No Such Thing As A Diet

3 Easy Ways to Use Calories to Lose Calories

2012-05-01T13:23:00.002-04:00

One thing that is commonly overlooked in weight loss is breakfast. Many people are under the impression that skipping breakfast can help you lose weight. They are very wrong. In fact, it is quite the contrary. There are three key points I'd like to go over regarding the importance of breakfast.

Metabolism

Eating breakfast first thing in the morning is fantastic for your metabolism. You see, when you put food into your body, you are telling your body to get started. What is this thing that your body getting started on? Burning fat. Your metabolism burns your fat all throughout the day, but it burns even more if you get it started earlier. Anything you eat will get the metabolism moving, but certain foods activate it more than others. Spicy foods like sausage and peppers tend to kick your metabolism into high gear, as well as fruits. Whatever you do, just make sure you eat something.

2. Protein

Ok, it does sort of matter what you eat for breakfast if you want to optimize your weight loss. You see, when you kick your metabolism into high gear, you tend to get hungrier faster. To prevent yourself from snacking away your good physique you should eat something hearty for breakfast. Protein is just about the most filling food type there is. Studies have shown that those who eat protein in for breakfast (like eggs, sausage, milk, cheese, yogurt) are half as likely to snack in between meals. I like those odds. Water also helps to curb your appetite, not to mention it is the healthiest thing on the planet.

3. Energy

Last but not least, I want to talk about energy. Having energy throughout the day is something most people wish they had more of. Well, it's not some magical gift for the lucky few. All it takes is a wise choice, like eating a hearty breakfast. Breakfast eaters who take in a healthy wholesome morning meal are rewarded with an extra dose of energy. This energy in turn helps to burn even more calories than they would have burned without the hearty breakfast. Certain foods like whole grain breads, oatmeal and slow burning proteins like milk and eggs are ideal for building long lasting energy throughout your day.

So as you can see, you use calories to lose calories.

Thank you for reading. I hope this information gets into the right hands! Questions or comments are always encouraged. Until next time...

Stay Healthy,

Tom Rio

Counting Calories

2012-04-23T12:44:00.005-04:00

Hey all,

It has been requested of me to write a post about Calories. For starters, I would just like to say, I do not count calories, and people that do are not bad or wrong, but, there are better ways to lose weight.

There is much debate on how many calories people should eat each day. Without getting into any arguments, I think most of us can agree women should be eating anywhere from 1500-2500 and men should be eating from 2000-3000 everyday. That is based on the fact that an average male human will burn 2000 calories while at rest. So if you are already the weight you desire to be, then you do not need to be calorie deficient, you already eat exactly what you burn. If you would like to lose weight, then you need to eat less calories than you burn, simple.

Now then, a calorie is a measure of energy, as in, the energy you need to get yourself through the day and through your workout. So you don't want to go depriving yourself of them too much, because...those calories run your brain, heart, and other vital organs. Taking them away can make your organs less efficient. The other thing that happens when you starve yourself of calories is that your body freaks out. Your body thinks that you are not going to give it food anymore, so...it stops burning the fat, and starts hoarding it. Everything that you eat turns to fat instead of burning it.

What's the alternative?

Eating just under the needed amount of calories for a longer period of time is what most people do who still want to count calories. That way works, but your still stuck doing math before you eat. A better solution is, instead of eating such calorie packed junk, switch your foods. Instead of 1300 calorie McDonald's number 4, eat a McDonald's salad, which are about 1000 less calories. Big difference, you could eat four of those salads and you would still not have the amount of calories as a number 4. The point is, we all know what foods are highly caloric, and if you don't I will give a very quick run down.

High Calories

Fried Foods
Fatty Meats
Sugary Foods
White breads and Rice and Starchy Vegetables
Anything that tastes very good :(

Low Calories

Fruits
Vegetables
Nuts and Seeds
Water
Lean Meats
Whole Grains

If you simply choose foods that you know are way way way less caloric you are doing yourself two favors.
1. You are making your diet easier
2. You are making your body healthier.

Trade high calories for high vitamin content, high protein content, and high fiber content.

I hope this has helped all of you who love to hate calorie counting. As always, questions or comments are welcome.

Stay healthy!
-Tom Rio

I don't have time to eat healthy!

2012-04-13T12:56:00.001-04:00

"I dont have time to eat healthy". That is something I hear more often than anything.
More than, "I don't know how to eat healthy",
More than, "It's too expensive",
More than, "I want to eat food that tastes good".

Well, I say that's Bologna! Pun. I bet I can name off the top of my head ( I have about a minute to finish this and get off the bus) 15 healthy snacks that take no time and 5 healthy meals that take barely any time.

