Food Under 400: Breakfast Edition

round white ceramic bowl
Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

Food Under 400 is a compilation of super simple recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all under 400 calories. I inserted photos of the exact ingredients, calories, and macronutrient breakdown so you can see all the details. The best part? Soups, salads, or green juices are nowhere to be found on this list! So if you’re diet is starting to get bland and boring, throw one of these recipes together.

Banana Pancakes… I like to top mine with sliced bananas instead of adding them to the batter. You can even use the same ingredients and turn them into waffles!

File_000

Yogurt Berry Parfait… I eat this almost every single day of the week. Topping your fruit and yogurt with cereal instead of granola is a HUGE calorie saver on this one.

File_000(1)

PB Breakfast Sammies… simple swaps keep this recipe low in calories. Nature’s Own Bread and PB2 are to thank! I like to fry all THREE sandwiches up in a pan so they are nice and warm.

File_001

Cinnamon Crunch Cereal… this one is as plain and simple as they come. Blend your protein shake and pour over cereal!

File_001(1)

Eggs, Turkey Bacon, and Buttery Toast… a real traditional breakfast that saves room for butter AND fits in your diet! For the egg whites 15 tbsp. = 1 cup.

File_002

Bagel & Bacon… love this one because it’s simple to make when you’re on the go!

File_003

Hearty Oatmeal… this recipe always reminds me of cozy winter time. Try microwaving your apple slices with cinnamon before tossing them into your oatmeal!

*My Fitness Pal calculates and recalculates serving sizes on some items and not others. 1/2 cup oats should actually be 1 full cup uncooked.

File_004

Whether you serve these recipes on their own, no matter if you make this in advance for meal prep or eat them freshly cooked, I’m sure they’ll make an awesome addition to your healthy diet. Snap a picture and share it with me by tagging @littlewarriorfitness or using #littlewarriorfitness I’d love to see your creations!

The No-Nonsense Guide to Pregnancy Nutrition

If I were only passionate about fitness because of the way it made my body look, then I’d have to seriously reevaluate my motives. For me, getting pregnant and watching my body change has been a humbling and exciting (yes, exciting) experience. Right now I’m not worried about losing all my progress, gaining weight, or being imperfect. I’m worried about creating a healthy happy little human and if you’re pregnant, you should be too! One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is through your nutrition so let’s get started!

What is Reverse Dieting?
If you haven’t heard of reverse dieting, it’s pretty much the best thing ever… at least for nutrition nerds like me. Reverse Dieting is a period of time after a low calorie diet where you slowly work to increase your calories back to a maintenance level (or above). It helps you to recover your metabolisms and increase calorie intake with little body fat gain. However, you don’t HAVE to be pregnant or on a low calorie diet to begin a reverse diet. The slow and steady increase in calories will set up your metabolism for long term success. In the fitness community we often see women who restrict calories or eat clean, only to find themselves binging on junk food. When your body has been in “starvation mode” for so long, it is going to want to hold on to all of the calories it consumes during that junk food binge. That leads to fat gain. So instead, reverse dieting allows a slow steady increase and gives your metabolism enough time to adapt to the changes without gaining too much body fat. It will also decrease the urge to binge on junk food because you are supplying your body with the calories and nutrients it needs to thrive.

What Do You Need?
Calories
I like to start with calories. Caloric needs are going to be different for every person which is why cookie cutter diets don’t work! You can use this calculator to find what your daily calorie intake should be. Remember that calculators are just estimates and that this number should be a baseline or a starting point, not something written in stone.

Macronutrients
Once a daily calorie intake has been established, I like to move on to macronutrients. Macronutrients are the the main nutrients you receive from the food you eat. They are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. You’ll keep protein constant, around 1.0 g/lb of body weight. Keep fat around 0.4 g /lb of body weight. You will then fill the rest of your calories up with carbs. Throughout your Reverse Diet, you will manipulate (increase) the amount of carbs and fats you consume on a daily basis.

Vitamins and Minerals
Moving down the nutrition pyramid, you’ll need additional vitamins during your pregnancy. First and foremost a prenatal vitamin. This will ensure you get enough folic acid, iron, and calcium. Most likely we don’t receive enough from our food alone. Taking a prenatal vitamin will help prevent any deficiencies in you and any birth defects in your baby. Remember, supplements do not replace a nutritious diet, they only fill in the gaps and prevent deficiencies.

Water
Lots and lots of water! This will help your body absorb and transport those essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to the blood cells that we talked about earlier. Not to mention it will help prevent UTIs and constipation! You should aim to drink about 96 ounces (about ¾ a gallon) of water everyday during your pregnancy.

Weight Gain Expectations
Let me start by saying every pregnancy is different! Some women will need to gain more weight, some women may need to gain less weight. These are simply guidelines for what you can expect during each trimester.

First Trimester
Expect to gain about 3 to 5 pounds. If you gain nothing, that’s ok too!
Second Trimester
Expect to gain 12 to 18 pounds, about 1 pound per week.
Third Trimester
Expect to gain another 12 to 18 pounds, again about 1 pound per week.

Sample Pregnancy Nutrition Plan
First Trimester
No changes in calories
Second Trimester
Slowly add in 300 calories
Keep protein intake the same. This will increase naturally as your calories and weight increase.
Increase carbs/fats by 0.2-0.5%
Third Trimester
Gradually add in another 200 calories
Keep protein intake the same
Continue to increase carbs/fats by 0.2-0.5%

Food to Avoid
Raw meat, deli meat, fish high in mercury, raw shellfish, raw eggs, soft cheese, unpasteurized milk, unwashed vegetables, caffeine, and alcohol.

Getting pregnant doesn’t mark the end of your fitness journey. It marks the start of a new journey! If you would like help creating a personalized reverse diet, send me an email and we can get you started on the right path!

*Every pregnancy is unique and different. I just want yours to be a healthy and happy one! I am not a doctor and you should always consult your physician before participating in any kind of physical activity or nutrition program.

5 Reasons Why Aminos Are Awesome

I’m kind of obsessed with Intra Flight! I started using BPN a few years ago and haven’t looked back. If you’re a lady lifter or super active then check out the 5 awesome benefits of amino supplementation.

1. Arginine
This is responsible for increasing blood flow. Why is that so important? When you work out your muscles fill with blood (aka the pump) to help them recover and grow. More blood flow = more muscle building, more muscle built = more calories burned. That always makes everyone happy!

2. Beta-Alanine
This helps prevent fatigue so that you can power through your workout. Beta-Alanine may cause a tingling sensation on your skin. This is normal. With continued use, the intensity of the sensation will decrease or disappear.

3. Energy Boost
Green tea extract and green coffee extract offer an energy boost similar to a cup of coffee (100mg of caffeine per 2 scoops). Being that it is in powder form, you can decide to increase or decrease the dosage to suit your energy needs. I tend to use 2 scoops as a “preworkout” to give me a little boost.

4. BCAAS
Optimum Nutrition includes the three main branch chain aminos acids; Leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Because BCAAS can be used as an alternate energy source, it is great for training fasted.

5. Fantastic Flavors
It’s kinda sad how many flavors I’ve tried! When aminos are in pill form I forget/ don’t want to take them. But when they are in the form of a tasty treat I never forget.

If you’re looking for a supplement to enhance your workout, help you recover, and satisfy your taste buds then I highly recommend you try BPN. If you’d like more informational guidance on supplementation then send me a message!