plate should have 1/2 fruits and veggies, 1/4 whole grains, and 1/4 lean protein. This simple graph is what you should shoot for with each meal. Whether you are at home or on the go, the important things to focus on are fruits and veggies, whole wheat, lean meats, and drinking water.

So now that we know roughly the types of things we should be focusing on, how can we get these things while on the go? The first thing to realize is that you are not going to be able to get these perfect meals each time. Unless you have unlimited time or money this perfect plate will not be easy to get. There are however some great options for getting the majority of the plate.

BEVERAGES

The first very important thing to remember when traveling, or in daily life, is to not drink your calories. Drinking a can of Coke (12oz) will give you around 140 calories. Now, if you go to a restaurant or  fast food place, how often do you only drink 12oz of Coke? Most fast-food restaurants now have a "small" size that comes in at around 16-20oz depending on the fast-food joint. So needless to say, you will be getting closer to 200 calories just from your beverage. So focus on drinking water. I know this isn't always the most delicious option but by cutting out getting a Coke you will cut back on completely pointless calories that give you no nutritional value.

Now some people say that they need the caffeine while driving. I understand that and have been there. There are some better options than getting a 20oz Coke. Once again, I recommend never drinking pop but if you must than shoot for diet beverages instead. They have no calories and still provide you the caffeine. Once again, I recommend never drinking soft drinks. My choice instead would be for coffee or tea. These provide the necessary caffeine while only adding 2-3 calories per 12 ounces. If you add cream and sugar you can make it closer to 20 calories but coffee and tea are MUCH better options than drinking coke.

8 ounces (1 cup) of various beverages

• Coffee, black- 2 calories
• Tea, green- 1 calorie
• Coca-Cola, diet- 3 calories/ 0g of sugar
• Coca-Cola, regular- 95 calories/ 27g of sugar
• Mountain Dew, regular- 110 calories/ 31g of sugar
• Sunkist Original, regular- 127 calories/ 35g of sugar
• Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino Bottle- 290 calories/ 45g of sugar/ 4.5g of fat
• Water- 0 calories

FOOD

So now that we are going to drinking water or coffee to keep us hydrated and awake let's look at different food choices that we can make. So once again by looking at the Myplate image above, we should be focusing on lean meats, whole grains, fruits, and veggies. When eating out during vacation or traveling you can always eat healthy. It might not be as easy to eat healthy out than when you are home but it is still possible. The first step is to dine at healthier restaurants. If you are out and choose to go to CookOut, Five Guys, Taco Bell, or KFC, you are already behind the eight ball when it comes to making good choices. Choosing better, healthier restaurants is the key to eating better.

If you go out to Subway, Panera, Jason's Deli, even Chipotle or any other place like that you have a much better chance to eat healthier. At places like this there is a much wider range of options in order for you to get your lean meats, whole grains, fruits, and veggies. Subway in my opinion might be the best fast-food option to eat healthy at. They have whole grain bread, grilled chicken or turkey, spinach, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and more. Choosing options that have these items are much better in terms of eating healthy. Panera is also a favorite of mine and they have a lot of options for you to make good choices with. Chipotle may not be the healthiest option but their desire to use hormone free meat and organic produce make it a good option as well. But with all of these options, especially going out to restaurants like Applebees, Friday's, or any chain place, you need to be careful of portion size.

You know your burger is greasy when you rub it on the wall and that happens...

I CAN eat an entire burrito and chips from Chipotle but that does not mean I should! One easy way to reduce the amount of calories that you eat while you are out or on the road is to reduce the size of meal you order. At most chain places like an Applebees, they actually are giving you two portion sizes. A serving size for grilled chicken is only about the size of a deck of cards. I can't imagine ever getting a piece of chicken that small on a normal entree. So one easy key is to take half of the food you get and put it aside. You can even ask for a box early and put it in there. If the food is out of sight you will eat slower and your body will feel more full even without stuffing down the other half of your meal. Most of the time we over-eat at places like that purely because the food is in front of us. So remember portion control and you have a great chance of eating healthier.

Lastly, and the most obvious way to reduce bad calories while traveling is to avoid fast-food joints as much as possible. Eating at McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and similar places are never a good option. They only have a few choices that will not make you feel terrible. Now, if you are forced to go to fast food places then there are ways to avoid ruining your entire diet. Choosing salads are a great option. Places like Wendy's and Chick-fil-a now have very tasty and mostly healthy salads. Also, shoot for the grilled chicken and stay away from the burgers and fried chicken. So, ending up at McDonald's is not the end of the world when trying to eat healthy BUT if possible, choose places with more healthy options such as Subway or Panera.

