Water 101: Drink LOTS of water. The old addage is 8 glasses (one glass being commonly defined as 8 ounces). A newer article that I found interesting has a calculator for determining the right amount of water for you to aim for each day, dependent upon gender and weight. I think we'd all be doing just fine to aim for somewhere between the two. Just do the best you can :) Benefits of cold water drinking include:- Revving up your metabolism to burn more calories,
- Eleviating/preventing headaches, migraines, chronic fatigue, and depression,
- Lessening the burden on our kidneys to flush out body toxins,
- Decreasing the risk of heart attacks,
- Maintainnig good digestion for better utilization of the nutrients you consume resulting in more energy,
- Relaxing and invigorating the body,
- Easing joint pain,
- and Preventing overeating when we subconsciously are driven to eat more to gain the necessary water supply (b/c we can confuse the thirst feeling with the hunger feeling).
How do you get in your water each day?
- Making you feel fuller for longer,
- Helping to build and maintain lean muscle mass,
- and Repairing your micro-tears in your muscles following a workout.
How do you get in your protein each day?
Fiber 101: According to a different runners' diet article, fiber is important to keep in your diet. It's found mostly in veggies, beans, and whole grains. Having fiber too close to a workout, though, might cause side stitches or a bloated feeling. It's best to have it during restful periods of your day. Benefits of getting in your daily fiber include:- Making you feel fuller for longer by slowing your digestive process, which also gives your body a steadier stream of nutrient absorption,
- Filling you up with few calories,
- Taking longer to eat,
- and Keeping your colon healthy and thus preventing colon cancer and digestive disorders.
How do you get in your fiber each day?
Carbohydrates 101: Carbs are the biggest source of fuel for our bodies. But as much as I'd like to have 100% of my food be carbs, according to this runners' diet article, if you want to lose weight, about 50% of the calories you consume each day should be from carbs, and furthermore clumped to right around the time you're going to be active. Benefits of getting your carbs include:- Giving you the energy to sustain you during your workouts
Fats 101: Losing weight doesn't mean cutting all fats. Again, supposedly up to 25% of your calories should be from healthy fat sources, but they're best consumed during your restful times of the day. Benefits of fats include:- Slowing your digestion down to make you feel fuller longer
Sodium 101: We've been warned to watch our sodium/salt intake, keep it minimal. There are some good things and some bad things to sodium. It seems that many processed foods that are low-calorie are also high in sodium b/c the put the sodium in there to compensate for the lack of natural flavor. Sodium does these things:- Increases water weight gain, a.k.a. feeling & looking bloated,
- Increases your chances of high blood pressure which leads to a whole host of other problems including increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke, and
- Increases urinary calcium, a.k.a. calcium leaving your body instead of benefiting your bones.
But don't write sodium out completely, because a light amount of sodium is still important for high-intensity workouts and preventing dehydration. Here are a couple of articles: 1 & 2.
Now I'm very excited to hear all your knowledge, tips, tricks, snacks, & meals you've been preparing this week!!!! Share away :)
