5 Breakfasts Ready in 5 Minutes or Less

When it comes to breakfast, many of my athletes would rather sleep than bother with the perceived "hastle" of making a meal. However, eating breakfast doesn't mean adding an additional 15 minutes to your morning routine. Here are 5 breakfasts ready to travel in 5 minutes or less. Ready...go!

The Classic Oatmeal
1. Add quick-cooking oats and milk in microwave-safe bowl according to container cooking time and amounts.
2. Heat (we'll guess 1:30 minutes)
3. Drizzle with honey and top with fresh blackberries and almonds.
4. Take in bowl or transfer to coffee travel mug to take with you.

What the scale is and is not telling you about your body

A scale gives you information without context. A scale only provides a number at that specific time, but doesn’t tell you the complete story. Your weight can be affected day-to-day by many things that are not taken into account on a scale.  

What the scale doesn't tell you

Total health
·         A scale only reveals your body weight at a specific time, but not overall health.
·         Your healthy weight depends on diet, lean muscle, daily activity, metabolism, age, and genetics which a scale does not report (or in the case of lean muscle - not accurately).
·         The scale could indicate weight loss or gain, but doesn’t tell you if you are underweight or overweight for your height and body composition.

If you are hydrated or dehydrated

·         The scale might mislead you to think you have gained weight if you are well hydrated or lost weight if you are dehydrated.
·         If you experience a 2% weight loss post workout, this is not good weight loss because it indicates dehydration and electrolyte loss, which affect your performance.

Make the Time, Mom!...Five ways for super busy moms (and dads) to fit in exercise

This week, enjoy a guest blog post from Nick Perri - a fantastic Naperville in-home personal trainer. Check out his website here.

Be extraordinary,

RDKate

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Recently, I was interviewed and asked three questions regarding exercise and the pursuit of a healthful lifestyle. They were all great questions but the last question was of a subject matter that can really stir up debate and emotion in trainer and client alike. Here is the question and here is my answer...

Q: Why is it important to carve out time to exercise (even if you're a super busy mom, etc.)?

How Athletes can Boost Immune Function to stay well

As athletes ramp up their training, they put their body at a higher risk of illness and infection. Research indicates that athletes are at an increased risk of illness not only in the hours after a hard workout, but in the 1-2 weeks following a competition. This is likely due to the increase in stress hormones (particularly adrenaline and cortisol) associated with training and competition. However, there are things you can do to keep your immune system running strong and minimize your risk of illness during training and competition.

1. Eat well
Despite the fact that many athletes take multivitamins, antioxidant blends and the like, there is a lack of evidence to support high dose supplementation of anti-oxidant vitamins, glutamine or echinacea to prevent exercise-associated immune system depression. In truth, there is much research about the positive synergistic effect of the vitamins and minerals consumed in food itself versus a supplement. At meals and snacks, focus on nutrient-rich foods and fluids to provide the immune system what it needs. A few examples include:
-Whole grain and fiber-rich cereals, breads and pastas - especially those that include flaxseed or chia seeds as ingredients
-Include a variety of whole fruits and vegetables throughout the day. Fruit is great as a snack on-the-go, at the office or at home. It is naturally portable and also a great source of fluid. Add veggies (frozen are great too) with every meal. The more color at meals the better.
-Don't settle for plain, boring sandwiches, soups or pastas. Fill them with color by adding fresh and dried fruit and fresh cut up vegetables.

Lose the weight without the diet

With the new year still fresh in all of our minds, many of you may be using this time to drop some unwanted weight. Instead of turning to dieting, I challenge you to something more difficult at first but more enjoyable and sustainable in the long term: intuitive eating.
 

Intuitive eaters eat when they are hungry and stop when they feel satisfied. We all had that ability as small children. However, it is not too late to relearn! Intuitive eating is not based on deprivation, calorie counting or making foods forbidden. It is based on making eating pleasurable while paying better attention to the signals your mind and body is communicating. 

How to become an intuitive eater

 

1. Eat slowly. A general guideline is to let 20 minutes lapse from the time you start eating until you want to serve yourself more food. This is because it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you have eaten enough. Twenty minutes may seem like an eternity, but give it a try!