200 POSTS - Another Milestone

Hey Everyone - we all hit a milestone - 200 Posts to our blog. Leah you beat me to the # 200 post. I still claim the # 100 post. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories (good & bad), tips, jokes, pictures and encouragement.

The meatballs were delicious considering they were made from ground Turkey. Leah used egg whites instead of whole eggs, 40 calories bread slices and baked rather than fried the meatballs. The fattiest ingredient was Pecarino Romano cheese.

I was a couch potato tonight. Tomorrow I'm determined to come straight home and treadmill. My goal is to do a mile under 16 minutes. Hmmm, I'll let you know how that goes.

Tip for Weight Loss:

I'm going to try this tip - BUT I have to get to bed before midnight. Now that's a challenge.

DO YOUR CARDIO FIRST THING IN THE MORNING ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

Fasted early morning cardio is still controversial in academic circles, and some people are concerned that it might be too catabolic and you may break down muscle along with the fat. However, my experience and research has shown that while there are risks, fasted early morning does work and the potential benefits outweigh those risks when maximum fat loss is your goal.
But don't take my word for it - examine the facts, test it while carefully monitoring body composition and lean body mass, and decide for yourself.
The argument in favor of fasted early morning cardio goes something like this

1. After an overnight 8-12 hour fast, your body's stores of glycogen are depleted and you burn more fat when glycogen is low.

2. Eating causes a release of insulin. Insulin interferes with the mobilization of body fat. Less insulin is present in the morning; so more body fat is burned when cardio is done in the morning.

3. There is less carbohydrate (glucose) in the bloodstream when you wake up after an overnight fast. With less glucose available, you burn more fat.

4. If you eat immediately before a workout, you have to burn off what you just ate first before tapping into stored body fat (and insulin is elevated after a meal.)

5. When you do cardio in the morning, your metabolism stays elevated for a period of time after the workout is over. If you do cardio in the evening, you burn calories during the session, but you fail to take advantage of the "afterburn" effect because your metabolic rate drops dramatically as soon as you go to sleep.


Laura signing off!