I indicated earlier that I try to front load my calories so that I consume about 800 of my daily total of 1300 by 3:00 pm. Before I tell you what I eat as my 800 calories, let me first illustrate how tough it is to "do this right".
It is not uncommon for many people to think healthy eating is automatically low calorie eating. Understand that weight loss in general, fat loss in particular comes down to calories first, and what type of calories second.
So a healthy breakfast at home or many popular restaurants would be something like:
Stack of 3 banana crunch pancakes with granola and syrup, English muffin and a glass of orange juice. Good choices. Except that is 890 calories and only 25 grams of protein. Or:
Fresh Fruit Crepes (Two thin homemade crepes, wrapped around fresh fruit, topped with strawberry yogurt, cinnamon and sugar served with a baked muffin and granola) Another good choice. Also 640 calories and 17 grams of protein.
So again the key is knowing how many calories your taking in and in what form are the majority of calories. I know that each gram of protein is 4 calories meaning the above breakfasts have only 11% (4 x 25/890) and 10.6% (4 x 17/640) of their calories in the form I need to maintain and fuel my muscle. Healthy, yes. Good for weight loss, maybe, depends on the rest of the day. Good for getting ripped? Uh, no.
The right choices consist of high protein to carb ratio, low calorie, and controlled but adequate portion size.
So here is MY breakfast, EVERYDAY:
4 egg whites, tspn Tabasco sauce, scrambled, no calorie butter flavored Pam
4 strips turkey bacon, microwaved
4 Fresh whole strawberries
Total calories: 280 Total grams protein: 32 Or, 45.7% of the total calories are protein based.
So by 9:00 am I have consumed a total of 330 calories (50 more in the 3-4 cups coffee I drink) and have 32 grams of my protein target 140-150. And I am full and properly nourished.
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I will try your recipe. Is it that muscles need a fuel tank to draw from during a work out or is it that muscles will draw from a fuel tank that later is filled after a work out? I guess another way to put it is.....should you weight lift before breakfast or after dinner (or neither)...what say you?
ReplyDeleteGreat question Dewey. The body requires 2 types of fuel. Carbs, which provide your energy source and proteins that fuel your muscle recovery and growth. Working out on an empty stomach is tough from an energy stand point. Working out and then not fueling with protein after slows muscle recovery and restricts future growth. If I were to workout in the morning it would be after this breakfast and then follow that workout with half of my daily protein smoothie (recipe coming in future post). An evening workout would follow half of same smoothie and post workout protein centered dinner. I can not workout on a stomach full of "dinner" but can "breakfast". The smoothie/breakfast provides a perfect carb/protein blend for either pre/post workout consumption. (Hint:50-75 calories of fresh fruit mixed into protein shake does the trick for me)
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