Losing By Addition

This may sound contradictory, or maybe it sounds like everything you hope to hear when you embark on any type of weight loss or maintenance.  However many times, when you are trying to manage your weight, part of the problem is you are not eating enough.

It may seem like it makes sense; not eating a lot or sometimes going to the extreme of not eating at all and for sure you will lose weight.  The problem is part of losing weight is burning calories and if your body does not have any calories to burn, it is going to hold on the weight that it has out of survival, and not be in a “weight-loss” mode.  Even more frustrating, if you are going through a period where you are not eating sufficient calories and then you have that one weekend, day, or night where you eat everything in sight, you will see the repercussions very quickly on your body.

The body is very smart and it is made to adapt.  So if you have put it into a low calorie “survival” mode and then you feed it a ton of food, it is excited.  It also does not know if you will be “starving” again soon so it in an effort to survive and sustain, it holds onto these calories instead of using them for fuel.  It is also when you see pounds put on that you have no idea where they came from because you spent the majority of the past week or however long not feeding yourself enough.

Now I know that does not sound like a cycle you want to be caught in and as athletes it is that much more important to be feeding yourself properly so you have the energy to perform your best.  That is where “losing by addition” comes in.  By adding in small snacks between bigger meals and adding in more fruits and vegetables to your meals, you will see yourself getting more fit, even though you are actually eating more!  The other trick is not eating too much at once so while you are adding in small snacks, you want to make sure your portions are control at your meals so the body doesn’t hold on to calories it doesn’t need.  You’ll be losing by adding in no time!

For ideas on healthy snacks check out my blog Snack Attack!  

Be Your Best with Breakfast

The verdict is in and without a doubt breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  One of the main reasons for its importance can be found by picking apart its name: “Breakfast.”  You are essentially “breaking the fast” when you have your first meal of the day.  Think about it.  Sometimes you have dinner at 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening, and if you don’t have an after dinner snack, it could be almost 15 hours until you eat again.

Many people think that by skipping breakfast they are eating less food and therefore giving themselves a better chance at weight loss.  However by skipping breakfast, you are actually hurting your chances at weight loss because you are stunting your metabolism.

Metabolism is like a fire; if you don’t keep adding to the flames, the fire and its ability to burn will weaken.  The longer you wait before breakfast, the harder your metabolism has to work to burn calories once you eat again.  If you start your day with breakfast when you wake up, you are starting that fire and giving your metabolism the best start to efficient calorie burning all day.  The same principle goes for why you shouldn’t wait too long between meals, because you don’t want that “fire” to go out again.

Many people feel the challenge of eating breakfast is too little time in the morning.  When people are given the choice to sleep an extra 15 minutes, or use that time to get up and make a quick breakfast, they will usually choose the sleep.  However that ends up hurting you double because not only will you have skipped breakfast and weakened your metabolism, that extra sleep won’t mean anything because you will be more tired from growing hunger.

There are many quick and healthy breakfast options out there like whole grain cereals with low fat or soy milk, instant plain oatmeal, Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts, and if you have a little extra time, cook up an omelet full of veggies!  Breakfast doesn’t have to be difficult and it offers you such a healthy start to the day!

What is your favorite breakfast to eat?