Tip of the Day - Chew, Chew, Chew Your Food

Keeping with the eat more slowly theme… In our previous post we talked about putting your fork down between mouthfuls.  This post talks about how long to leave it down before taking the next bite.

It turns out that your mother was right.  Chewing your food 15 to 20 times per mouthful can decrease your caloric intake significantly.

In this study, subjects who ate at their normal speed ate about 650 calories worth of pasta in 9 minutes.  During a second visit to the lab, they were instructed to chew their food 15 to 20 times.

The results?

They consumed about 580 calories… over 29 minutes!

In addition to eating 70 less calories, they also reported feeling more satisfied.

So, the moral of the story is two fold:

1.) Chew your food 15 to 20 times per bite to slow your eating and therefore cut calories, even when eating your favorite foods…

and

2.) Listen to your mother.

Tip of the Day: Put that Fork Down!

No, I don’t mean not to eat.  In fact, with this tip, you can eat what you normally eat!

The trick, however, is to physically put the fork (or spoon, or knife) down between each and every bite.  This tip works by slowing your eating down.  Many of us literally shovel our food into our mouthes and eat way, way, too fast.

There is a delay between the time we eat, and the time our stomachs trigger our brain to let us know that it is full.  Therefore, by slowing our eating process, we give more time for that signal to occur.

But what if you are eating pizza or a burger?  Simple.  Between every bite, put that slice down.  Set the burger back on the plate.

Make eating more deliberate, and you will feel full faster, and eat less as a result.  For many of us, it is not depriving ourselves of the foods we love, but simply eating less of them that is an excellent first step to a healthier, fitter lifestyle.

Bench Press Variety for Maximum Overall Growth

Many (if not most) people view the bench press as one exercise.  I, on the other hand, see the bench press as many exercises that attack my chest, shoulders, and arms in many different ways.

You can change the angle of the bench from 90 degrees, to incline, to flat, to decline to target (respectively) the shoulders, the upper chest, the overall pectoral region, and the lower chest.

In addition to angle variation, grip width and angle plays an important role in muscle activation.  A recent study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 587–591), looked at how varying grip width and angle affects muscle activation during the bench press.

A reverse grip bench press (this is an advanced move with the palms facing toward you) resulted in increased activity for the biceps and the upper section of the chest.  As you narrow your grip, your triceps activity is increased and inner portion of you chest sees less work.

Contrast this with the pronated grip (this is the normal grip for a bench press).   Moving to a narrower grip increased both the triceps involvement as well as increased inner chest work.

The chest and shoulder girdle are complex, and as a result, need to be target from many different angles to achieve maximum work. Not to mention, that a new angle will add a little variety to your workout session and make it slightly less monotonous.

Baby, I’m Back…

Ok, ok, ok.  It has been a while, but that OG Middle Manager is back.

I have been pushing hard the last couple of months to get my main website to where it needs to be, but alas, I have neglected the loyal readers of my blog here at WordPress.

I am in a good spot right now, so here I am again, blogging away on all things building muscle and burning fat, trying out new concepts for my main site.

I also wanted to give a big warm shout out to my friends in the ’sphere:

The Queen of TaeBo herself: Limenade and Watermelon

and

The Man with the Shrinking Waist: WaistLoss (who seems to have pulled a Middle Manager type disappearing act as of late…)

Thank you both for your support, and keep fighting the good fight!

Two Great Posts from Biosingularity

One of my favorite blogs to read is the Biosingularity Blog.  It reports the science behind all of the latest trends in biology, and many of his posts relate directly to building muscle and burn fat.  I strongly recommend the following two articles:

Researchers Find Trigger for Muscle Development

To Gain Muscle and Lose Fat, Drink Milk

Visit this blog often for the best muscle building and fat burning science.

Molecule could hold key to dramatic weight loss « Health and Nursing Issues Australia

There is good news on the obesity drug front over in Australia.  Though you hear me talk about diet and exercise to build muscle and burn fat, there is a small percentage out there where that alone will not work… Click below to read more.

Molecule could hold key to dramatic weight loss « Health and Nursing Issues Australia

The Holiday Spread - Group Weight Loss Game « // Internet Duct Tape

Looking for an interesting (and fun!) way to hold yourself and others accountable for those extra holiday pounds?  Check out the Internet Duct Tape for the rules to the Group Weight Loss Game!

  The Holiday Spread - Group Weight Loss Game « // Internet Duct Tape

The Biggest Loser Blog…

I am starting a new series on the biggest loser…  It is a new experiement in a “reader generated” blog.  Readers can post their own blog posts, subject to a few rules and join in the fun!

Read the Biggest Loser Blog Now.

Pounding the Pavement… and My Head Against a Wall

So, there have been some good walking days and some not so good walking days since we last talked.  When I have time at work, I get in lots of steps.  When time is short, my steps are low and it really frustrates me… so here is the run down for the past few days:

Saturday: 3,283

Friday:2,758

Thursday: 2,826

Wednesday: 2,874

Tuesday: 11,825

Monday: 5,337

As you can see, I had some time on Tuesday, and it was a good day at work.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were brutal with meetings all day.  Next week is going to be similar… dying a slow death by meeting…

Total steps since last update: 28,903

Total feet: 57,806

Total miles: 10.95

Distance to date: 42.08 miles

That doesn’t look too shabby. But it could be better.  Much, much better.

These Nike’s are Made for Walking…

A two day update this time around…

When we last saw our tennis shoed crusader, he has 25.54 miles complete.  After two days of walking, where do we find our hero on Monday?

We find him with 6,953 steps on Saturday, and 7,796 steps on Sunday for a weekend total of… drumroll…

14,749 steps

or…

29,498 feet

or…

5.59 miles!

Still not good enough to complete the 500 miles by year end, but, my feet are feeling better.  I am going to hop on the elliptical trainer tonight to get in some steps as well.  Gotta keep moving!

Total miles to date? 31.13 miles

Will our t-shirted wanderer succeed?  Tune in to the same bat station tomorrow and everyday to find out!