• Big Mac, McDonald's- 550 calories, 29g of fat (45% of daily)
• Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Wendy's- 510 calories, 20g of fat
• Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-a- 440 calories, 18g of fat
• Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, Subway- 360 calories, 4.5g of fat (these numbers include lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, green peppers, and wheat bread)
• Smokehouse Turkey, Panera- 360 calories, 13g of fat
• Burrito, Chipotle (Tortilla, chicken, fajitas, brown rice, cheese, green chili salsa, corn salsa, lettuce)- 800 calories, 26.5g of fat
• Asian Salad, Chick-fil-a- 330 calories, 13g of fat

SIDES/SNACKS

So we have seen what our beverage and entree choices are and what are better options. It is important to once again remember that portion control is huge. Looking above, you see that a Chipotle burrito can have around 800 calories and even more depending on your choices, but if you cut that meal in half and eat it for a later meal you are only getting closer to 400 calories. Choosing to eat slightly smaller meals interspersed with snacks throughout the day is a great way to limit the massive amounts of calories eaten in one sitting. So when choosing snacks once again look back at the Myplate ideal. If we are getting our lean meats, veggies, and whole grains in our meal what does that leave us with? Fruits. 

Fruit is always a fantastic snack. An apple has tons of healthy sugars (aka carbohydrates) that give us the energy we need to keep going throughout the day. Really, any type of fruit or vegetable is a great choice. Carrots with hummus is one of my go-to snack choices. Another great option for a snack are nuts. Almonds, brazilian, cashews, walnuts, etc are all chock full of protein and calories to keep us feeling full longer. Nuts also give us healthy fats that our body needs. These options all contain vital vitamins and minerals that our body needs.

Clip from Supersize Me about McDonald's French Fries

On the flip side of those options we have snacks like Doritos, french fries, or cookies. These choices are full of empty carbs that provide no nutritional value to our meals. They usually just add unhealthy oils, fats, and useless carbohydrates to our body. Once again, if you end up at McDonald's you can choose to get a salad or grilled chicken sandwich and you can also choose to get the apple slices or the fruit parfait. These simple easy choices can really negate large calorie and fat gains.

• Medium Fry, Wendy's- 410 calories, 20g of fat
• Nacho Cheese Doritos (1 bag)- 144 calories, 9g of fat
• 1 Chocolate Chip Cookie, Pillsbury- 150 calories, 8g of fat
• Golden Delicious Apple- 82 calories, 0g of fat
• 24 almonds- 164 calories, 14g of fat (remember healthy fats)
• 1 Mini box of Raisins, Sun-Maid- 45 calories, 0g of fat

SUMMARY

So I have put together a very short list of options that you can choose while on the go. My tip for eating while out is to think simple by choosing unprocessed foods such as fruits and veggies. Stay away from fried and greasy and choose grilled. Choose simple options that fall into the Myplate diagram and focus on getting your fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains. Also, remember to limit the portion size by cutting meals in half or choosing the smaller size of items. Eating while on-the-go is not easy but by making a few simple changes you can cut out a LOT of unnecessary calories. 

The last thing I want to say is that if you splurge and go to Taco Bell every once in a while, you are okay! You don't need to constantly deprive yourself from foods that you enjoy but you just need to remember moderation. You shouldn't be at McDonald's every day but if you are out on vacation and have eaten well then it is okay to get the barbecue burger with fries. Choosing simple and natural foods will provide you with more energy, more vitamins and minerals, and will make you feel better. So to sum up my tips for eating healthier on the go is to not drink your calories (i.e. pop/soda), choose healthier restaurants, moderation is key, and focus on the Myplate guidelines. These little tips will help you change your bad habits pretty quick!

WORKOUT OF THE WEEK:

5 Minute Warmup

HIIT Cycle (30s each with 15s of jogging in place between each one. NO REST)

Jog in Place
High Kness
Mountain Climbers (Example)
Pushups
Star Jumps (Example)
Squat Jacks (Example)
Side Hip Raises Left (Example)
Side Hip Raises Right
Burpees (Example)

Strength Training: (Do while holding dumbbells or any other weight. Same time as HIIT above)

Squats
Deadlift with legs locked (Example)
Lunge in place Forward
Lunge in place Backwards
Curtsy Lunge (Example)
Sumo Squat (Example)
Burpees

(AFTER THE STRENGTH PORTION, REPEAT BOTH THE HIIT CYCLE AND THE STRENGTH THEN MOVE ONTO ABS.)

Abs: (30s each)

Crunches
Bicycles Forward
Bicycle Backward
Jacknife Crunches (Example)
Donkey Kicks (Example)
Firehydrants (Example)
6 Inches and Hold
Back Bows (Example)
Jumping Jacks

Cooldown

How I feel after every workout!

NEXT WEEK: THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING AND ALCOHOL ON THE BODY