Alright, so I've been talking a lot lately about this diet I've been on and how it's changing the way I look at food. Well, check out this clip that I stole from one my links to the right (Tony Gentilcore's site):
I know roommate Dave has been going through a lot of issues finding and preparing food so I understand where these kids are coming from, but, seriously, not knowing what a potato, tomato, or cauliflower is?!?
Here's the thing that I'm coming to realize about my current food intake. It's not that I'm eating less calories each day - I may be, but I'm not counting and that's not the point. It's really that I've been eating more nutrient-dense foods. Let's make a quick comparison...
Half of a chocolate, chocolate chip muffin from the grocery store (yes, I absolutely used to eat these for breakfast...) costs you 220 calories. The nutrition facts give you 12g Fat, 28g Carbs, and 3g Protein. We're getting some nutritional help with a small percentage of RDV of Vit A, Calcium, Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid, Magnesium, and Zinc. Nothing really substantial though. At most, there's 12% total of some.
Now, let's take a look at the improved version of my breakfast. Calories will stay similar, but check out the nutrients packed into 2 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 2 handfuls of spinach, a cup of mushrooms, and a half cup of onions. This costs you about 240 calories. 9g Fat, 15g Carb, and 26g of Protein. Now, this is pretty extreme, but in the spinach alone you'll find 150% RDA of Vit A, 42% of C, 540% of K, a smattering of B vitamins, and 39% of Manganese. That's just the spinach! The next best part about this breakfast is that it's way more filling than any muffin will ever be.
So, yeah, this is an extreme comparison, but it is one that's applicable to me. Take a look at your breakfast and see how you can tweak it for the better. Maybe add in some fresh food, I think you'll find that you like it!
Monday, March 1, 2010
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6 comments:
I know you're gonna make fun of me for this but I eat a bowl of cheerios for breakfast-- that's it. At least it's not a chocolate chocolate chip muffin. :-) do you have any good breakfast ideas for those of us who have about 5 minutes to spare in the morning?
Heh, yeah, that's a tough one. 5 minutes isn't much time to do anything but shove food in your mouth!
I actually have been doing my breakfast cooking the night before starting last week. It's a convenience thing, and, since I've been going to the gym early in the mornings, it makes sense for me. I recommend doing it one meal at a time (because I tried to makes eggs/spinach/onions/mushrooms for two days and it was a little dry the second day). I know I'm losing some of the fresh taste, but it saves me time!
are you trying to lose/gain weight or just improve the nutritional breakdown of the food you eat? back in january, i see that you lost 11 pounds. are you trying to lose more weight or is the new diet more geared toward on-going healthier eating?
I'm currently working to lose weight. I was in pretty great shape a few years ago, and then I sort of let my nutrition/exercise go a little. I'm back on track with the exercise, and now I'm taking it the rest of the way with the nutrition.
I want to lose the excess for athletic endeavors over the summer. The quick breakdown is that I want to get to around 10% bf. That's a fairly arbitrary number, but I need to be lean for my body to hold up to Ultimate over the summer. Since the research shows that running provides a 10x bodyweight impact each step, it's pretty beneficial to take off 15-20 pounds I don't need.
I think I'm looking at another 5-8 lbs... I'm still considering before/after shots... but we'll see what happens.
Nice,
I sometimes do the eggs + egg whites + spinach/onion/mushroom for breakfast although sometimes I don't have all the fresh greens I might like.
Have you checked out PrecisionNutrition? They have some good guides that I recommend. Besides the egg example (I actually started prepping eggs over hard rather than scrambled to save time / washing), there's always boiling steel-cut oats the night before, then re-cooking it the morning of, adding whey protein powder after it cools--another tip from PrecisionNutrition.com.
Look for a series on (pre-)tournament nutrition on UltiTraining.com some time soon =)
~Leslie
Thanks, Leslie.
Actually, I'm doing a lot of stuff out of PN's gourmet nutrition cookbook recently. Yup... that's where I'm getting my nutritional support right now!
Alan
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