A Food Guide to Sustainability

By Marcisco Morrison 

DISCLAIMER
I’M NOT REGISTERED DIETITIAN NOR AM I A CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST; PLEASE CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE FOLLOWING THIS FOOD GUIDE.

My name is Marcisco Morrison from Four Fitness in Jersey City and with over 15 years of experience as a fitness professional, I still struggle with dieting. It’s an everyday struggle no matter your level of fitness. I’ve created an easy and simple food guide that is sustainable and manageable; I know from my own struggle! I will be a part of the North East Bev Francis NPC national qualifying show this coming November 11, 2017. It will be my 6th #NPC show and dieting for it has been a struggle.

If your goal is to be healthy and live an active lifestyle, creating a sustainable lifestyle is the way to go.

Now, keep in mind that they’re five (5) major food groups that should be consumed daily.
1. Carbs
2. Protein
3. Veggies
4. Fruits
5. Dairy

(1) REMEMBER, the goal is to create sustainability: Your protein should always be the largest portion on your plate. (2) your vegetable should be the 2nd largest and (3) your carbohydrate should be the smallest.
*Following this food guide will afford you to snack in between meals. Which will keep your metabolism active throughout of the day and the more active your metabolism becomes, the more calories you burn on a daily basis.

*The amount and the frequency of your eating pattern throughout the day should be based on your daily activity.

*The average male should consume 10 to 12oz of protein on average, 6 to 8oz of veggies on average and 3 to 5oz of carbs on average.

*The average female should consume 6 to 8oz of protein on average, 4 to 6oz of veggie on average and 2 to 4oz of carbs on average.

* Extra virgin olive oil or Pam cooking spray are both great to use in the pan when cooking.

* Use natural seasoning such as onion, garlic, scallion and thyme for flavor when cooking. Mrs. Dash seasoning and others like it’s kind are also great seasoning options.

* Water is an essential part of your daily diet, 8oz per glass and 6 to 8 glasses per day or more should be consumed. Water should be consumed with each each meals.

* Let talk about Low glycemic and High glycemic carbohydrates. I will elaborate more on them both further in this guide.

*Get to know yourself, your own body, and how much you can handle/eat before your physical activities. Eat anywhere from 30 minutes to 2hrs before your activity. Base it on what and how much you’re consuming.

*BREAKFAST: (1) Your choice of Multivitamin.
Glucosamine, chondroitin, these supplements help with joint health. Therefore, I consider it a must have.
(2) GNC product CLA: Conjugated Linoleic Aid (fat burner) or your choice of fat burner.
(3) 1 cup of black coffee for energy.
(4) Female – scrambled 2 to egg whites & 1 whole egg with spinach, 3 to 4 total.
(5) Male- 4 to 6 egg whites 2 whole egg scrambled, 6 to 8 total with spinach.

*FRUITS:
Fruits should be eaten before 12 pm because of the sugar content, male or female.

*Bananas are high in potassium and red apples are high antioxidants and fiber. (Greener fruits are high in fiber as well and tends to have less sugar.) Green apple, green grapes and kiwi just to name a few.

*DAIRY PRODUCTS: Everything must be done in moderation! Cottage cheese, almond milk, sugar free yogurt.

*SNACKS: peanut butter, peanuts, cashews, almonds are good sources of good fat, Fruits and raisins.

*FACTS: Remember carbs are important for energy purposes so, try to understand when and how much to take.

*CARBOHYDRATES, low glycemic (LGC) and high glycemic (HGC).

-LGC muffin, bagels, white rice and white pasta are best to be eaten before any physical activities such as a workout, cardio session spinning, group classes.

– HGC (sweet potato baked or steamred), brown rice, oatmeal, bulgur and quinoa.

I can’t stress this enough, going on a diet is not sustainable but eating in moderation and being consistent will create sustainability.

