Thursday, July 5, 2007

Balancing Your Energy

Think of your body as a car that operates 24 hours a day. You would never expect your car to get you from one place to the next without refueling.

You also know there's no point in putting more gas in the tank than it's designed to hold. Yet that's how many of us operate our bodies! We try to run on empty for hours, then dump in more "fuel" than we can handle.

Running on Empty: (muscle loss)

Working out on an empty stomach actually breaks down your muscles.

When starved for blood sugar, your body breaks down your muscles for fuel. It is stupid and starts cannibalizing the good stuff instead of burning off the fat you want it too!! This is very counterproductive! :(

Over-fueling: (fat gain)

Going without food for long period times then, when you're ravenously hungry, you eat everything in sight. This causes a large surge of insulin, which means you will easily store the extra calories as fat.



So here is how to balance things out:

  1. Eat as soon as you wake up in the morning.

  2. Make sure you eat something before you exercise, no matter what time of day it is. Food prevents your muscle tissue from becoming cardio chow.

  3. Eat soon after exercising, when your body has depleted its energy stores. Act fast, or you'll start burning muscle for energy.

  4. Eat 5 - 6 mini meals/snacks. Have some protein at every time you eat and some calcium-rich dairy at least twice a day.


My Typical Daily Menu
========================
130..........Milk
130..........Carnation Instant Breakfast
100..........Oatmeal
150..........Extra Large Banana
300..........Frozen Meal (Lunch)
110..........Yogurt
80..........1/2 cup All-Bran
140..........Snack Bar
500..........Dinner
200..........Dessert
=============================
1840 Total Calories

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok so I have just been catching up on your blog. For a while things have been crazy and I haven't been keeping up. I've said it before but it really has helped motivate me to get to where I am at now. There are so many things that I can completely relate to. I am jealous of your precor too! I can't tell you how much I love the ellipticals. I thought I would share my before and after pics up to this point as well.. I've posted them on a weight loss support forum so here is the link if you want to check them out: http://weight-loss.fitness.com/before-after-between/13665-july-update-down-156-280-omg-bathing-suit.html

kathyj333 said...

I just ran across your blog, and I'm really excited. I have at least 92 pounds left to lose on weight loss journey. I started at 106 pounds and have lost 14. You are a person who has the power to go the long haul. I am linking to your site so I can pull it up when I need some reinforcement.

AGirlWorthLosing said...

Good Post. I forget this sometimes and let myself get too hungry.I need to get back into the mode of healthy little fill ups all day long.

Unknown said...

Sweet! Thank you all for reading! :) Take care!

Jess

Iva said...

*Ack*! Jess! Help a girl out. I recently started working out in the morning, but I do it as soon as I wake up -- as in, on an empty stomach! I eat immediately afterward...but accd'ing to your entry, this bad news. Suggestions for what to eat right after I work out (which really is RIGHT when I wake up?)

BTW, I have lost 30 lbs so far...I have 30 more to go. I found your blog through a friend. She said you were such an inspiration to her -- you're becoming one to me, too.

Hugs

Unknown said...

There are lots of good morning fuel choices out there.
Instant oatmeal, a Banana, Eggo Mutli-grain waffle, Carnation Instant Breakfast, Yogurt with some All bran sprinked on it are all good breakfast choices.
Cereal and Milk. Even spooning a tablespoon of Peanut butter in your mouth before your workout does the trick.