Here are 15 Snacks:

1. Trail mix (The M & M kind is best)
2. An Apple, or any hand held fruit.
3. Yogurt
4. String cheese
5. Triscuits
6. 100 percent juice (just read you labels)
7. Peanut Butter Protein Bar
8. Turkey sandwich on wheat bread with Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato
9. Whole Wheat Pretzels
10. Celery and Peanut Butter
11. Green tea and a Cajun trail mix (yes, it's different)
12. Chocolate Covered Fruit
13. Any microwaveable from Morning Star
14. CHEEZ-ITs
15. Almonds, or Chocolate Covered Almonds

Now on to the dinners:

1. Again, anything from morning star (check them out in your grocers freezer :)

2. Whole wheat spaghetti (10 times healthier) actually cooks faster than regular spaghetti. About 10 minutes to ready. Get a bag of the steam-able broccoli and cheese to make your meal well rounded.

3. Instant brown rice, chicken, cheese and spice. Enough said.

4. Stir fry mixers are great.

5. Whole grain tortillas. Bottle of salsa. Lettuce, cheese and ground turkey = healthy tacos!

Okay, that took a little more than a minute. You get the idea though. There is always time for your health, try to get creative and cook things that still taste good too!

Stay healthy everyone,
Thomas Rio

What is Sugar?

2012-04-09T12:19:00.000-04:00

Hey folks! Tom Rio here. Today I am addressing the issue of Sugar. What it is, its different types, and whether it is good or bad. I also hope this post can clear up some of our confusion on what foods actually are sugar! Here we go...

What is Sugar?

Sugar = Carb. It is true. Many people don't realize this. You have heard of Good Carbs and Bad Carbs? So we have Good Sugar and Bad Sugar. Okay, I'd like to keep this pretty simple as it can get quite intricate.

Bad Sugar

We won't get into the polysaccharides and disaccharides of it all, but, we should know about Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, and Lactose. Sucrose is bad. The others aren't so bad. Easy huh? What's the catch? Sucrose tastes way better than the others. So, to help us get over that fact, let's look at why it's bad.

Why is Sucrose so bad?

Well, the way your body works is, when there is an excess of needed nutrients, it either stores them (as fat) or kicks them out (as you know what). When you eat Sucrose, since it is not a needed nutrient, your body automatically goes into the store or kick mode, and because our bodies are greedy...they store it. (again, as fat) I think we all know why that is bad.

I won't even step on the facts about how Sucrose lowers your immune system, causes fatigue and irritability and possibly is the main cause of ADHD and Diabetes.

What are some examples of Sucrose (Bad Sugar)?

Table sugar
Soda
Basically all candy
White rice
White bread
Fruit juice that is not 100% Juice

Good Sugar

Good Sugars are Fructose, Glucose and Lactose. (Fruit, Whole Grain Breads, and Dairy) They still give you that sugar high, but they don't turn into fat cells the second they get metabolized.

Good Sugars come with Fiber, Vitamins and Minerals, and a different chemical structure. While too much fruit juice (100 percent juice) doesn't usually send you to fat camp, it can still have adverse affects on other parts of you body. (kidneys, liver, and more) So this isn't a free ticket to drink all the juice you want, (but Tom said this is good sugar!) it's good but it's not that good!

What are some examples of Fructose, Glucose, and Lactose (Good Sugars):

Fructose

Apples
Blueberries
Oranges
All fruits and some veggies...

2. Glucose

Wholegrain bread
Triscuits
Brown Rice
Quinoa
Rye Bread
Whole wheat anything (Cereal, Bread, Crackers)
Veggies that are more starchy like eggplant and potatoes

3. Lactose (These are also part fat (good fat))

Milk
Yogurt
Cheese
Creams (Though a lot of creams contain SUCROSE, watch out!)

Final Tips:

Choose products that say, "No added sugar" and "Natural Sugar" when you can.
Warning! Some products masquerade as Whole Grain, since federal law only demands that foods which claim to be whole grain actually only need to be 51% whole grain to claim it on the label. This means basically half your food is Sucrose! Be wise, if your box of Marsh mellow cereal says "Whole Grain" it's probably only that 51%.

I truly hope this has helped you. As always, thank you for reading my blog. Please feel free to comment or leave questions, they are welcomed! Shout out to Julie Hanson for commenting in person on my blog. Thanks!

Stay Healthy Everyone!

