Nutrition and Examples

What you eat makes a huge difference. Exercise is important for your level of health and fitness, but what you put in your mouth has a huge impact on your weight management. Here's a quick example. A glazed donut is around 255 calories. If you burn 400 calories in your morning work out, you can blow your all your hard work by eating just 2 donuts. Your work out may have helped you to improve your level of fitness, but eating those donuts has done nothing to help you lose the weight that you're trying to lose. So food choice is key to reaching your goals.

Make sure your metabolism working for you all day long. You should be eating 5-6 small meals each day. How many calories you eat varies widely person to person so if you need help knowing how much you should be eating let me know!

You want an approximate balance of carbs(40%), protein (40%) and fat (20%).

Carbs should be complex carbs, not sugars.

Proteins should be lean.

Fats should be from raw sources (ie: avocados, nuts, dairy), not saturated.

Tip: Avoid combining refined sugars and fats (i.e., doughnuts, ice cream, cookies etc).

Here are some ideas for meals/midmeals.

Cottage Cheese and an Apple

Eggs (1 egg, 1 egg white) and 1/2 cup of oatmeal

Light string cheese and Banana

Handful of almonds (20) and Reduced Fat Triscuits (make sure cracker/bread choices are made with unbleached wheat, no high fructose corn syrup and reduced fat when possible.)

Boiled egg and toast

Protein bar (check to make sure sugars and fat are low) We like the brand Pure Protein.

Tuna fish (I flavor with lemon juice, avocados and green onions) and toast

Turkey sandwich with mustard, lettuce, avocados, and tomatoes, or instead of avocados put slice of 2% cheese.

Fruit smoothy with a small amount of milk, ice, and desired fruit. I put cottage cheese in my smoothies, which adds a TON of protein and you can't tell it's in there. And believe me, I am picky.

1 cup of berries.

1/2 of individual packet of crystal light

1 cup of ice

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup cottage cheese

Mom's Chicken Enchiladas (recipe to follow next week)

Baked Chicken Parmesan (recipe to follow next week)

Grilled Chicken with lemon pepper and veggie

Laughing Cow cheese wedge with Grapes

Don't forget to drink lots of water and do cardio on the days we don't meet. Remember to give yourself one day to rest!

A friend of mine, Susan Chapman, has a blog full of great nutrition and meal ideas. Click here to see her blog.

I hope these examples will give you some new ideas! Feel free to leave a comment with a meal or midmeal that you've found that has a great balance and works for you, or a recipe that you like that is healthy!

You all did a GREAT job today. This is an awesome group!

See you Tuesday!

Leah

Yummy Recipes

Mom's Chicken Enchiladas

(Out of Eating for Life by Bill Phillips)

1 lb chicken

4 green onions, sliced

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

3 cans (10 oz each) green enchilada sauce

8 corn tortillas

1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese (shredded)

2 cups lettuce, shredded

1/2 c salsa

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 tomato, diced

1 can (2oz) ripe olives, sliced

Preheat to 350. Lightly coat 9 x 13 dish with cooking spray.

Place chicken breasts in a large pot and cover with water. Boil over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and simmer until no longer pink in cn=enter (about 15 min). Drain and let cool slightly. Shred by pulling apart with 2 forks and set aside.

Lightly coat large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Add green onion, cilantro and jalapeno; saute for 2 minutes. Add shredded chicken and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook, stirrig ocassionally, until heated through, about 5 min.

Pour remaning 2 cans of enchilada sauce in med bowl and microwave until warm (about 2 min). Dip each tortilla in heated sauce and fill with about 1/8 of chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seamside down, in the prepared baking dish.

Pour remaining heated sauce over chicken enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until enchiladas re heated through and cheese is melted (about 15 min).

Divide lettuce onto plates and place portion of enchiladas on top. Top with spoonful of salsa, a dallop of sour cream, tomatoes, and olives. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Parmesan

(Also by Bill Phillips)

2 Egg Whites

1/3 c Progresso Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

4 T reduced fat parmesan cheese, grated, divided

1/2 1b chicken breast

2 portions spinach pasta (4 oz uncooked)

1 cup low fat pasta sauce

2 cups baby spinach leaves

Heat oven to 400.

In medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites with fork until slightly frothy. Then, mix breadcrumbs and 2 T of reduced fat parmesan cheese in a pie plate.

Dip chicken breasts into the breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides.

Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts on baking sheet; bake for about 12 minutes, turn over and bake about 12 more (make sure chicken is no longer pink in center) breadcrumbs should be golden brown.

While chicken is cooking, prepare spinach pasta according to package directions. In small saucepan, warm pasta sauce over medium heat.

Divide spinach leaves between 2 plates. Layer pasta and chicken over leaves. Top with pasta sauce and remaining parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Keeping Focus

Lets pause to think about where we were, where we are, and where we are going.

Where We Were

Approximately four weeks ago, we each took some body measurements to determine our individual starting point for this boot camp. We didn't just step on a scale and let our weight be our only tool of measurement. We are smarter than that. Instead, we took a measurement of the composition of our body - our lean body mass and our fat mass. The reason we took a measurement of composition is because our goal is to change the composition of our bodies, not to merely change the weight of our bodies.

Where We Are

The idea of not using the scale as our only tool of measure was somewhat difficult to grasp at first, but it seems that everyone is starting to catch on to the realization that the scale is only part of the equation. We have now worked out for four weeks, and we recently took another measurement of body composition. We have great news... EVERYONE experienced a positive change in body composition!! Some gained more lean body mass than others, and some lost more fat mass than others, but everyone lost fat mass and gained lean body mass!!! That is the type of change in body composition that we were working for, which means our efforts to date have been very successful. Congratulations on your progress!!

Where We Are Going

Looking forward, our goal is to continue to change our body composition, not just our weight. There is something very positive about the progress we have already made. A gain in lean body mass increases metabolism. That means your body is capable of burning more calories now than it was when we started the program. That means you have the ability to burn more fat mass now than you did when we started. That is very positive!! Let's keep up the good work and keep a focus on our goal of changing our body composition! Remember that during these last few weeks we cannot lose focus. Let's keep eating healthy and pushing ourselves during each workout. Everyone keep up the great work!!