Importance of Breakfast

Right so you're constantly told breakfast is important, but does anyone tell you why, and what it should consist of.

Firstly, lets start on why its important. You've just woken up from what should of been around 8 hours of sleep, now during that time your body has shut down into a state of rest. Not only are your eyes resting but your metabolism*, to enable your metabolism to be boosted you need to put something in your body. Now, this isn't only important for losing weight but also to build muscle, while your metabolism is slow, nutrients aren't getting to the muscles as quickly as they should be therefore they don't have the right amount of protein and carbohydrates to build, especially after they have been depleted for what should be 8 hours - this can be stopped by including the right nutrition before bed but i will go into that another time.

So, now we know why it is important, what should it consist of? It all depends on your day ahead of you, are you are sat down at a desk all day or are you going to be running around a building site? Is it rest day from the gym or are you doing a bootcamp tonight?

Depending on what day it is for you i will give you two examples of a good breakfast and why. Now i can't give too much details without knowing your exact BMR* but these breakfasts are a good starting point.

Active Day/Busy Lifestyle - 
Large Glass of Water
Bowl of Oatmeal/Porridge w/ Scoop of Protein 
Coffee
Piece of Fruit 

Rest Day/Slow Lifestyle - 
Large Glass of Water 
2 Egg Omelette - Lean Meat & Veg 
Coffee 
Low Sugar Fruit 

Reasons Why?

Active Day/Busy Lifestyle -
Always start with a glass of water preferable cold, it will boost your metabolism and wake your body up. On this day oatmeal/porridge is a good source of slow releasing carbohydrates which will give you the energy throughout the day, I advise for you to add a scoop of protein because not only will it give some flavor instead of you reaching for the bowl of sugar, but the protein will help for the workout to come and also keep you fuller for longer. Cup of coffee on both days will also help to boost your metabolism, certain amounts of caffeine will do this and also give you some energy if you are about to workout. Piece of fruit, this can be any type of fruit really depending on your goals and also can be mixed with your oatmeal/porridge dependent on your flavors.

Rest Day/Slow Lifestyle - 
Again the water will allow you to wake your body up allowing your metabolism to be kick started. Instead of the oatmeal which has carbs you are going to reach for a high protein meal which can be an omelette or if your in a rush two hard boiled eggs from the night before. If you take carbohydrates in on a day in which your body isn't doing much activity they will sit on your stomach and probably turn into fat if not used as energy. A Coffee/Green Tea again will give you some caffeine for energy and also help again with your metabolism. This time we are going to reach for a low sugar fruit, which to be safe is usually some sort of fresh berries or rhubarb as you don't want high sugar to be sat in your stomach when not doing activity.


*Metabolism - This is the speed at which your body converts Kcal into energy, increased metabolism means you're body is moving nutrients around the body quickly and converting your food sources into energy quickly allowing it not to be stored as body fat.

*BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate - Can be calculated using some body measurements and gives you an average of calories your body burns each day and can dictate how many calories you need to either lose fat or gain muscle.

@AReecePT

A Beginners Supplement Stack

In recent posts i talked about how supplements can help improve your diet and why we take them, now i'm going to give you an idea of a basic supplement stack for beginners. I seem to come across two different types of beginners so i'm going to hit a general audience here.

1. Someone wanting to gain size and strength. 

2. Someone wanting to lower fat percentage. 

The stack that i am going to give you here is one that everyone no matter their needs should be in their supplements, now you can add to these, but i am going to give you the basics. This stack needs to be taken with a combination of strength and cardio training no matter what you want from your body. 

For both person 1 & 2 you will want to get the following: 

A protein powder - Each serving should have 25g+ of protein, this is a great supplement for what ever you're doing because it is going to enable you to recover faster and build muscle allowing you to always be ready for your next workout. This won't get you bigger, if you want to build muscle your diet is going to be the one thing to focus on; it is going to help and aid recovery. 

(Servings Per Day 1-4)

Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) - These are essential in the synthesis of protein without these it make it harder for protein to be activated, there are found in protein powder but adding them is going to only help the cause. 

(Servings Per Day 1-3)

Multi-Vitamin - Any kind of multi-vitamin is essential to a diet, now you can't solely rely on them and you still have to eat your greens but when you are putting your body under stress everyday you need to keep the organs healthy from the inside-out. 

(Servings Per Day - Depends on MultiVitamin Bought)

Green Tea or Coffee Extract - This can be bought in a supermarket or your local supplement store, whether you are trying to lower fat % or gain muscle this is a great natural supplement. It is not only going to boost your metabolism but also if taken before a workout give you that extra energy to run further or lift longer. 

(Servings Per Day 1-3 Dependent on Strength of Extract)

Like i say this is your basic supplement stack, as you get more advanced you are going to start trying different things and see what works for you. Servings sizes depends on your personal goals. 

Any questions be sure to comment or tweet: 

@LifestyleFuse 

Take That Step Into The Gym

Ok, so people always want to get into the gym but always have some excuse. Most of the excuses i hear are usually to do with not knowing the equipment very well, don't want to be judged, girls, and guys for that matter, don't want to get too muscular and the excuses go on forever.

Listen we all had to start somewhere and when i was 15 walking into that gym, lifting 5lb dumbbells let me tell you i had no clue what i was doing. Dumbbell curl and chest press were about the only thing i knew until i started watching people, reading blogs and just getting to know the equipment. 8 years on ill still pick up a dumbbell and try a random exercise i seen on Instagram or Twitter, see if it works for me and how i feel and then i might add into my routine.

What i'm trying to say is take that step, you'll never regret it. I promise now, you won't be judged, you won't get too big (Bodybuilders eat over 7,000 calories a day for years to get where they got) but i will tell you what you will get, great self-esteem, superb confidence and a great body to go with it (If you work hard).

Make that decision, be the best person you can.