Kickboxing Union County NJ | Kickboxing Summit NJ | Kickboxing Berkeley Heights NJ
Martial Arts in Union County, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Kickboxing, Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
Family Health & Fitness: Dealing With Injuries
“Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again…” – Simon & Garfunkel
Sooner or later if you are participating in consistent exercise or athletic training, you are going to sustain an injury. Sometimes it’s something minor like a mild sprain and sometimes it might be a little more serious like a broken bone. And if you’ve been active your whole life (or for any sustained period of time) you know the searing kiss of pain from reinjuring something that healed long ago.
Here are 5 keys to dealing with the inevitable injuries that crop up from an active lifestyle:
1.) Don’t ignore it and don’t try to train through the pain. There is an old mentality (that is especially prevalent in Martial Arts circles) that one should train through pain and eventually the injury will heal itself. After all, if you’re mentally tough, you won’t even notice the pain. This is a great way to make sure your injury never heals properly and pave the way to a chronic health problem. Pain is your body’s none-too-subtle way of letting you know that something is wrong. Listen to your body and deal with injuries right away.
2.) Seek professional help. If you have an injury or a nagging ache or pain that is impeding your ability to train, go see a doctor. Some folks are more comfortable seeing a chiropractor or a sports medicine doctor for injuries and that’s fine – just go see some sort of qualified physician. The internet can be a useful educational tool, but please don’t try to diagnose yourself. There’s no quicker way to get to a proper diagnosis and a treatment plan than seeing a licensed professional.
3.) Don’t get down on yourself or the situation. Sometimes it can seem like a devastating blow when you have to shut it down for a while – especially if you are the type of person who trains several times a week or you are close to accomplishing a major goal. It is easy to start feeling sorry for yourself. Try to remember that “this too shall pass” and there are plenty of people with serious health problems who would gladly trade places with you in a heartbeat. Yes it is frustrating and yes it probably happened at the worst possible time, but focusing on the negatives is not going to serve you.
4.) Don’t give up. Some folks use an injury as a reason to give up training altogether. Even when they get better, the fear of getting re-injured or the discomfort of proper rehabilitation can shelve people for life. While it is true, you may need to train a little smarter or temper your workout plan, it is also true you could get injured stepping off the curb or driving a car. Don’t give up on a fitness-based lifestyle just because of a bite from the injury bug.
5.) Get creative. In most cases, an injury won’t prevent you from doing some form of physical activity. If you have an upper-body injury, concentrate on lower-body workouts for a while (and vice versa). If you refuse to be denied you will find some form of exercise to participate in despite your injury. It may not be your first choice, but remember this concept: “a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing.”
One of my favorite quotes is by author and motivational speaker Wille Jolley who says, “A setback is a setup for a comeback!” Remember that you have “comeback power” and while injuries are frustrating you can choose to use them to set up your comeback. Consider NFL quarterback Drew Brees. In the final game of the 2005 season, Brees seriously injured his shoulder by tearing his labrum and rotator cuff. In 2008, he led the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl victory and was named the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of The Year. Stay positive, do the rehab and set yourself up for a comeback!
Martial Arts in Union County, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
The REAL Rocky Story
He rushed home and in a 3-day burst of creative output produced the first draft of the screenplay entitled Rocky.
Down to his last $106, Stallone submitted his screenplay to his agent. A studio offered $20,000 with either Ryan O’Neal or Burt Reynolds playing the lead character. Stallone was excited by the offer but wanted to play the lead himself. He offered to act for free. He was told, “That’s not the way it works in Hollywood.” Stallone turned down the offer though he desperately needed the money.
Then they offered him $80,000 on the condition that he wouldn’t play the lead. He turned them down again.
They told him that Robert Redford was interested, in which case they’d pay him $200,000. He turned them down once more. They upped their offer to $300,000 for his script. He told them he didn’t want to go through his whole life wondering “what if?”
They offered him $330,000. He told them that he’d rather not see the movie made if he couldn’t play the lead.
They finally agreed to let him play the lead. He was paid $20,000 for the script plus $340 per week minimum actor’s scale. After expenses, agent fees, and taxes, he netted about $6,000 instead of $330,000.
In 1976 Stallone was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor. The movie Rocky won three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing. The Rocky series (6 movies) has since grossed over $1.2 billion, making Sylvester Stallone an international movie star.
Follow your gut. Stick to your guns.
Martial Arts in Union County, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
Some of the back escapes we covered as part of our specialty training in Kickboxing Black Belt Club class. Demonstrated here by Jiu Jitsu legend Saulo Ribeiro as part of his Jiu Jitsu Revolution DVD.
