Whether you are attempting to lose weight, gain muscle or perform better athletically…portion control is the single most important factor in healthy eating! For every doctor that supports one medical theory, you’ll find a doctor that thinks it’s “rubbish.” For every weight-loss expert who supports one diet plan, you find another who calls it “ridiculous.”

This is why we have started the Veteran Training Blog… to give clear concise accurate answers to the new and advanced fitness enthusiast. We research so much information that we understand how someone hoping to meet their personal goals would get confused. There are so many diet plans and weight loss options available, how are you supposed to choose? Don’t worry, there’s good news! 

The one thing that diet and fitness experts agree on is the importance of portion control! While you may have chosen short-term “drastic” diets in the past to get ready for a special event or to jump-start your weight loss for motivational purposes; without the knowledge, understanding, and practice of portion control, you’re most-likely continuing a never ending cycle to find that weight again.

So we have put together the Veteran Training Portion control sheet to help you to succeed in your Goals.

Bicycling for as little as five minutes a day can help women control their weight in their 30s and 40s, a new study suggests Wednesday.

The study, published in the June 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, followed more than 18,000 women between the ages of 25 and 42 for 16 years.

The study found the women who increased physical activities like brisk walking and bicycling by 30 minutes a day during the 16-year period maintained their weight and even lost a few pounds, but those whose exercise was slow walking did not lose any weight.

According to the study, women who started biking for just five minutes a day gained about 1.5 fewer pounds over the course of the study than similar women who didn’t take up biking.

This is not suggesting that if you bicycle for five minutes you will immediately go back to the weight you were when you were 18… But biking and walking are easier than many other forms of exercise to incorporate into everyday life.

So get out there…and don’t forget your helmet.

Probiotics aren’t the only way to a healthy gut. High-fiber foods like fruits and grains can also stimulate the growth of good bacteria.

You’ve heard of probiotics, those good-for-you bacteria that aid digestion and support healthy immune function. Many processed foods like cereal and yogurt are fortified with them. But did you know your body can make probiotics naturally? Prebiotics, indigestible parts of plants (otherwise known as fermentable fiber), stimulate the growth of good bacteria as they move through your intestinal tract. Bananas, berries, whole grains, leafy greens and legumes are all great sources. Because stress, a poor diet, certain medical conditions and some medications can decrease the amount of healthy bacteria in your gut, eating plenty of probiotics can help maintain equilibrium.

Let’s start with the Basics.

You have three types of muscles: the cardiac muscle found in your heart, the smooth muscle that lines such organs as your stomach and esophagus, and skeletal muscle, which attaches to your bones via tendons.

Skeletal muscles are the ones you use to suck in your stomach at the beach or help a friend move their sofa up three flights of stairs—in other words, the kind that you’re most aware of as you go about your day. They make up 30 to 40 percent of your body mass and are largely voluntary, meaning you make them move—minus the occasional involuntary contraction when flight or fight responses kick in..

THE UPPERCUT:

Subtly shift your weight to the hip on the side of the rear leg. Dip that side’s shoulder as you crouch down a bit. Next, with the palm up and the arm bent 90 degrees, forcefully rotate toward the side of your lead leg and push off the ball of your back foot, driving the punch upward (aim for the chin of your imaginary opponent). On impact, your palm should face your chest.

http://www.veterantraining.org/boxing.htm

TACO BELL MEXICAN PIZZA
540 calories
30 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,020 mg sodium

It’s Italian, it’s Mexican, it’s … well, it’s got a whopping 64 different ingredients, so it’s hard to tell just what exactly it is. On the face of it, this meal doesn’t look too bad. There are two pizza shells, ground beef, beans, pizza sauce, tomatoes, and three cheeses. Nothing alarming, right? Even the nutritional vital signs, while high, compare favorably to most fast-food pizzas. It only gets scary when you zoom in on what it takes to stitch those pieces together. That’s when you see all of those 64 smaller ingredients, including an astounding 24 in the ground beef alone. Yikes.

Now, some of those ingredients amount to little more than Mexican seasonings and spices, but there are also loads of complex compounds such as autolyzed yeast extract, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, calcium propionate, fumaric acid, and silicon dioxide. Any of those sound familiar? That last one might—if you’ve spent any time at the beach. But chances are you normally refer to it by its common name: sand.

That’s right, sand is made from fragmented granules of rock and mineral, and the most common of them is silicon dioxide, or silica. This is also the stuff that helps strengthen concrete and—when heated to extreme temperatures—that hardens to create glass bottles and windowpanes.

So why exactly does Taco Bell put sand in the Mexican Pizza? To make it taste like spring break in Cancun? Not quite. As it turns out, Taco Bell adds silica to the beef to prevent it from clumping together during shipping and processing. The restaurant uses the same anti-caking strategy with the chicken, shrimp, and rice.

Is it unusual to add silica to food? Yes. Is it dangerous? Probably not. The mineral actually occurs naturally in all sorts of foods like vegetables and milk

Stumped about what to make for dinner? No problem! Our Cohasset Personal Trainers know that fish can be a great way to add some variety to your meals!

Fish is a good source of protein without the saturated fat found in meats. And many types of fish are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which can boost heart health. Mackerel, herring, sardines, lake trout, albacore tuna, and salmon are all rich in omega-3s. The healthiest way to prepare the latest catch is to bake or grill it with olive oil, spices, and lemon wedges.

Shrimp (boiled, broiled, eaten hot or cold in a salad) is ideal to help you get out of a dinnertime guessing game — and scallops, too. And did you know that canned salmon is a great way to add extra calcium to your diet?

According to a study in mice, soluble fiber, found in fruit, may help boost immunity.

There really may be some truth to the old “apple a day” adage. Soluble fiber, like that found in apples, oats and beans, may help strengthen the immune system, according to a recent study in mice at the University of Illinois. The research suggests that soluble fiber may neutralize inflammation in immune cells and help us heal faster. Though more research is needed, eating a fiber-rich diet is never a bad idea. Soluble fiber can help control heart disease and diabetes by reducing cholesterol levels and keeping blood sugar levels stable.