Marcisco Morrison from Four Fitness

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How to Prevent Age-related Muscle Loss

By Marcisco Morrison 

From birth until around 30 years of age, your muscles continue to experience growth in size and strength. Somewhere between 30 and 40 years, the body begins to experience a gradual degeneration of muscle strength and function. Without appropriate intervention, on average, your body loses almost three kilos (7 pounds) of muscle every 10 years. The medical term for this condition is Sarcopenia.

Muscle loss has a big effect on your metabolic function, partly explaining why it’s much easier to add on weight as you grow older and much easier for a younger person to lose weight. Loss of muscle mass and strength may lead to reduced endurance, impaired balance and poor walking ability. Combined, these physical factors can lead to more falls, bones that break easily, physical disability and a general lack of independence.

Although Sarcopenia is a natural aging effect, when you take appropriate steps, it is not inevitable as you can strengthen your muscles.

Exercise Your Body

Both strength (resistance) and aerobic (endurance) exercises help adults who are older to improve the health of muscles plus their overall health. While aerobic exercises are most helpful when you want to improve and maintain respiratory/cardiovascular function, strength exercises are good at boosting muscle function, strength, and power. The best results are attained when you combine the two. Exercises become more effective when you couple them with proper nutrition. In particular, resistance exercise is best when combined with higher doses of protein.

Get Enough Protein & Vitamin D

Consuming more protein helps in treating and preventing muscle loss that is age-related. And it is not just the amount of protein eaten, but also the type of protein you are consuming. The fact is that not all protein is equally created, and the type plays a vital role in treating and preventing muscle loss.

Consuming adequate amounts of this vital food ingredient is necessary if you are to build and maintain a healthy and strong muscle mass. It also contributes towards supporting ligaments, tendons, and other body tissue. Muscle atrophy also takes place when your diet is lacking in amino acids required to break down the fibers that support the energy requirements of your body from the consumed proteins.

Deficiency in Vitamin D is associated with Sarcopenia, muscle atrophy, weakness, and low handgrip strength. Vitamin D supplementation alone significantly improves muscle mass, strength, and function in older adults suffering from Sarcopenia even without any exercise intervention.

Omega-3 Fats

These essential Omega-3 fatty acids have been proven to boost everything in your body from mood to heart health. Now a growing body of researchers is also linking these fatty acids with muscle maintenance. How does Omega-3 help? Any inflammation in your body causes muscles break down and Omega-3s are known anti-inflammatory powerhouses. When you eat foods such as walnuts, salmon, as well as omega-3-enriched eggs it gives your body a double nutritional boost: muscle-building amino acids and Omega-3s.

Conclusion

Any level of muscle loss can lead to common annoyances that can range from simply being unable to open a pickles jar to premature aging with more pronounced wrinkling and sunken cheeks. Left unchecked, it potentially can lead to a broad range of health issues later in your life, such as disability and higher mortality risk because of physical frailty.

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Ten Tips for Successful Meal Planning

By Marcisco Morrison 

Meal planning saves not only money but time. In addition, it will save you from lots of stress. Planning saves your kitchen budget as you can plan ahead how much you want to spend weekly on food without having to go with whatever is available at the closest store or buying food on impulse.

There Is No Perfect Plan

You will never find that perfect meal plan that meets every need. Once you have known what you want or work, you can easily tweak your plan as you go along or as needed.

Write Down Goals

This is a vital aspect of planning as it answers questions like how many meals per day are you planning for, what type of meals, are you planning for low-carbs or low-calorie diet? Are you or members of the family on a special diet? After all, it about meal planning, right?

Make A Budget

Decide at the beginning of your week how much goes to groceries. If that is not planned ahead, you will never know exactly how much is consumed in a week or you could end up spending too much on items that are not necessary. This is particularly important if you are operating on a tight budget. It makes no sense to plan for meals if you are to get broke by doing it.

Start A Calendar

The calendar can be on the lines of a Google Calendar that has accompanying notes for each day’s menu. Alternatively, just jot simple notes on your laptop or sticky notes on your fridge door. The most important thing is to have it written down. Writing helps in sticking with your chart or menu.

 

Plan Meals Based On The Season

You will always get the best fresh produce prices during the harvest season. So plan your weekly menu according to the season and what is available on the market. Another tip, the majority of grocery stores tend to have weekly sales on Sundays.

Involve The Family

Involve every family member by asking them for their favorite meals. You can organize the list by different categories such as chicken, beef, fish, vegetarian, crock-pot dishes, side dishes, salads, and soups.

Always Stock The Staples

Staples to always have in the kitchen may include rice, pasta, tofu, frozen veggies, lentils, frozen garlic, olive oil, grated cheese, eggs, lemons, yogurt, and mixed greens/spinach. Spices are very important and must always be available in your kitchen such as curry, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, pepper, chili powder, and of course, salt.

Plan Each Day’s Meals Tighter

Personally, when I forget or unable to plan for family breakfast, lunch together with dinner, I find one meal getting skipped and more likely taking a visit to the drive-thru for a quick fix.

Avoid Overstuffing The Fridge

When your fridge is overstuffed, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed. Things tend to get hidden at the bottom or in the back, others get lost when you need them for today’s recipe. Keep your fridge light and airy, with food items arranged realistically.

Supplement Your Plan

Occasionally, you may find it hard to keep the entire plan running smoothly all week. Consider supplementing your meal plan with a reputable meal delivery service. Look for one that fits with your broad health requirements, flavor preferences, and budget. Meal planning ensures your family has balanced, healthy meals every day and that everybody is getting all the essential ingredients. Similar to all things, the more you practice meal planning, the better you become.

Call us to make an appointment at 551-208-4775 or Visit us at FourFitnessJC.com

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The Importance of a Good Breakfast Before Fitness Training

By Marcisco Morrison

Poor eating habits have the potential of undermining even your best efforts at staying fit. Athletes who are savvy understand that eating the right kinds of foods before any fitness training gives their body the necessary fuel required to last through the last set of squats or a full ten minutes on the treadmill. The meal you take prior to commencing your training can make or break not only your entire fitness training program as well as the gains in muscle building.

Breakfast has been billed by nutrition experts as your most important meal in the course of your day. Unfortunately, too many active people are following a lifestyle that tends to eliminate breakfast. A satisfying and healthy breakfast is a better investment in not only your fitness training but in better overall health.

Good for Enthusiasm and Endurance

If you train early in the morning, your body will need a big pre-training breakfast. Remember too heavy a meal can feel uncomfortable and heavy. Your body stands to benefit a lot from a healthy and balanced breakfast taken before your workout or training. Just between 100 and 300 calories from your breakfast are good enough to add the required carbohydrates into your system. This boosts your blood sugar so that your body is running on fuel and not on fumes. You will discover that this small pre-training meal adds enthusiasm and endurance to your workout. In a study, athletes who consumed breakfast were capable of exercising for 137 minutes as against only 109 minutes when they did skip this pre-training fuel.

Breakfast Combats Dual Negative Effect

To get a clear picture of how important pre-training breakfast is, imagine your body running on a stomach that is empty. You will feel somehow sluggish and you may not perform at your peak level. You could still achieve a little more with a bit more of pumping. But what you might not know is that your body is actually undergoing through a phase of dual negative effect. This happens because when running on near empty, you tend to rapidly deplete your glycogen stores. Once they get fully depleted, your internal body mechanisms will turn to your hard-earned muscle as the next best available source of energy.

Boosts Intensity and Strength of Your Training

When you are running on fumes, your strength capacity and intensity suffer. Consequently, you will not have the capacity to push yourself to the maximum resulting in a performance that is less than-stellar. Ultimately you will find that you cannot stimulate your muscle fibers to that critical breaking point needed to create new scar tissue and thus new muscle mass.

Recommended Breakfast Ingredients

If you are an endurance athlete, your pre-workout breakfast should primarily consist of carbohydrates that are easily digestible plus a moderate measure of protein as well as low-fat amounts. If your goal is to build muscle mass, your breakfast ought to be heavier in protein and light to moderate on carbs and fat. Sometimes you may not be preparing for any specific training but you want to remain competitive and always fit. If you find yourself in this category, it is important to eat a breakfast that is healthy with lots of protein, fat, and carbs. Try and steer clear of processed foods and sugar.

The Bottom Line

Breakfast boosts your daily energy levels, aids weight control efforts, enhances sports performance, and promotes future health. A healthy and balanced breakfast not only works wonders for your fitness training but also helps in improving the general quality of what you take as part of your diet. Eating breakfast reduces chances of you taking junk food items later in the course of your day. Champions know the value of breakfast before a training or workout session!

CALL US FOR AN APPOINTMENT AT 551-208-4775   StayFit!

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The Benefits of Drinking Water

By Marcisco Morrison

The amount of water consumed daily plays a vital role in maintaining your health. Experts recommend drinking 8oz times 8 of water daily to maintain excellent health (the 8×8 rule). The main component of your body is water. In fact, depending on your body size, your body is between 55 and 78% water. Our bodies also lose considerable amounts of that water through dehydration and sweating that must be replenished through drinking water.

Regular and adequate consumption of water has many health benefits.

Helps in Digestion and Fighting Constipation 

Water boosts the functioning and health of your gastrointestinal tract. Water not only helps in facilitating better digestion but also prevents constipation. Often, inadequate amounts of water in your body results in episodes of constipation as your colon resorts to pulling water from your stools in order to maintain hydration. This makes the stool harder and passing becomes a problem. Water is good for combating dehydration and decongestion also helping your body bounce back quickly when you are feeling a bit under the weather.

Prevents and Treats Headaches 

Dehydration due to insufficient water in your body can trigger headaches or even migraines in some people. It has been proven that drinking lots of water when dehydrated can relieve headaches. However, this could also depend on what type of headache you are experiencing.

Helps with Weight Loss 

Drinking lots of water can assist with your weight loss program. This is based on the fact that water increases satiety levels and boosts your rate of metabolism. It is important to time your water drinking as it has been shown that it becomes most effective when it’s drank half an hour before the meal.

As it has the effect of making you feel fuller, you are likely to consume fewer calories. It is even better when you think water cold, as your body will then use extra energy (calories) to first warm the water to your body temperature.

Flushing out Toxins

Water is good detoxifier helping in flushing out toxins from the body, getting rid of waste through urine and sweat. Your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood each day, sitting out the waste stuff and transporting it through urine to your bladder. Your kidneys must have adequate fluids to flush out what the body doesn’t need. Water also boosts the overall functioning of your kidneys.

Certain body toxins can cause skin inflammation leading to acne and clogged pores. Water also helps in getting the most out of any aerobic and anaerobic customized fitness training programs.

Muscle Fuel

When you work at the gym, you tend to sweat a lot leading to your muscles loosing much water. When your muscles lack adequate amounts of water, they get tired easily and fast. Therefore, to give your muscles that extra energy, drink more water that will see you with enough energy for your final workout session.

You may want to think of water more like a vital nutrient needed by your body that is found in plain water, liquids, and foods. These “nutrients” are essential to replace the considerable amounts of water your body loses daily. As an added plus, water contains no fat, sugar, carbohydrates, or calories. When you drink adequate amount of H20, it helps in maintaining your body’s fluid balance, very important in assisting the transportation of nutrients in your body’s fluid balance, very important in assisting the transportation of nutrients in your body. It helps in digesting food, regulating body temperature, and more.

Call FourFitness Studio for a complimentary session at 551-208-4775 

Located at 650 Montgomery street Jersey City, NJ 07306, we believe that training with trainers who train will help you reach your desired fitness goals.

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