BIGGSbuilt.com

Eat Smart. Play Hard.

How do you balance being health conscious and being the person who loves food? When it comes to bringing out a better body, eat right and think smart about it.  Watch your diet in full and remember if you are on track 80-90% of the time with your diet, results will come in time (nothing can happen just over night).  If you like to have nachos and beer with your friends on a Friday, this might not exactly be where you want to make the caloric cut.  Be smart about it.  A lot of times, your weekly ‘add ons’ can really make a huge difference at the end of the week.  The creamer in the coffee every day, the pats of butter on toast in the morning, cooking in more olive oil than you need nightly can add up to 250-1000 calories or more a week you could be saving.   Remember, 3,500 calories is how much it takes to drop one pound of fat, so making better weekly choices is crucial to dieting smart.  Take in the good and get rid of the bad stuff.

Here are some tips to help clean up food choices at Breakfast:

• Eat the most important things first.  Fill up on your fruits and whole grains that are loaded in vitamins and fiber to fill you up, and move on to a lean protein after.  This way your body will be more satisfied for you not to be thinking about the donuts at the office when you get there.
• If you love bacon, check out Canadian bacon.  Two slices of Canadian bacon have 4-5 grams of fat, which is approximately half the amount of fat found in regular bacon.
• Bright colorful vegetables and fruits.  Make an omelet loaded with vegetables for tons of nutrients.  Don’t skip out on the yolk though!  Try an omelet with 1-2 whole eggs and 3-6 egg whites; depending on what your body needs.  Add fresh colorful fruit like raspberries, blueberries to your oatmeal in the morning to vitamins and minerals in your body for more energy.
• Egg yolks might contain a little amount of cholesterol but it also loaded with tons of good stuff for you.  In moderation yolks are great!  They have lecithin (think B-Vitamins) that helps burn fat and they have omega 3s in them (think DHA and brain health).
• If you must make waffles or pancakes instead of whole grain oatmeal or cereal, go with the frozen whole grain varieties instead of the batter you make yourself.  You will be able to watch portions more easily, and save 8-10 grams of fat.
• Muffins?  Be careful things like bran muffins and corn muffins might sound like they are on the healthier side, but they are not.  Most are loaded with high amounts of fats and processed carbs that can really pack on body fat easily.
• Keep the skin on your fruits.   The skin on your fruits are loaded the majority of fiber and nutrients that they contain.  Save the skin on the fruit and save your heart.
• Check out grapefruit (red).  Grapefruit contains a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and many antioxidant flavonoids.  The pectin fiber in grapefruit helps act like a bulk laxative to keep your colon healthy.
• GO Whey.  Try a scoop or two of whey protein in a shake with almond milk or water with some fresh berries and natural almond/peanut butter, or flax oil for a super quick, easy breakfast you can run out the door with.

Check back for more tips on lunch, dinner, and snacks coming soon. Have a fun Memorial Day Weekend! -Char

Say Bye-Bye to Stress Today!

The screaming kids, your obnoxious boss, the family remember you can’t stand; you locked your keys in the car.  No matter where you go, sometimes your friend stress will be there to lend you a not-so-helping hand.  Although some things are unable to avoid, you can help try to ease stress levels the best you can with some of these 5 nutrition strategies below:

BIGG Tip 1:  Eat Ground Turkey.

Remember Thanksgiving dinner?  Turkey is loaded in the amino acid L-Tryptophan.  L-Tryptophan gets broken down and converted into serotonin in the body, which helps give you that ‘feel good’ feeling.  It then converts to melatonin, which helps regulate your body’s sleep patterns and cause sleepiness.  Ever feel tired after Thanksgiving dinner?   It is because of the amino acid L-Tryptophan in your turkey.  Try adding a portion of ground turkey here and there to your diet.  Bottom line:  The L-Tryptophan in turkey will help support relaxation.

BIGG Tip 2:  Got Green Tea?