LifeStyle Change (Don't Let The Title Scare You)

2012-04-05T16:19:00.000-04:00

Heres the thing, we live in a modern society, but our body isn't modern. Our body is still the same as when Adam and Eve got here. Sure we look a little different and don't die from a paper cut, but we are the same essentially. So why are we putting all this new fangled food into our bodies?

A very good way to go about getting the fat off is by changing a few major lifestyle choices. Not only will these choices positively affect your weight, but they will lower your risk of disease as well. They may even contribute to lower taxes, more time we can get out of fossil fuels, and cut down on our nation being ruled by giant corporations.

So what are these little big changes?

1.
Stop! Shopping at the bloodsucking Wal-Marts of the world. Look, I know we all love a good deal, but you know what? Judas thought he was getting a good deal. This life is not about saving money, and when you make it that, you affect others negatively. Walmart puts so many areas of commerce (Mom and Pops stores) out of business that the statistics are so large I can't type the number because I don't have the page space! Not to mention how they actually cause you to spend more on stuff you don't need because it's "Cheaper". What should we do instead? Shop at farmers markets. That will help get the healthier food to become cheaper. Remember our good old friend supply and demand? There won't be any bad choices to choose from, and the people their are a different breed of awesome. They know that beauty actually is only on the outside if you don't eat right. Also, the fruits and veggies at farmers markets are usually organic and fresher.

2.
Eat Smaller Meals. More Often. We have all heard that it works, but why don't we do it? Stop putting "more important" things ahead of eating. If you don't shape up soon those important things won't get done anyway since you'll be in a hospital bed or worse. Most people don't realize but almost 99% of diseases are directly affected by diet! Six meals a day should do it. Lets say: 7 am 10 am 1 pm 330 pm 6pm 830pm
That is simply an example. Do what you feel is best for you. And try to lay off the carbs for the last meal or two.

3.
Go for a walk, jog, garden, do something. I do yoga. Do it once a day if possible, for about an hour. This is really not so hard. If you are missing out on family time than include them! I know my daughter loves to play baseball with me (even more than I do)

4.
Go organic. It tastes better. It is better. So only buy organic and then sooner or later there only will be organic. Before WWI there was no such thing as organic. Because everything was organic already! Crazy right.

5.
Live by this rule. More than 7 ingredients that you can't pronounce, don't buy it.
In addition to that rule, a very good way to think about it is, if God put it here, it's probably okay. (i.e. fruits and veggies, bread, milk, nuts, seeds, fish, oh so many healthy things we really don't eat enough of.

These few new steps should tide us over for a bit. Just to recap, we have:
Eat in Moderation
Eat Super Foods
Exercise 45 min a day
5-7 small meals
don't shop at big chains, shop at farmers markets
go organic
too many ingredients=to many health problems.

You are awesome for reading my blog, I thank you.
Feel free to leave as many comments or questions as you want!

Stay Healthy,
Tom Rio

Super Foods

2012-04-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

Super Foods.

In today's vast array of choices food is no different. With so much to choose from and the lack of education our community is getting about nutrition it can be hard to know what foods are the right foods. You may be choosing foods you think are good that are actually bad.

A good rule of thumb is: The cheaper the Food, the more Villainous it is.

Well out of this mess comes a bird, no a plane, no its SuperFOOD!!

Superfoods are foods that contain more health in them then anything else combined. If you just ate these foods and these foods alone, it would not matter your serving size, or your excersize rate, you would be lean, happy, smarter, more alert, and quite possibly wealthier. :) Sounds pretty awesome huh. Then why arn't we doing it? I know why, we love chips,sugar,candy, and soda! (Believe me I am right there with you)

Try to put just a few of these into your daily "diet" and also use Moderation with the sweets and then we will have two new little things that will get us on our way to cut, lean, ripped machines!

Here is a list of my favorite superfood (and some gross ones packed with health)

-Blueberries

This is an easy one, because most folks love sweet blueberries. I remember I used to go blueberry picking in New Jersey every summer. It was great, the Blueberries were 99 cents/pound. These little buggers are packed with Vitamin C which is what keeps you going when your sick, or stressed. (It's essential)

-Turkey(Not Just for Thanksgiving After all)

Many people do not realize how good turkey is, apart from duck and goose, it's the healthiest meat out there. It is also the leanest. It also contains: Tryptophan which, not makes you sleepy, it makes you happy by upping your serotonin. Pretty cheap alternative to an anti-depressant would't you say? Turkey also comes with free Vitamin B for energy.

