Skipping breakfast?

this doesn't count as breakfast.

You already know it's the most important meal of the day, but maybe you're not a breakfast person.

Let me paint a picture for you.

You skip breakfast, eat a small super light lunch, work all day and come home starving, smash on whatever you can find or go to a restaurant and eat a gigantic portion of something that has more calories than you think it does. Maybe you have a beer or a glass of wine too. Then, shortly after you're home and in your jammies on the couch for a while before you go to sleep.

this is not a lunch.

The next morning you wake up semi-disgusted with how much you consumed the night before so you vow to "cleanse" your system by only drinking coffee until you absolutely have to eat, which will probably end up being--with the exception of your tiny lunchtime snack--another late dinner, where you've gotten yourself so hungry that you eat until you're ready to crawl in a hole and die.

And the cycle, with slight variations, goes on and on and on.

Sound familiar? I used to do this in college because I thought calories in=calories out and you're good. My meal plan was basically to drink coffee and eat gummy bears all day in school, work out at the rec, then go eat shrimp scampi pasta at Red Lobster. I was chubby, squishy, and tired, because I was slowing my metabolism down with my "feast or famine" attitude toward eating.

What you're doing when you skip breakfast is you're forcing your metabolism to slow down so that the energy (or calories) you're burning whilst starving yourself are coming straight from your muscle mass, not your spare tire (Read more about that here). When you do finally eat, you body stores tons of extra fat because you're forcing a blood sugar spike and an overproduction of insulin, which stores extra fat.

Go to bed hungry.

Break the cycle. Going to bed hungry will (eventually) make you wake up hungry and eating first thing in the morning can become a habit. It will take some self control and some getting used to, but with a little effort you can break the starvation/gluttony cycle and promote a healthier metabolism, stable hormone levels, and fat loss.

If you need some breakfast inspiration, check out the Pinterest world.

Some of my favorite breakfasts.

fritattas (omg)

Whole grain/egg white french toast with agave nectar
baked oatmeal

peanut butter/chia/strawberry preserves on ezekiel

oatmeal and fruit

greek yogurt/fruit smoothie

scrambled egg, avocado, salsa

bacon and egg white on ezekiel

grapefruit and a baked sweet potato with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice (seriously!)

my oat pancakes

any homemade protein bars

cereal with chia/flax/hemp seeds

What's your favorite breakfast? 

Be Happier, Hungrier, and Fitter.

Happy: For some reason, this really gets me. (Coffitivity, the creativity-increasing coffee shop background noise to play on your computer to increase productivity. It's like sitting inside of Panera without actually leaving your house. Weird? Maybe. Also pretty rad.)

Hungry Super easy and super amazing recipe for Sauteed Zucchini by Alaina! Alaina is my favorite blogger in the world, everything I have made from her blog has been to die for, and she's completely gluten-free!


Fit TIP: Finding the motivation to workout is half the battle. Increase the likelihood that you'll squeeze in that workout by buying yourself some new workout clothes, a new pair of Nikes, or new headphones -- anything that you'll use ONLY when you workout. That way, you'll be that much more excited to get to that workout!

Do ALL fats make you fat?

Found this article on Google+ that says that the healthy fats -- mono- and poly-unsaturated fats like olive oil, fish, nuts, avocados -- can not make you fat.

Clarification.

All fats can make you fat.

You need between 20 and 35% fat in your diet. It is recommended that you choose to fulfill this need by eating "healthy fats" because they pack a nutritional punch and don't raise your cholesterol or risk of disease like the saturated and trans fats do.

That being said, eating above and beyond your 20-30% recommended daily allowance of fats, whether unsaturated, saturated, or trans fats, will make you fat. It will also cause you to become nutritionally deficient, because while you are exceeding your daily limit of fat, you are lacking in either the carb or protein department.

There is no such thing as a fat that can't make you fat, but there are fats that you need everyday in moderation.

My diet is 40/30/30 (40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats). To calculate your ideal percentages and how to calculate calories into percentages, click HERE.

My favorites are almonds, walnuts, organic peanut butter, avocados, and olive oil. What are yours?? 

3 Links: one to be HAPPY, one for when you're HUNGRY, and one to keep you FIT!

Happy: Make a coffee table out of 2 pallets -- I have one of these in my garage -- this project will happen in our house very soon!

Hungry: Whoa, Daphne Oz's pizza dough made from greek yogurt?! Try it with fresh chunks of skim mozzarella, halved cherry tomatoes, and torn basil.

Fit: DoYogaWithMe.com -- a 100% free site of full-length yoga classes. Just set up your laptop and mat and take a free class! Perfect for anyone who can't afford a studio membership, is brand new to yoga, or likes to work out alone. Love love LOVE this website, especially because its FREE!

Try the pizza dough and let me know how you LOVED it!

Q&A: Do you recommend a nutrition program?

I think that most of us have (or had) no idea how to eat right. Five years ago I still ordered chicken tenders and fries (with extra ranch, my mouth still waters at the thought) at nice restaurants and didn't think twice about it. My best friend and I used to go on dates to Olive Garden (unlimited salad and breadsticks, with ranch, duh) and Salsitas (unlimited chips and queso, and ranch) allllll the time (like every day). Now I eat Ezekiel bread and chia seeds, hemp, flax, raw veggies, greek yogurt, smoothies... I'm about as snooty as they come with how I eat.