Martial Arts in Union County, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
Martial Arts New Providence NJ | Kickboxing New Providence NJ | Martial Arts For Life
Martial Arts For Life Chief Instructor Rich Brugger with Marcelo Garcia at the MMA Expo in NYC.
Martial Arts for Life New Providence, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
You Just Made The List!
This week I’m going to share a concept with you called “the list strategy.” This method is most valuable when you are trying to make changes to your diet for the purpose of eating healthier. However, it can also be a useful part of a weight loss plan as the two often go hand in hand.
We all consume things as part of our diet out of habit, or sometimes simply because they are made available. An example might be having a soda with lunch each day or mindlessly snacking on a bowl of chips at a party. It is estimated that up to ninety-five percent of our behavior is habitual – meaning that we are on auto-pilot for a lot of our daily tasks including eating and drinking.
The goal of this strategy is to raise your level of awareness when it comes to what you are eating and drinking. Then you can make better decisions about what you want to continue to have as part of your diet and what you can cut back on or eliminate completely.
Here are four action steps to implement this strategy:
Step #1: Goal Setting
The first step is to decide what your goals are. Are you looking to reduce sources of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet? Do you want to avoid processed foods? Is your goal to consume less empty calories each day? Having a specific goal is important for success. A goal such as “eating healthier” is a bit too vague and can make it challenging to complete this exercise.
Step #2: Tracking
The next step in this process is to keep track of what you are eating for at least a week. Two weeks would be better, but most people get sick of tracking by the end of week one. It’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything you eat in your head, so get a pad and pen and write down everything you consume for a week. If it passes your lips it goes on the list.
Step #3: Analyzing
After you track what you’ve been eating for a week (or two) it’s time to take a look at your diet objectively. The goal is to examine what you are eating on a regular basis and make a list of the things you must eat less often or eliminate in order to accomplish your goals from Step #1. Remember, items to be eliminated could also be condiments like sour cream, mayonnaise, etc.
Step #4: Experimenting
The goal in Step #4 is to start with just one item from your list and do without it for two weeks. If you find that you really didn’t miss it, perhaps you can eliminate that food or brverage completely. If you find that it is something you really enjoy having in your diet, choose to consume it less frequently (for example, no more than once per week). Repeat this practice until you complete it with all the items on your list.
Naturally, any kind of change, even when it is an improvement, can be uncomfortable. This causes many people to revert back to their old behaviors and fall short of their goals. Choosing what to focus on and using the concept of substitution are two methods that can help “soften the blow” when making improvements to your diet.
Consider choosing what to eat based on how you feel afterwards, rather than how you feel during the meal. For example, you might really enjoy eating a double cheeseburger, fries and a large soda for lunch, but how do you feel afterwards? Are you energized and ready to for the second half of your day or do you feel tired and sluggish with indigestion? Concentrating on how you feel after a meal or a snack is a great way to view healthy eating in a proper perspective – focusing on what you are gaining (health & vitality) rather than what you may be losing (enjoyment from eating certain foods).
Another useful tool is the concept of substitution. For example, if your goal is to cut back on dairy products such as milk, perhaps you can try soy milk or almond milk as an alternative. You might find that you enjoy one of those products just as much as regular milk. It is much easier to replace a habit, rather than totally eliminate it.
Remember, the main objective of this strategy is to raise your level of awareness when it comes to what you are consuming on a regular basis and identify opportunities to improve your nutritional habits. The objective is not to completely eliminate all unhealthy foods and beverages that you enjoy, but rather to find a healthy balance between eating for pleasure and the benefits of a proper diet.
Martial Arts for Life New Providence, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
Getting Back On Track
As featured on the New Providence Patch: Read our Blog on The New Providence Patch
As summer rapidly draws to a close, it’s a perfect time to re-evaluate your day to day eating and workout habits. Summer often becomes a time when we tend to overindulge in food and beverages due to vacations, barbecues and the desire to enjoy ourselves. Almost everybody associates a sense of pleasure with consuming certain things. In addition, we are conditioned from the time we are children to recognize summer as a time to relax the rules a bit and enjoy ourselves – which is good for our mental and physical well-being.
Unfortunately, this “summer mindset” tends to lead to undisciplined eating and workout habits that should not be carried over into the next season. One of the biggest threats to your fitness is allowing those relaxed summer habits to slide all the way into the holiday season (which is rapidly approaching). Once you get off track, it becomes a slippery slope due to the forces of momentum. We’ve all had the experience of getting into a good groove with our diet and fitness regimen, which gives us the momentum to stay on track and avoid unhealthy meals and skipped workouts. You’ve probably also had the experience of skipping a work out, which turns into a couple missed workouts and leads you to make some less than healthy dietary decisions until you get back on track.
