FUEL THE MACHINE

Lets face it, with two kids under 3 and a husband with crazy work hours, who has time to eat a balanced breakfast? Not I! My breakfast used to consist of whatever was left on the high chair or whatever cereal Joey wouldn't finish. It wasn't the best start of the day. By the time lunch rolled around, I was starving and McDonald's it was because it was quick, cheap, easy, and filling. That is 1300 calories in one meal. No wonder it takes so long to loose baby weight, freshman 15, or mid-life metabolic slow down weight.

Once I started working out, I still did the same thing and I quickly found myself not only being super hungry, but also really sore, and actually gaining weight. "Oh ooh" as Emma would say. Something had to change and the only culprit was my morning ritual.

Now before I run or work out, I have at least a banana and a glass of water for hydration. The banana has sugar and carbs to give me energy through out my work out.

After my workout I usually will prepare an Egg White Spinach Scramble with a slice of toast and a glass of grapefruit (450 calories)

Eating a healthy and balanced breakfast will not only help you recover from your workout but it will also help you lose weight and keep it off. You want to eat between 300-500 calories depending on how long you workout and your weight. Remember that as you work out, you burn calories so don't be afraid to eat calories. If you don't fuel the machine that your body is, instead of burning fat, it will burn muscle. Your body will hold on to the fat because it is thinking that you are not going to supply it with any food so its gonna try to hold on to what its got. If you eat properly, it will burn properly because it will think, "OK, Doorly just kicked my butt running up this hill, so let me use this excess fat because I know that when she is done, she is gonna give me some good protein and carbs as a reward for my hard work."

Speaking of which, you always want to make sure you have proper portions of carbs and proteins. Carbs will give you energy (replenish glycogen) and protein will rebuild muscle after a work out. Fuel your body maximum 30 minutes after a workout so that it can recover properly and not start using muscle for energy.

So there are your nutrition tips of the day:

1- Eat a mix of carbohydrates (whole wheat, grains, good kind) and protein (eggs, lean meat)

2-Eat more than 300 calories depending on your weight and workout time. (I work out at least for 30 minutes and burn about 100 calories per 10 minutes).

3-Fuel the machine within 30 minutes of completion time

Spinach Scramble

1/2 c Roma tomato diced
1 cup spinach leaves, cleaned and dried (YUMMY)
8 egg whites (save the yolks for a good key lime pie on a day you do a long run :) )
3 ounces of mix cheese
1 Tbls fresh basil chopped

In a small nonstick pan, coated with vegetable spray, saute tomatoes and spinach until slightly tender. Whisk the egg whites together in a bowl and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, over low heat until almost set. Add the vegetable mixture, and cheese, and basil. Cook to desired firmness.

MANCHA!

P.S- Muscle weighs more than fat. Don't let the scale determine your self-esteem or goals. Ask yourself: How do I feel? How do my clothes fit? Those answers will determine your goals.