I spent some time in Thailand where they don't have ranch, ever, anywhere, so I was forced to change my eating ways. When I got back and hit the first Denny's I saw, I got so sick and felt so gross after eating a plate of fried food that I vowed to eat differently from then on. I'd already detoxed in Thailand, I might as well stay clean.

Two years of baby steps later, and now I'm that health food snob from Portlandia who asks what farm the grass-fed cow lived on before being turned into a burger.

Oh yeah, the question. The nutrition program I suggest is:

eating whole foods, not processed junk

Incorporating superfoods, only whole grains, no prepackaged snacks.

eating lots of vegetables and fruit

limiting your sugar intake and doing your best to avoid fake sugars. 

(Advocare contains sucralose, but I can't live without Slam. And that powerade zero water flavor shot nonsense is surprisingly delicious, sooo yeah, sorry. I don't use it often, so I figure the benefits (like being delicious) outweigh the risks. Ahh, whatever.

Drinking close to a gallon of water every day

And buy a nice travel cup to encourage your water drinking

Knowing your favorite guiltless cheat foods 

because you shouldn't deny yourself. Someone told me once that "if you don't eat that cookie, you're going to eat everything else and be unsatisfied until you get that cookie." I've found that there are some not entirely horrible ways to satisfy that cookie urge. Justin's, anyone?

Don't make it harder than it should be.

You're teaching yourself how to eat a different way than you're used to. Take it one step at a time. Gradually change little things in your diet instead of trying to do a whole-life overhaul because you'll freak out and end up eating a whole pizza two pizzas.

Once you're comfortable with those things and ready to take on an adventure, figure out how many calories you need a day (here), calculate your daily macronutrients (here), and track your meals in the MyFitnessPal app for a few weeks to calculate YOUR personal perfect nutrition plan. It takes some effort, but consider it an adventure. You'll come out on the other end a happier person who knows how to fuel their body. For a lifetime of personalized nutrition knowledge it's worth it, don't you think?

If you wanted the short answer:

If you do regular strength training and cardio, the Zone Diet is legit. Also a fan of Carb Cycling.

xo :)
Amanda

Happy Monday! 3 more links to a brighter day.

Happy: How to be less stressed. Some of these work wonders with me.

Hungry: Make any of these delicious little snacks with homemade whole tortilla crackers (just slice and bake a tortilla wrap in the oven). This is good game day food too!

Fit: Yoga poses for common ailments. The bloating one is my favorite!

Are you guys liking this three-link format??

As always, send me your health and fitness questions and I'll do my best to answer! :)

xo

Amanda

Three links to brighten your day.

Happy: The 10 best crappy breakup letters on the internet.

Hungry: 20 Superfoods you should be eating to lose fat and build lean muscle.

Fit: A Killer Kardio workout to spice up your cardio life!

Staying organized.

I am a person who overuses their notes app. I write wayyyy too many things on wayyy too many post-it notes and I'm constantly making lists (shopping, cleaning, to do lists...) If you are anything like me you try to stay organized but it ends up turning into mass disorganization.

I came across this store today on Etsy.

MamasGotItTogether is amazing. If you currently use a planner or have a post-it note habit, you might want to check it out. Planners, pretty lists, and custom anything-- everything you need to stay organized and helloooo they're so cute! I especially love the health and fitness planner because it gives you the ability to log everything you need to achieve your goals. If you're one of my clients you know how much I stress tracking anything and everything!

Health and Fitness aside, I'd much rather look at a pretty to-do list than chicken scratch on notebook paper. Pretty things make you less crabby -- it's true! Organize and prettify your life, you deserve it.

It's almost Halloween.

Check out B's 2nd short horror film!

Don't forget to Like! :)

xo

Protein Spinach Pizza Rolls!

It's Italian, Mexican, Asian all in one!!! 

I can not BELIEVE I have lived 25 years without ever putting anything in a won ton wrapper. I can't even. Ohmygod.

One of my genius clients let me in on this secret last week and literally I've made four batches since last Thursday. In today's episode of stuff-wrapped-in-wontons, you'll make white pizza inside a won ton taco!

Not only are these low calorie but they're packed with leafy greens. One cup of frozen spinach provides 7.6 grams of protein.

Here's what you need:

Won Ton Wrappers

Banana Pepper Rings

Frozen Spinach

First, thaw and dry your spinach. Frozen spinach contains a ton of water and the wetter the filling is, the soggier your won tons will be. Soggy = gross. I let mine thaw here for a while and then used a wasteful amount of paper towels squeezing some more water out of it. Probably not the most efficient way, but it works.

Then, drain the whole jar of banana peppers and dry them on even more paper towels. 

Put the peppers into your Ninja and chop them up. Just a few pulses gets the job done, you don't want it watery pepper mush.

Shred some skim mozzarella cheese -- which also contains lots of protein! (available anywhere -- Walmart, Giant Eagle, etc.)

And put all of your stuff together in a bowl, and a ton of garlic powder, and mix it all up.




Fill your won ton wrappers with the filling. You can make a triangle ravioli, an open-ended burrito (just roll it up) or whatever shape you want. I just roll it up like a burrito because it's quick and easy and you can fit more filling in them.

Put them on a baking sheet sprayed with olive oil and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, using tongs to flip them over half way through their cooking time.

They're not the prettiest things in the world but oh my GOD are they delicious.



Stay tuned for more recipes in won ton wrappers, that's all I've been thinking about lately!

What are you going to put in your won ton wrappers??