With the unofficial end of summer, it is a great time to develop some new momentum – starting with your nutrition habits.
One of the biggest misconceptions about eating healthy is that it requires a Spartan diet and you cannot have a bowl of ice cream or a cheeseburger ever again. The reality of the situation is most people want to be healthy and fit, but not at the price of completely eliminating the foods and drinks that they really enjoy. The key concept here is balance.
In prior columns, I have talked about the 70/30 rule, which simply means you eat for health and nourishment 70 percent of the time and you eat for pleasure 30 percent of the time. For most people, this means eating healthfully during the week and splurging a bit on the weekends. Remember, it is about balance, so the 30 percent cannot involve binge eating (or drinking for that matter) or completely over indulging in high calorie, fatty foods. As always, the percentages here can be adjusted upward to 80/20 or even 90/10. However, the minimum is healthy eating 70 percent of the time.
Naturally, a healthy eating plan should go hand in hand with a consistent workout plan. A minimum of 30 minutes of vigorous cardiovascular exercise three times per week combined with some form of resistance training at least twice per week are necessary for optimal health and fitness. Naturally, the less disciplined you are with your diet, the more exercise you will need to maintain your weight and overall health. However, I firmly believe that you cannot out train bad nutrition and a proper diet is the first building block in developing a healthy body.
So, with the change of seasons looming and the holidays around the bend, I encourage you to exercise the self-discipline to get back on track with proper diet and exercise – and avoid the temptation to continue the fast and loose rules of summertime!
Martial Arts for Life New Providence, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
A Simple Plan: Control Your Calories!
A Simple Plan…
According to The Calorie Control Council (www.caloriecontrol.org) the average woman, who has a moderate level of physical activity needs an estimated 2,160 calories each day to maintain her weight. The average man (assuming the same level of physical activity) requires about 2,349 calories. Remember, this is for weight maintenance, not weight loss. Research by the Department of Agriculture tells us that the average American consumes around 2,700 calories per day. Consuming an extra 350 and 540 calories each day is one reason why many folks are deemed overweight.
Most health care professionals recommend gradual weight loss (up to one pound per week) for the best long term results. In order to lose one pound, a person must burn 3,500 calories more than are consumed (500 calories per day over the course of a week). This can be accomplished each day by eliminating 500 calories, burning an additional 500 calories or any combination of the two. For example, one could reduce calories by 300 per day and increase daily activity in order to burn 200 additional calories per day which adds up to the 500 necessary calories.
This is definitely not rocket science; however in my experience most folks grossly under-estimate the amount of calories in the foods they consume and at the same time over-estimate the amount of calories burned by physical activity.
Let’s start with the caloric value of some common snacks and drinks*:
Breakfast items:
(1) glazed doughnut: 350 calories
(1) plain 3 oz. bagel with cream cheese: 450 calories
(1) bacon, egg & cheese biscuit sandwich: 430 calories
(1) 12 oz. (tall) blended mocha cappuccino drink: 208 calories
(2) pancakes with butter & syrup: 520 calories
Beverages:
(1) 12 oz. can of cola: 150 calories
(1) 12 oz. serving of whole milk: 220 calories
(1) 12 oz. energy drink: 160 calories
(1) 12 oz. bottle of sweetened tea: 129 calories
Snacks
(3) Pre-packaged chocolate chip cookies: 160 calories
(4) chocolate / vanilla sandwich cookies: 180 calories
(1) average size candy bar: 275 to 450 calories
(12) potato chips: 160 calories
(1) cup of chocolate soft serve ice cream: 300 calories
*Caloric values courtesy of WebMD, Food-o-meter, fitwatch.com, livestrong.com, & calorieking.com
By the way, if you consume mixed drinks you should be aware of the extremely high caloric value of most of cocktails. A study by Forbes revealed the following cocktails as some of the most fattening: Long Island iced tea (780 calories), margarita (740 calories), pina colada (644 calories), gin/vodka & tonic (200 calories).
“Ok, no problem, I’ll just exercise a bit more to burn off those additional calories,” you say. Not so fast, my friend!
