My Top 3 Breakfasts

Next to lunch and dinner, breakfast is one of my favorite meals. Seriously though, I love eating which might surprise some people. It actually runs in my family I think. In fact, at my brothers wedding last year during my best man speech I mentioned how the easiest way to get my father, brother, or myself to agree with you, just feed us. I think the video of that speech is on Youtube somewhere if you really want to see it.

Anyway, breakfast is extremely important. Just look at the word itself, Break Fast. We are breaking a long fast after a night of sleeping. Let's say you eat dinner at 7pm then wake up at 7am. That is 12hrs of no food or energy. If you aren't filling your tank up you will be running on fumes for the rest of the day. Our metabolisms are still kicking while we sleep. We are just sleeping, we are not dead. We are using energy the entire time. Over 12hrs you use up most of your energy stores so they need to be replaced immediately.

Some people believe though, if they workout in a fasted state they will burn more fat. There may be some scientific evidence that they will burn more fat while fasting but I have one problem with that. How intensely can you workout on an empty stomach? I have tried it before. I could barely finish the workout, I used lighter weights, and I skipped harder exercises and sets because I just didn't have the energy. On the other hand when I just have a small snack I have enough energy to get through the workout and push it hard. While there might have been a higher fat oxidation percentage on the empty stomach I guarantee I burned more overall calories when I ate something. There is more scientific evidence that exercising more intensely will burn more calories.

I know many people struggle to get breakfast in. Even if you aren't hungry I highly recommend getting something in before you start your day. Here are my top three breakfast choices. I really eat these every week.

1. Veggie Omelet:

I personally use egg substitute but it fine to use whole eggs as well. In my omelet I will have peppers, mushrooms, spinach, turkey, and low fat cheese. (careful with the cheese).

2. Smoothie:

I love smoothies on days I get up at 4:30am and the last thing I want to do is cook something. Check out my older post on how to build the perfect smoothie. Currently I make my smoothie with frozen mango, protein powder, 1/2 banana, ice, almond milk, and cinnamon.

3. Greek Yogurt:

This is just one of my favorite things. I am really hooked on greek yogurt and for good reason. In one serving of non fat greek yogurt there is 24g of protein and only 8g of sugar. I usually add some blueberries and granola to mine, but it is great plain too.

There you go. Three super easy breakfast choices for you. Believe I am super lazy when it comes to cooking and need things to be very basic. These take just a few minutes to prepare and then you are ready to start your day.

You Stay Healthy San Diego!

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator

What's The Best Protein

I think it is safe to say, most people understand the importance of protein. Whether you are trying to lose fat or gain muscle you MUST consume adequate protein. The body uses protein to repair muscle, for energy, build hormones and enzymes, and build bone and skin. What some people may not realize is that there are different kinds of protein. There is whey, egg, casein, hemp, soy...We can get protein from a variety of sources depending on our diet patterns.

The questions is though, are all proteins the same? Does it matter if I have whey protein or should I have soy? A new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tried to answer this question. One thing that protein in general is good at is thermogensis. When we eat food we have to break it down to convert it to energy and to extract the nutrients our bodies need to function. The cool thing is, we burn energy doing this. While it isn't a ton of calories you will burn from eating and digesting food, it is important to consider. Protein requires much more energy to break down than fats or carbs.

So we know there is more thermogensis and a higher feeling of satiety after consuming protein, then in fats and carbs. What isn't as clear is the different affects from different sources of protein. This study compared whey, casein, and soy which are 3 of the more popular protein choices. Here is what they found when each protein source was taken with carbs and fat in a meal.

The whey protein had a higher thermogenic effect than both casein and soy, meaning there is higher calorie burn from eating whey protein. Over a 5 hour period after consuming whey there was a higher fat oxidation effect, so more calories were burned and more were burned from fat. All three protein sources slowed the spike in blood sugar when consumed with carbs. And finally participants claimed to feel more full after consuming soy and casein, but reported they liked whey better.

This is another new study that is showing whey protein has many benefits over some other sources of protein. Whey is found in most dairy products which may be a problem for some people, however.

The bottom line is there are difference between different protein sources, but in general make sure you are consuming enough protein in your diet from any source. For muscle gain and fat burning, it seems like whey protein would be your best option, but if you cannot consume whey you will still have many benefits from other types of proteins.

You Stay Healthy San Diego!

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator

The Best Workout of 2010

Over the past year I have put myself and my client through 1000's of workouts. I thought I would post my top workout of 2010 for you to try. Feel free to leave comments on what you think of it.

Perform the follow warm up exercise 1 time for 60 seconds each.

Jumping Jacks	Jumping Jacks	60 seconds
Toe Touch	Toe Touch	60 seconds
SB Bird Dogs	SB Bird Dogs	60 seconds
T Raise	T Raise	60 seconds

Perform the follow strength exercises as a circuit.
Go through the circuit 5 times.
Each time you go through the circuit do 2 less reps per execise.
Try to complete all 5 sets with little to no rest.