-Quinoa (Pronounced Keen-waa)

This rice-like sensation is the hidden gem of your local Food Lion, Acme, or Piggly Wiggly (That's a southern Super Market (Cool Name Right?)) Not only does it have 8 grams of protein in each cup (That's right 8!) it has the good fat, vitamin E and a good amount of iron. It goes good with steak, chicken, or our new best friend..turkey :)

-Beans

Most beans are considered Super :) They are high in protein, fiber and good fat. Just steer clear of the beans packed with 50 grams of sugar.

-Kiwis

Everyone loves Sour candy, well here is the healthy version of sour candy! Kiwi's are fun and quick vitamin packed snacks :) Fiber, Vitamin C and E, plus...they are covered in tiny hairs, how cool!

-Plain Yogurt

Now this one really is easy, just peel off the lid and down the health. This helps with your BMs (we all know what those are) and keeps you regular. Yogurt is packed with protein so if you eat yogurt in the morning you are 20% more likely to not eat again until lunch. Not to mention the low calorie count and cancer fighting acidopholis. :)

-Eggs

The egg is incredible isn't it. With it's Vitamin K which prevents blood clots. Its low calorie, high-protein, high vitamin content is far better than the pretend hype about cholesterol. (Moderation! will fix the cholesterol issue)

-Nuts

Protein, Fiber, Vitamins, Good Fat, Good Sugar. There is absolutely nothing better you can do then keep a can or bag of almonds or cashews on your person at all times. They are fantastic for fighting hunger pangs between meals.

-Salmon

Oh good fats, you are so good to us. The good fat in these Super Foods have the potential to fight brain cancer and actually make your cognitive reaction faster than those eating taco bell fats. Salmon has super high protein and the best part, if you eat enough your skin turns pink! (If your lucky)

-Broccoli

A head of broccoli a day keeps the doctor away. Well, eat your green vegetables and you'll probably live longer, with standard check ups by your also broccoli eating physician. Fiber is the name of the game for overall health which also helps in weight loss. Again we see the recurring theme of Vitamin C here as well.

-Sweet Potatoes

Last but not least we have our Oranges. Orange potatoes that is. These babies pack 400% of Beta Carotene, which helps the skin and eyes. Fibrous indeed is the sweet potato. They are also a good alternative to regular potatoes as they have a lower glycemic index.

I know that was a lot to take in. But this blog will be here forever so you can refer back whenever you want. Feel free to leave any questions for me, I'll be glad to answer back right away.

Challenge: If anyone knows any other superfoods I missed (I know for a fact there are more) Go ahead and post them for our readers to see :)

Thanks for reading,

stay tuned,

stay healthy,

Tom Rio

THE END

2012-04-04T15:25:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone! I am brand new (as my name states) to this blogging world, so go easy on me if you would. My name is Tom Rio. I know, I know, it sounds like a baseball players name, now batting:...Tom RIIIIOOOOOO!
Well, any who, I am starting this blog to do two things:
1. To help me get acclimated to this whole blogging thing.
2. To help folks who need or want the information I have.

Now down to the nitty gritty :) I have been studying Nutrition for about 10 years now, it has always been a hobby of mine and I am intrigued by almost every aspect of it. I wouldn't say I am an authority or even close to a nutritionist, or even by far a doctor. That being said I think I have a very good grasp on Diets, Exercise, and overall Health.
The key word for today is going to be...Moderation. Not only is Moderation an important thing in health but also in life. Without getting too preachy I think a very good rule of thumb is to do things in moderation, even earning money that is, it just seems to me that too much of a good thing is a bad thing (sorry country singer who said too much of a good thing, is a good thing) So when we look at what we are eating we should check if we are being moderate. Don't have too much salad, but more importantly, don't have too much candy. I think starting off simply with this little tip will help everyone get to where they need to be. It is not a quick-fix but it is a root problem solver.
I know everyone is probably wondering why I called my Blog, No Such Thing As A Diet. The word diet is actually Greek for "a way of life, mode of living" Sounds pretty permanent right? Yet we have come to know it as something temporary. Diet really shouldn't be a word, it gives the wrong idea, a diet is not what your planning to deprive yourself of, it's what you eat, what you are, what you live. I could go on forever, but I want to keep this first blog short. I will give you a taste of what is to come below. Remember, when you go for that second helping, just think "am I using moderation?" (Write this down and post it on the fridge, get it tattooed on your hand, do what you must to remember)

Thanks for reading and remember, I am here to help, feel free to post anything you want, questions or comments!
Thanks again,
-Tom Rio

More to come:

-Creating a new lifestlye
-Good Sugar vs. Bad Sugar
-The More you eat the More you Lose
-The NonDiet
-Cheat to Win
-Why america is hefty

and many more...