Here is a list of the average calories burned for physical activities (assuming a 150 lb. person). For accurate calories burned specific to your body weight use the free calculator at Healthstatus.com:
30 minutes of high impact aerobics: 238 calories burned
30 minutes of walking (3 mph pace): 148 calories burned
30 minutes of yoga: 297 calories
30 minutes of running (6 mph): 342 calories
30 minutes of vigorous weightlifting: 207 calories
30 minutes of cycling (12 to 14 mph): 297 calories
30 minutes of spinning (moderate): 238 calories
You can see it’s going to take about 30 minutes of walking just to burn off the can of soda you drank with lunch! The better option is to have a bottle of water and eliminate the calories from your diet rather than trying to burn them off every day.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, healthy adults should participate in 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activities each week. So, assuming you spend 150 minutes each week running, you will burn 1,710 calories. Remember, we need to subtract or burn off an additional 3,500 calories to lose one pound. This means the other 1,790 calories must come from eliminating calories from your diet (around 255 calories per day).
If you spend 150 minutes each week walking at a brisk pace, you will burn 740 calories. Simple math tells us that you now need to eliminate another 2,760 calories from your diet that week to lose one pound!
There is a very small percentage of the population that exercises enough to burn an additional 3,500 calories each week. A healthy sustainable diet is always going to trump exercise when it comes to weight loss. You simply cannot gain weight from calories that you don’t eat! Exercise is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle, however you cannot out train bad nutrition.
A Simple Plan
Many people can eliminate over 500 calories by simply adjusting their beverage consumption. For example if you consume:
Breakfast: medium café latte with whole milk (265 calories)
Lunchtime: 20 oz. bottle of non-diet cola (240 calories)
Dinner: 1 bottle of sweetened lemon iced tea (180 calories)
Assuming no other beverages, you are consuming 685 calories each day without eating any solid food!
By substituting a small café latte with fat free milk (125 calories) for breakfast and drinking water with lemon or seltzer water for lunch and dinner you can eliminate 560 calories from your diet each day (more than enough to drop one pound per week). Alternatively, you can run for 30 minutes and follow that up with 30 minutes of vigorous weightlifting every day to burn around the same amount of calories. Which seems easier and more doable to you?
Eliminating just one fast food meal per week can easily eliminate several hundred calories from your weekly total! A recent article by Jeannine Stein of the L.A. times indicates that over 34% of the people that eat at fast food restaurants order combo meals that average 1,000 calories of more!
Eat a little smarter, don’t drink your calories, exercise a little bit of self discipline and you will be well on your way to shedding a few unwanted pounds.
Martial Arts for Life New Providence, NJ
Making our community healthier & safer, one person at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
10 Tips To Healthy Eating
Compiled by the International Food Information Council Foundation.
Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. Use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels as handy references.
Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Surveys show most Americans don’t eat enough of these foods. Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don’t enjoy some of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.
Maintain a healthy weight. The weight that’s right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity. Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other illnesses. But being too thin can increase your risk for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities and other health problems. If you’re constantly losing and regaining weight, a registered dietitian can help you develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.
Eat moderate portions. If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it’s easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Did you know the recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards? A medium piece of fruit is 1 serving and a cup of pasta equals 2 servings. A pint of ice cream contains 4 servings. Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid for information on recommended serving sizes.
Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you’re very hungry, it’s also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don’t eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.
Reduce, don’t eliminate certain foods. Most people eat for pleasure as well as nutrition. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt or sugar, the key is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them.
Identify major sources of these ingredients in your diet and make changes, if necessary. Adults who eat high-fat meats or whole-milk dairy products at every meal are probably eating too much fat. Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help balance your choices.Choosing skim or low-fat dairy products and lean cuts of meat such as flank steak and beef round can reduce fat intake significantly.If you love fried chicken, however, you don’t have to give it up. Just eat it less often. When dining out, share it with a friend, ask for a take-home bag or a smaller portion.
Balance your food choices over time. Not every food has to be “perfect.” When eating a food high in fat, salt or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.
Know your diet pitfalls. To improve your eating habits, you first have to know what’s wrong with them. Write down everything you eat for three days. Then check your list according to the rest of these tips. Do you add a lot of butter, creamy sauces or salad dressings? Rather than eliminating these foods, just cut back your portions. Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? If not, you may be missing out on vital nutrients.
Make changes gradually. Just as there are no “superfoods” or easy answers to a healthy diet, don’t expect to totally revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Begin to remedy excesses or deficiencies with modest changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. For instance, if you don’t like the taste of skim milk, try low-fat. Eventually you may find you like skim, too.
Remember, foods are not good or bad. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is “good” or “bad.” Don’t feel guilty if you love foods such as apple pie, potato chips, candy bars or ice cream. Eat them in moderation, and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.
