Skipping Breakfast? Think Again!

You've heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day…why is that?

All meals are equally important and no meal should ever be skipped; especially breakfast. There are many reasons why people tend to skip the first meal of their day; they believe it will help them lose weight, they don’t have enough time, or they just don’t feel hungry. Whatever the reason, the benefits of eating breakfast far outweigh skipping it.

Eating food soon after waking up helps kick-start our metabolism for the day. It provides energy needed for all of life's tasks:  thinking, breathing, working, strength training, cardio, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, gardening, etc. After sleeping and fasting all night, we wake up in the morning, and our body requires refueling. If it is not getting energy from consuming food, our body starts to break down stored glycogen in our muscle, in order to supply us with the necessary energy needed to sustain our activity level. The end result is our metabolism slows down...which is never good.

People think skipping breakfast will help them lose weight; however, studies show this could be counterproductive. Those who skip eating breakfast, tend to graze on high calorie snacks between meals and eat more food than they normally would during meals. Eating breakfast keeps our blood sugar levels regulated which helps keep us satiated for longer periods.

There are several reasons why someone might not feel hungry in the morning. If one eats too late the night before, it could throw off his regular eating cycle so he doesn’t feel hungry until late morning.  Another reason could be that someone skipped breakfast one day, and overrode her hunger sensation.  She continued to do so everyday; which trained her body not to get hungry until later. Thus, her body went from expecting it every morning to waiting patiently for its first feeding at lunch.

Additional benefits of eating a healthy breakfast include having:
•    Increased alertness
•    Better concentration
•    Improved productivity

A healthy breakfast should include a proportionally balanced amount of good carbs, fats, and protein. Unfortunately, having only coffee in the morning doesn't fulfill this. Choosing high calorie foods without any nutritional value, like doughnuts and pastries, lead to excess calories being stored as fat.

If you are short on time, prepare ahead. If you don’t have time, make a protein shake. Eating or drinking something healthy is much more beneficial than not eating anything or eating high calorie, processed foods.

Want to know good sources of carbs, fats, and protein for breakfast that meet your nutritional needs? Contact Dan @ (978) 807-8579, or visit seachangefitness.net to learn more.

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist, with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit www.seachangefitness.net, or call (978) 807-8579, to schedule your FREE consultation!

Strength Training: It's Never Too Late to Start—You Just Need Direction

My clients quite frequently express to me that they wish they had started strength training ten, twenty, thirty... years before they did.  They all had various reasons not to;  they were busy with family, work, and life, and/or they lacked motivation.  My response to them is always, “better late than never!”  The benefits of strength training, as we age, include gaining and/or maintaining lean muscle, strength, power, balance, mobility, coordination and bone density, among other things.  Without strength training, these core elements, which are essential for living a healthy lifestyle, will significantly decrease over time. 

Strength training not only benefits the general population just looking to be healthier, but also  those who want to improve in their particular recreational activities.  Whether it be adding more power to your tennis serve, better hand/eye coordination for your golf game, and/or more strength for your bike rides, every athlete can improve. 

While strength training, the focus should go beyond gaining lean muscle and/or “toning” in order to help keep your metabolism elevated.  You also need/want to be able to do the daily activities that you like to do, whether it be playing sports, gardening, walking the dog, or chasing your kids and grandkids.  You have to train your body to move in a way that is conducive to this.  That is why choosing the correct exercises and movement patterns while strength training is important to your success as well.  You have to train your body for the outside world, beyond the gym setting.  It might be great to be able to bench a certain amount of weight or curl so many pounds, but at the end of the day, if your lower back is in pain every time you bend down to pick something up or you can't hold your own kids or grandkids then “Houston...we have a problem!” 

It is unfortunate when people:

•                     only do cardio and never strength train

•                     strength train, but have little knowledge in what they're doing

•                     don't strength train anymore because of chronic injuries from years of lifting incorrectly

The solution:

•                     If you're not strength training, start.

•                     If you're currently strength training, but have no rhyme or reason to your workout, don't waste valuable time, learn how to train effectively.

•                     If you've battled injury after injury, find out what's causing your ailment and learn from past mistakes.  Strength training done correctly shouldn't be injurious.

The importance of strength training is not just moving weights around in order to say you lift weights;but, to have a sound approach that will translate well to life's daily tasks.  Want help with your golf game?  That tennis serve?  Lifting the kids/grandkids without having chronic back pain?  Contact Sea Change Fitness & Nutrition to learn how!

 

Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist, with a degree in Sports Medicine.  He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist.  To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit www.seachangefitness.net, or call (978) 807-8579, to schedule your FREE consultation!

Foam Rolling...What's It All About?

If you have ever seen a dense foam cylinder at the gym, and wondered what the purpose or benefit of it is, you're probably not alone. The foam roller is one of the most underutilized pieces of equipment; yet, it can beneficial for everyone. From high end athletes, to the general population, and rehab patients, this device is intended to aid those who have particularly tight muscles, knots, or severe trigger points, in order to decrease density and over-activity of muscles. These muscle imbalances tend to reduce muscle strength and posture, which lead to increase risk of injury, and becomes accentuated with resistance training. By using your own body weight to apply pressure to these troubled areas, it acts as a self deep tissue massage for muscles.

The benefits include:

•       Relief from soreness & tightness

•       Better posture

•       Injury prevention

•       Quicker rehabilitation from an existing injury

Major muscle areas that can benefit from foam rolling include:

•       Quads

•       Glutes

•       Latissimus Dorsi

•       Calves

•       Hip Flexors

•       Traps

•       Piriformis

•       Inner Thigh

•       Outer Thigh

•       Hamstrings

Foam rolling can be pretty uncomfortable depending on how tight or sore a particular area is; although, it should never be painful enough to cause bruising. It can be beneficial to roll before or after your workout.  Rolling beforehand helps warm muscles up for the upcoming activity and afterwards, it assists in the recovery process.  Densities of foam vary from soft to hard and the length is typically one or three feet. Just like cardio and strength training, it is important to understand proper technique and form. Contact Dan at Sea Change Fitness & Nutrition to learn how you can maximize results, while minimizing risk of soft tissue injury, when using the foam roller.

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Dan Kinsella is an Exercise Physiologist, with a degree in Sports Medicine. He's a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), as well as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. To learn more about this article, or his personal training services, visit www.seachangefitness.net or call (978) 807-8579, to schedule your FREE consultation!