Sports Nutrition

I received this in an email from a new client of mine, and she said:

“Today was the first day I went to work after a proper breakfast (i.e. not nasi lemak). I was surprised with the effects - I didn’t feel hungry/sleepy but instead energized!”

Before I proceed - I need to ask - how many of you are breakfast skippers? If you said yes to that… then you need to start having your breakfast tomorrow without any further delay - cos you really don’t know what you’re missing out! Not only that, but if you’re someone struggling with managing your weight, it might please you to know that it has been PROVEN that regularly eating breakfast has a positive effect on weight loss and maintenance.

And for those of you who don’t quite fall under the category of ‘breakfast skippers’, but instead, your breakfast consists of a poor choice of food - for example, sugar-loaded cereals, or the typical Malaysian favourite - Nasi Lemak (which is high in fat and calories), and every other fried thing you’ll find at the Nasi Lemak stall or your favourite mamak/food stall - then I challenge you now, to make a change just for 2 weeks - try a healthier breakfast and tell me whether you actually feel a difference or not.

What is an example of a better/healthier breakfast?
I thought you’d never ask.
A typical breakfast for ME can be something like:
Some half-boiled eggs
A bowl of Whole Grain Oatmeal - cooked on the stove top with milk, chopped almonds, sprinkled with dried fruits
A cup of Coffee (black), or Green Tea

Here’s a day when I had a bowl whole-grain oatmeal, with chopped almonds, raisins and a dash of wheat germ on top - with a mug of chocolate flavoured protein shake.

For my clients who are still new to the idea of getting a healthier breakfast, I typically recommend something easier to prepare, such as:

Bowl of muesli with half glass milk
Some fruit (optional)

or

Half-boiled eggs
2 slices whole wheat bread
Glass of milk

or

Bowl of Instant oats with milk
Coffee/Green Tea

The above are just to give you an idea of what a healthier, better breakfast is like. It does not mean you have to eat exactly what is suggested above - 2 slices of bread, etc. Every individual is different - so please do not take the above examples as a hard rule.

What can you expect with a new and improved breakfast?
If you’re currently living an active lifestyle, or if you’re a regular gym-goer - you should expect to notice a difference in your energy levels throughout the day.

If you’re someone struggling with controlling your food intake/always feeling hungry when you shouldn’t be/feeling tired in the afternoons because you are forced to have a heavy lunch due to your poor breakfast - you’re going to find changes in your appetite levels, more energy to get through the day, and many other benefits that you just need to try out for yourself to understand what I’m talking about.

The saying really does hold true - Eat breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, and Dinner like a Pauper.

As I flipped through a bunch of my old DVDs, I came across the movie 300 - and couldn’t resist just playing it for a while.

Looking at the lean bodies of the Spartan Warriors - I couldn’t help but once again feel inspired to be in great shape. I mean.. who doesn’t feel that way after watching the movie… right? [click to continue...]

Today, we’ve got guest contributor Yusof, who shares with us his experience on training/exercising and meeting his nutritional needs during the month of Ramadan (The Fasting Month for Muslims).

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To all you supplement junkies out there… here’s something to look forward to. The winners for the next round of the Bodybuilding.com 2008 Supplement Awards will be announced during this year’s Mr Olympia 2008 which is set to be on the 25th - 28th September 2008.

The nominees this year include leading products in each award category, selected from the 8,000+ products Bodybuilding.com carries. Leading the way with 20 nominations was BSN, followed by Universal with 16 nominations. [click to continue...]