Green tea contains the amino acid L-Theanine.  Studies show L-Theanine helps reduce anxiety, decrease stress levels, and support relaxation.  Green tea contains traces of L-Theanine, so sometimes it is best to grab L-Theanine in supplement form for those who are looking to benefit more from this amino acid.  I always opt for decaf green tea to avoid the caffeine, which can cause the opposite effect you are looking for.

BIGG Tip 3:  Chow Down on Some Fatty Fish.

Try fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel or if you are vegan opt for walnuts or flaxseeds which are loaded in omega 3 fatty acids.   Particularly we are interested in the main components EPA and DHA, or ALA, which is found in vegan sources of omega 3 acids.  Studies show EPA and DHA have a great impact on proper brain function and regulating a healthy body.  On top of supporting brain health, healthy fats help reduce cholesterol, help lubricate your joints, and give you great skin.

BIGG Tip 4:  Skip the Coffee and Go with Chamomile.

Chamomile tea helps with relaxation, muscle relation, and aids digestion.  Try some later in the day or late night to help you calm down after a long day.  Yes, coffee is great for a quick energy boost first thing in the morning or before your workout, but too much can level you with an energy crash, adrenal burnout, and make you feel like you need to keep reaching for one cup after another to you’re your body functioning.  Ease off the coffee to 2 cups a day earlier in the day, and try to switch it up to decaf teas late night to reduce anxiety and stress levels.

BIGG TIP 5:  Sugar is the Devil.

Sugar can be your body’s worst enemy.  People who have diets higher in sugar tend to have a body with higher cortisol levels (higher stress on the body). This can throw your body into an unstable environment with nasty insulin crashes.  Too much sugar throughout the day can make you more anxious than those who consume minimal sugar and more whole grains (fiber).  Watch your sugar intake and try to cut out processed carbohydrates the best you can on a regular basis to help reduce stress and maximize your energy levels.

Don’t live in stress!  Too much can lead to a higher rate to develop depression, stroke, and heart disease.  Remember you are what you eat.  Decrease your stress levels today!

Get To Love Avocados!

Add these bad boys into your diet regularly for better body composition and better health!  Avocados are loaded in healthy fats and low in carbohydrates (mainly fiber which is a GOOD thing).  The bulk of them are made up of monosaturated fats which are great for helping increase your metabolism and keeping your natural testosterone levels high.  This means more muscle and less fat for you if you calories are in check with your activity levels!  One whole avocado has a little less than 300 calories, which may seem like a lot.  Portion wise, you can start adding ¼ or ½ of an avocado to a meal a day with a protein and a vegetable or starchy carbohydrate for balanced nutrition.  Here is some avocado info for you:

• Avocados are actually a fruit.  They are loaded in B-vitamins and many minerals your body needs that help fight off diseases.
• Diets that include healthy fats help keep your muscle building, fat burning hormones in high gear.  Add in some good quality exercise and you are set on the right track.
• Monosaturated fats and healthy fats help lower cholesterol.  They also help give you beautiful skin.
• You can make healthy homemade guacamole with avocadoes, limes, a small dash of sea salt and low sodium spices to your flavoring for a healthy snack or homemade dip that takes no time to make.
• You can replace spreads like cheeses, mayo, and creams with avocados depending on the recipe to give you a healthier kick that still satisfies your taste buds

BIGG TIP:  I personally love adding avocadoes or making homemade guacamole spread with a lean protein and vegetable medley for dinner or late night to cut out all the unnecessary starchy carbs late night.  Think about it.  If you are sitting around doing nothing when you get home, your body might not need as many starchy carbohydrates. They could have more of a chance to get stored as body fat if they aren’t used properly.  Eat smart!

Are you embarking on a journey to drop the fat and get that hot six pack? Typically the first month you start exercising and eating right you will tend to drop weight easily and steadily. The first week or two a lot of the weight you lose can be extra water weight. You know the stuff that gave you the bloat and not-so-sexy feeling. By the time your second month comes around you may notice that your body starting to level out. You might not be losing those 3-4 pounds a week you did the first month. In most cases, this is because you body is getting used to the calorie deficit. Do not feel discouraged if you are not losing weight as quickly as before! Just make sure you are in a slight calorie deficit with clean nutrition habits. Keep up with the workouts too, don’t stop! Aim for no more that two pounds lost per week unless you have a higher percentage of body fat to lose. More than 2 pounds a week could lead to losing metabolism boosting muscle. Keep going strong! Char.