DB Snatch	DB Snatch	12, 10, 8, 6, 4 Each Arm
Renegade Rows	Renegade Rows	22, 20, 16, 12, 8 Total
Reverse Lunges	Reverse Lunges	12, 10, 8, 6, 4 Each Leg
SB Knee Tuck Push Up	SB Knee Tuck Push Up	12, 10, 8, 6, 4
S.L. Deadlift	S.L. Deadlift With Shrug	12, 10, 8, 6, 4
Burpees	Burpees	12, 10, 8, 6, 4

Perform the following core exercises in a circuit.
Perform the entire circuit TWICE.
Rest up to 30 seconds between exercises and up to 60 seconds between circuits.

Decline Reverse Crunch	Decline Reverse Crunch	15
Oblique V Ups	Oblique V Ups	10 Each Side
SB Mountain Climbers	SB Mountain Climbers	20

Finisher.
Perform the entire circuit 2 times.
Do each exercise for 20 seconds with a 10 second rest in between.

DB Swing	DB Swing	20 seconds
Mt Climbers	Mt Climbers	20 seconds
Squat Jumps	Squat Jumps	10
MB Slams	MB Slams	20 seconds

How To Set A Real Goal

Hi there. I hope you had a great New Year and you are ready to start 2011 with a bang. I had an interesting vacation. It was literally something right out of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but no where near as funny. Every Christmas my wife and I try to see as much family as possible since we live so far away. We traveled to NY to visit my family where we got stuck in a blizzard. After a nightmare with the airports we had to drive down to Washington DC to catch a flight to Mississippi to visit my in laws. And finally my wife surprised me with a trip to New Orleans for my 30th birthday and New Years.

As great as it is to see everyone it is nice to be back home and in a routine again. So over our 10 day trip I managed to gain around 5lbs. And honestly I thought it would have been more. One of the great things about working out all year and eating healthy 90% of the time is I can afford to enjoy the holidays with no regrets. So I definitely enjoyed myself by taking a week off from workouts and eating whatever I wanted. In NY it was tons of Italian food, cookies, cheese cake, and ice cream. If that wasn't enough in Mississippi and New Orleans it was Hamburgers with peanut butter, fried catfish po boys, fried oysters, grilled oysters, jumbalaya omelet, gumbo, and beignets. Oh and I can't forget the beer, champagne, hurricanes, and hand grenades.

What's done is done. It is time to move on and figure out my goals that I need to start working on. Regardless of what your goals involve; health, business, spirituality, friendship.... you need to set good goals. The problem with New Year Resolutions is no one actually sticks to them. Instead of thinking about a goal for the whole year just pick a small goal for the month of January. After one month of sticking with that goal you can decide if you want to continue that goal or try working on something new. When ever creating a goal make sure you have a S.M.A.R.T. goal.

Specific- The more specific the better. "I want to lose weight" is not a very specific goal. Instead think of a number of pounds or a dress/pant size you want to get into.

Measurable- If you can't measure it, there is no way to know when you have reached your goal. You can want to be healthier or richer, but what does that mean. You need to find something you can measure like cholesterol or number of sales.

Attainable- Once you set a goal you need to shift your attitude and belief system. You must know that you can obtain this goal. No matter how big the goal might be you have the steps in place to reach that goal.

Realistic- This one is pretty self explanatory. Do not just pick easy goals though. You need to challenge yourself. But it must be possible to reach that goal. You might say you are going to lose 50lbs by February, but this is not realistic.

Timely- Give yourself a deadline. Think about in school when an assignment was due or at work when a big project was due. What happened as you got closer to the goal? You started to really focus and make it a priority. If there is no end date you will just keep putting it off until you just give up on it. Challenge yourself here don't wait all year to reach your goal. Pick a time that is realistic but will make you work.

Using these simple step you will start to develop goals that you will accomplish in no time. Here are a few of my SMART goals that I will be working on.

Fitness:

One of my weakest areas in fitness is flexibility. For the month of January I will be performing at least 1 stretch before bed every night. When time permits I will do more but I will at least do one stretch. It might be a simple goal but for someone who hates stretching it will be a challenge.

Education:

As you know, I'm sure, things are always changing in the fitness/business industry. For 2011 I will read 1 fitness or business related book. It is my goal to be the best trainer and business person I can by educating myself from experts.

Financially:

It is always my goal to make more money than I did the year before but this is not a very specific goal. Instead I will build up my name and brand by giving one free lecture with different organizations and companies to help promote myself and my business this year.

So there are my goals. I would love to hear some of yours as well. One reason I am telling all of you some of my goals is to keep me accountable. If you ever see me feel free to ask me how I am doing on each. It is a great idea for you to do the same. Write it down in the comment section below so I can keep you accountable.

You Stay Healthy San Diego!

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator