Track Your Progress
It’s important to track your progress whether you’re working on a program of healthy eating for weight loss or just improved health. Not only does tracking what you eat help you understand where you could make some changes, it’s super motivation, too. It can be a guide to any changes you may need to make and give you an opportunity to identify whether your caloric intake is too high or too low.
It isn’t all about how much you weight, sometimes it’s about inches or how you feel.
Tracking it can include weighing yourself on a specific schedule, but that’s not the only way to track your progress. If you’re exercising along with your healthy eating program, you might want to turn to your clothing size or inches. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, so one pound of muscle tissue will require a smaller container than a pound of fat tissue. It’s like comparing the container size for a pound of feathers to that of one for a pound of steel. The feathers will have a much larger container. Sometimes, you may not see a satisfactory weight loss if you’re working out, but your clothing size will change dramatically as inches drop from your body. How you feel is an important barometer, too.
You don’t have to track all the food you consume by carrying a notebook.
Even though the modern way of life has added to the problem of weight gain, it’s done something else, too. It’s given us ways to easily track the food we eat on a daily basis. There are apps for your smartphone, so you can have your tracker at your finger tips. You’ll be surprised the first time you use one, how easy it is compared to that little notebook people used to use for tracking.
Tracking your food intake can also give you more insight.
You’ll start to notice patterns, like very few vegetables and too much dairy that can help you correct old eating habits that either affected your well being or played a role in your weight control. Too often people eat without thinking. They walk past the candy bowl at the office and grab a few bites. You’ll be more aware of doing that when you track.
There’s an old saying that winners keep score, so whether you’re tracking your weight or the food you eat, every little bit of information can help you be more successful.
For those that simply want to turn around their diet and make it healthier, consider tracking your energy level. It’s not hard to do and can take a few minutes at the end of the day to write your thoughts whether you came home from work energized or not. If you’ve had the day from Hades, not that too.
It’s fun to watch your numbers go down, whether it’s blood pressure or weight. It’s the reward you get for sticking to a program and can provide motivation.
We provide a state of the art app at I Am Breakthrough Wellness. You’ll enjoy using it and find it helps you stick with your goals even better.
The Importance Of Protein
A lot of questions are sent to my office in Riviera Beach, Florida, asking for that magic food that will take years off and boost good health. There’s no magic food, but a magic combination of macronutrients. Protein is one of three macronutrients, with fat and carbohydrates being the other two. Just having those three doesn’t ensure you have a healthy diet, but it’s a start. Knowing why protein is important to help you understand the basic fundamentals.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
Not only are amino acids the building blocks of protein, protein breaks down in your stomach to amino acids, which then move through your body to repair or build new cells and for growth, trigger certain biological reactions as enzymes, are part of the hormonal system, build connective tissue, provide energy, maintain the body pH, become part of the immune system, balance fluids and transporting and storing nutrients throughout the body. You can see that protein is necessary for almost all bodily functions and without it, you’d die. The body can manufacture some of its own amino acids, but there are nine essential amino acids, which they can’t. These come from the food you eat.
Lack of each of the nine types of essential amino acid has different effects on the body.
Too little histidine can cause anemia or low blood levels are more prevalent with kidney disease and arthritis. Lysine helps build muscle and maintains bone strength, also regulating hormones, enzymes and anti bodies. Methionine keep your hair and nails strong. Lack of isoleucine can cause shaking muscle wasting. Lack of leucine can cause hair loss, fatigue and skin rashes. Phenylalanine converts to a hormone required for certain brain functions. Lack of tryptophan can cause pellagra. Valine plays many roles and deficiency can even lower your mental functioning. Threonine is necessary for healthy teeth and skin.
Foods you should eat to get all nine essential amino acids. Phenylalanine and
If you eat meat, poultry and fish you’ll serve your body some histidine, isoleucine, lysine and tryptophan. Nuts and seeds will provide histidine, lysine, methionine, isoleucine, phenylalanine and tryptophan. Dairy offers threonine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine and tryptophan. Other sources of essential amino acids are eggs, legumes, soy, mushrooms, wheat germ, whole grains and beans. As you can see the choices are varied and can easily be part of everyone’s diet.
You’ll feel fuller for longer when you eat protein. Not only does it reduce your hunger, it can also increase your metabolism.
When you eat food that’s a protein with a sugary treat, it can help regulate your blood sugar. It slows the body’s absorption of sugar and keeps you from cravings that occur when it drops low that you might have otherwise.
One way to get more variety of protein and help keep your calories in check is to carry snacks of nuts and seeds available. Put a serving size in baggies and keep them at your desk to avoid looking for a sweet treat and bump your protein intake.
Don’t worry if it all looked too complicated. We make getting all the essential types of protein you need easy with our customized meal plan and specialized diets at I Am Breakthrough Wellness. Try our free demo.
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Real Food – Real Results
There’s no doubt about it, America has become the fast food haven of the world and even worse, it’s not just America’s problem. Obesity has become a global pandemic. Obesity is the leading cause of preventable disease, surpassing even smoking. What’s even worse, many people that are overweight or obese are actually malnourished, too. The answer is to switch to real food and you’ll see real results.
It’s food like fresh fruit and vegetables that you can eat raw or cooked. Whole food doesn’t have a lot of artificial substances or additives that read like they came from a chemistry lab. You can easily read the labels of whole foods, because there aren’t very many ingredients and they’re all things you can identify. What is real food?
Real food, often referred to as whole food, is food that’s closest to its natural state. It’s food like fresh fruit and vegetables that you can eat raw or cooked. Whole food doesn’t have a lot of artificial substances or additives that read like they came from a chemistry lab. You can easily read the labels of whole foods, because there aren’t very many ingredients and they’re all things you can identify. What is real food?
Added sugar shouldn’t be part of real food.
When you add sugar, you’re not only boosting the calorie count, you’re also harming your body. Sugar has so many negative effects on your body and is extremely addictive. There are a lot of different names for sugar, so don’t be fooled by dextrose, fructose, beet sugar, lactose or sucrose. What’s even worse for the body than sugar is high fructose corn syrup and it’s in products that normally wouldn’t have added sugar. If you can’t find fresh peaches that are affordable, don’t buy a can with added sugar. You’ll be doing your body a favor and keeping off those extra calories, too.
You’ll be amazed at how enjoyable a meal of whole foods is.
A diet composed of real food is far more delicious than food you’d get at a fast food place or frozen dinner. It offers a protein source, such as salmon, two or three types of vegetables and a starchy food like a baked potato or brown rice. A pot of stew made from fresh vegetables and beef could contain all the nutrients you need for a meal. Pair it with a salad and whole wheat bread and you’ll have a meal fit for a king.
You’ll actually be able to eat more food when you eat real foods. Without all the extra additive and extra sugar, you’ll also notice that you’ll feel better, too.
You won’t feel deprived with a diet of real food, It’s all about making smarter decisions and choosing healthier food that’s lower in calories. For instance, instead of white rice, consider brown or wild rice. There’s fewer calories and more nutrients.
Don’t worry, you won’t have to spend a fortune to eat healthy either. Choosing food that’s in season and making extra meals you can freeze can make it not only less expensive but can get the food on the table quickly.
We provide complete plans that help guide you while you’re learning to make smarter decisions when it comes to food. We have a plan that was created just for you and your needs and lots of other help at I Am Breakthrough Wellness.
YES! Contact me today to schedule a FREE no obligation consultation and trial workout.