Less Sleep ... More Body Fat

If you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, often times it is your body telling you that there is some sort of chemical or hormonal imbalance in your body.  People tend to wake up during the night when there are abnormal spikes in cortisol levels.  Many people trying to drop the pounds may recognize this name from its association with belly fat and stress.  A lot of time these spikes are due to poor nutrition and lack of exercise.  You guessed it!  Before you start taking over the counter sleep medicine or prescription drugs to combat your poor sleep habits, ask yourself:  Am I exercising and eating right?  Try to work out more and eat cleaner foods for one month.  Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day to help regulate your body’s internal mechanisms.  Chances are your sleep cycles will improve drastically.

Char Biggs

I tend to say this a lot.  Will abdominal work really bring out your six pack abs? Many believe that if they do 300 crunches a day, magically this hot washboard will appear as they pull their shirt up.  This is not necessarily true.  In order for your abs to show, you need to strip off the layer of fat on top of them, and crunches will not do this at all.  Sit ups burn minimal calories to begin with, unless you are doing crunches 23 hours out of the day, and that caloric burn will still be minimal.  With that being said, abdominal work definitely should not be ignored because a strong core helps prevent injury and strengthens your spine and lower back.  If your goal is to bring out your abs, you are better off using exercises that use large muscles (aka burning large amounts of calories) such as squats or press/ pull exercises and to up your cardio to burn off the layers of fat on top of the ab.  This way when you do your abdominal work they will start to pop through as you workout intensely with a good nutrition plan.  I always love to opt to do abdominal work at the end of a workout, because you do not want to tire your core out too heavily prior to your workouts.  Doing too much beforehand will exhaust your core and make it less strong for the exercises that count to bring you your new hot body.  Sometimes doing tons of core work and not stripping away the body fat on top can actually make your midsection look bigger and bulkier— just some food for thought.

We all know protein is good for our body.  It helps build muscle, spare muscle, speed up your metabolism via the thermic effect of food, keeps you fuller longer, and more satisfied.  There are many different types and sources of proteins as well.  Today, I am going to talk about the difference and benefits of whey (fast digesting milk protein) and casein (slow digesting milk protein).  Whey protein and casein protein can be found in most dairy items such as milk, cottage cheese, greet yogurt, and protein powder supplements.  Here is a quick weigh-in for the two:

Whey protein digests at a quicker rate (at 1-2 hours) and has very high percentage of amino acids that digested in the body; making it very bioavailable.  A good time to include whey protein in your diet is immediately upon awakening, after you have fasted all night from sleeping.  This allows a quick uptake of protein in the morning to turn your body’s catabolic state off.  Another great time include whey protein is immediately after your workout to help repair muscles, build, and prevent them from breaking down.  This helps halt catabolism or spikes in cortisol levels (stress levels in the body).  Good sources of whey protein are found in ricotta cheese, dairy milk, yogurts, cheese, and whey protein powder.

Casein protein digests at a slower rate (up to 7 hours), and has a high percentage of amino acids that are digested in the body; however, it is less bioavailable then whey protein.  Good times to include casein protein are to add a blend with your whey protein at breakfast (this will allow fast and slow digesting proteins), mid-day or late night before bed.  Because casein protein digests at a slower rate it helps keep amino acid levels in the bloodstream higher for a longer period of time.  This helps prevent your muscles from breaking down, allowing your body to more readily use fats and carbohydrates as preferred sources of energy if your calories are in check and not in a large deficit from your baseline metabolic rate.  Having some cottage cheese or a scoop of casein protein before you go to bed can help your body prevent muscle from breaking down overnight while you sleep.  If you are watching your calories or body fat levels watch out for the sugars and carbs in the cottage cheese too late from bed time.  Good food sources with casein protein are cottage cheese, cheese and casein protein powders.