Martial Arts for Life
Making our community healthier & safer, one family at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
Unlocking The Weight Loss Puzzle: Part 1
Unlocking The Weight Loss Puzzle: Part One
“Eating for Nourishment vs. Eating for Pleasure”
Welcome to “Unlocking The Weight Loss Puzzle” a short series dedicated to providing tips for sensible adults who are looking to reach and maintain a healthy weight.
Part One of this series is the concept of “eating for nourishment versus eating for pleasure.” Many people fail to make a conscious effort to eat meals strictly for the nutrition and nourishment provided (After all, how much fun is that?!). Instead, they choose what to eat and drink based on the pleasure they get from the food or beverage.
An example of eating for nourishment is deciding to have a bowl of oatmeal, and half a grapefruit for breakfast. Eating for pleasure is grabbing a sausage McMuffin and a Frappe Mocha from McDonald’s. It is okay to treat yourself to this type of breakfast *occasionally* if it’s important to you, but it is with the understanding that it is strictly a pleasure meal.
Another example is choosing to have a bottle of water instead of a diet soda. The bottle of water may not give you the immediate sweet, bubbly gratification of the diet soda, but it is ultimately a far superior choice. Drinking the diet soda is choosing to have a beverage for pleasure, rather than for hydration. And just to clear up any confusion, diet soda is NOT a healthy choice under any circumstances.
We all eat and drink for pleasure to some degree. The challenge is disciplining yourself to eat and drink healthy and nutritious things a majority of the time (about 70%). Most folks fail to keep track of what they’re eating and if it is truly a healthy choice. They tend to remember the salad they had for lunch, but not the two cheeseburgers and slice of pie they ate for dinner that night. Truly the only way to keep track is to keep a written log of what you’re eating. Doing this for as little as one week can be life-changing. Please Note: I didn’t say it would be easy, fun, or convenient.
Consciously eating healthy, nutritious meals is not just about weight loss – it is about quality of life. A poor diet (which is often coupled with poor exercise habits) sets the stage for serious health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke and other diseases. There is also growing evidence that a high-fat diet increases the risk of many deadly cancers.
By the way, if you’re choosing to eat those Sausage McMuffins, each one will provide you with 370 calories (207 from fat), 9 grams of saturated fat, 50 mg of cholesterol, 790 mg of sodium. If you chose to pick up a small Frappe Mocha to enjoy with your McMuffin, you would add an additional 450 calories (180 from fat), 13 grams of saturated fat, 55 mg of cholesterol, and 130 mg of sodium. There’s really no way to eat high calorie, high fat, fast food on a regular basis and NOT get fat and / or sick.
Remember if you eat sensibly 70% of the time, and eat for pleasure 30% of the time you will be far ahead of most people who do the opposite. 70% of the time you should be consuming lean protein sources, fruits, vegetables, whole grains. In other words, “more foods with less ingredients.” 30% of the time (or less) is reserved for eating for pleasure, with some self control. This when you may sanely indulge in the pizza, candy, cheeseburgers, cookies, ice creams and cakes. No binging!
Fit or fat? The choice is yours.
This article was written by Rich Brugger. He holds a Strength Conditioning and Weight Training Certification from ISMA and is Black Belt Master Instructor. He co-owns and operates Martial Arts for Life in New Providence, NJ with his wife Michelle (a certified personal fitness trainer, a certified nutritional consultant and Black Belt Instructor).
Martial Arts for Life
Making our community healthier & safer, one family at a time.
The Village Shopping Center, 1260 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974
Proud to offer Martial Arts, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal Protection Strategies to residents of New Providence NJ, Berkeley Heights NJ, Chatham NJ, Stirling NJ, Gillette NJ, Summit NJ, Union County NJ, Morris County NJ and all surrounding areas.
P.S. Visit our website at http://www.BeginKarate.com to learn about our Academy and our programs.
Martial Arts New Providence, NJ
Kickboxing New Providence, NJ
About Martial Arts for Life
Martial Arts for Life is a family oriented martial arts school that offers classes for men, women, and children. We are committed to patiently helping everyone who enters the program develop leadership skills, honesty, integrity, focus and self-discipline in every aspect of their lives.
We are located at 1260 Springfield Avenue, New Providence, NJ. We are proud to serve New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Murray Hill, Summit, Chatham and all surrounding areas.
You can reach us at 908.464.2836
Adult Kickboxing Classes
Martial Arts Classes for Kids
Martial Arts for Life 