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Got Insomnia? Yoga Might Help

Published by superadmin on October 15, 2021 | Leave a response

If you want to de-stress and get invigorated, Iron Fit in San Antonio, Texas, the perfect place to come. Exercise earlier in the day can also help you sleep better at night. However, no two people are the same. Some people find that daily exercise isn’t enough to overcome chronic insomnia, even though it helps a bit. For them, I suggest some bedtime yoga to bring sleep more quickly.

Try yoga stretches to help relax your body, so sleep comes quicker.

If you’re like many people, small aches and pains can keep you awake and so can those problems faced throughout the day. One way to help with the body aches is through stretching. When you use yoga stretches, it combines the stretch with a focus on deep breathing which is a form of meditation. It can help calm the brain, as it relaxes the body. Breathing techniques are quite specific. Breathe in through your nose slowly to the count of five, hold for a count of five and breathe out for a count of five. Sit on the floor with your legs outstretched and slowly bend your body over your legs as you exhale, attempting to grab your toes. You can do the same yoga move standing, exhaling as you bend your body and dangle your arms. Hold and inhale as you rise.

Tension is often held in the neck and spine.

Desk work is a killer when it comes to posture and ultimately neck and back tension. Combine breathing focus and the same pattern of inhaling for five, holding and exhaling as you did before, but this time, do a cat/cow pose. The cat part is the act of rounding your back and pushing it toward the ceiling as you inhale through your nose, holding and exhaling as you move to the cow pose, lifting your head and tailbone, dropping your belly to form a U. Hold and move back to cat position.

Make sure you don’t have a sleep disorder that requires medical attention.

There’s a lot of problems with sleep from not being able to get to sleep to not being able to stay asleep or getting poor quality sleep. Some of these problems come from stress and daily problems, while other problems with sleep come from physical problems, like sleep apnea. Make sure you don’t have a physical problem by first consulting your health care professional. Sometimes problems like sleep apnea can be relieved with weight loss and the right treatment.

To get rid of nighttime neck and back tension, a child pose is perfect. Sit on your calves with shins touching the ground and knees bent. Breathe in deeply through the nose and hold. As you exhale, fold your body forward, bending at the hips until the front of your body is on your thighs.
Not all your poses are difficult. Sometimes just rolling your head, as you stretch your neck can help. Make sure you have good posture as you do that, keeping your shoulders back.
Get in bed and prepare to fall asleep after you do a happy baby pose. Lay on your back and lift your knees as you bend at the hips and push your feet toward the ceiling. Grab the big toe on each foot and pull it as though you’re trying to put your knees in your armpits. Do the breathing technique and rock side to side as you do to help you relax.
Speak with your personal trainer about exercises that can help you sleep better at night or suggestions to help you. Sometimes, a vigorous workout too late in the day can be too stimulating and the solution is to exercise earlier.

For more information, contact us today at IronFit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

How Important Are Healthy Fats?

Published by superadmin on October 5, 2021 | Leave a response

There are many reasons to keep healthy fats in your diet, but people on a diet often fear it and even choose low fat or no fat options, thinking it’s healthier. Unfortunately, many of those low-fat, no fat options lack flavor, so to make it more palatable, manufacturers add sugar. Added sugar has no redeeming qualities but empty calories. If you’re one of those fat phobics, don’t feel bad. Manufacturers have marketed those fat free options to the point them villainize fat.

You can’t classify all fats the same.

Some fats are unhealthy, like trans fat. It means they’ve undergone a chemical process that changed the bonding and made it harder for the body to use than natural fats. These hydrogenated fats increase the bad cholesterol that clogs arteries. It’s often used in pastries, in junk food and to fry fast foods. There are some naturally occurring trans fats in dairy and meat, but these actually have some health benefits, compared to the man made type. Some animal studies show they may have cholesterol lowering properties and be heart healthy.

Healthy fats include monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fats.

Fats have gotten a bad rap. It was started by a mega study funded by the sugar industry, even though the fact they paid for it was never released. They paid off three Harvard professors to conclude that plaque build up in the arteries was caused by fat, and omit any studies that showed it came from sugar. However, trans fats are unhealthy and some studies show reducing saturated fat and substituting unsaturated fat offers health benefits. Unsaturated fat can be polyunsaturated or monounsaturated. Both are healthy. Polyunsaturated fat includes Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9 fats. Omega 3 and 6 have been shown to have heart healthy benefits, such as lowering bad cholesterol and maintaining normal heart rhythms. It also can reduce the risk of heart disease and dementia.

If you’re avoiding fat to lose weight, you’re sabotaging your progress.

Healthy fat is necessary for many different functions that keep your body running at its best. It’s important for cell growth, brain functioning, the nervous system, joint lubrication and the creation of hormones that benefit the skin and aid in weight loss. When you have fat in your diet, you’ll feel fuller longer. It’s also good for diabetics, since it stabilizes blood sugar levels, reducing insulin. Those lower insulin levels can help prevent diabetes and the accumulation of belly fat.

If you want to keep your metabolism higher to help burn calories, add a little of the right type of fat to your diet. It keeps you feeling full and ignites the fat burning process.
Medium-chain triglycerides—MCTs—found in coconut oil, metabolize differently than most kinds of fat. It provides instant energy and doesn’t store as fat either. It can cause your body to burn more calories. Look for food with other benefits besides fat. Avocados, nuts, seeds, salmon, full fat yogurt, coconut, olive and sunflower oil are a few examples of those.
If you don’t want a deficit of vitamin A, D, K and E, you need fat in your diet. Fat is necessary to transport these nutrients.

For more information, contact us today at IronFit San Antonio

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How Often Should You Weigh Yourself?

Published by superadmin on September 25, 2021 | Leave a response

When I talk to people at Iron Fit in San Antonio, Texas, sometimes they question how well they’re workout is helping them with weight loss or praise the workout for helping them shed pounds. Then I find they’ve weighed themselves in the morning and after their workout to make that judgement. You can’t get an adequate read on your progress by weighing yourself every hour. For some, it can be counterproductive weighing every day. So how often should you weigh yourself?

If you get discouraged easily, weighing once a day may not be for you.

Your body goes through a number of changes every day, some are more permanent than others are. For example, if you just drank a ton of water and weighed yourself, you’d probably weigh more than you would if you didn’t. Sometimes, water retention that can occur for a day or two, can make a big difference if you’re hoping to shed that last few pounds. Water retention can cause you to weigh more for a short time and then disappear. It can be quite depressing to see, but isn’t because you’ve done something wrong. The reverse is also true. You can get a false picture if you weigh less after you’ve binged on food the previous day. It’s a negative reinforcement.

Another study countered that belief.

There are a lot of different studies with a lot of different results. Another study involving obese people had just the opposite result. The study lasted two years and showed that weighing more often actually helped the obese lose weight and reinforced new eating habits. It aided them in modifying their eating habits and preventing them from getting out of control.

It all depends on you and your personality.

While you won’t get an accurate picture in the short run, over the long term, no matter how often you weigh yourself, you’ll see the results. If you love tracking your progress, then by all means weigh in frequently, but just remember, your body weight fluctuates throughout the day and changes may not be permanent or show your real progress. Form your conclusions based on the difference in weight over a week’s time. You can use the information to chart your progress and include it in a weight loss diary.

If you weigh in daily, make sure you do it at the same time every day. Most people find that the first thing in the morning is a good idea, before they eat breakfast.
You don’t have to judge your progress simply by how much you weigh, use your clothing as your guide. Pick an outfit that’s tight and put it on once a month. If it’s looser the next month, you made progress.
Sometimes you can lose inches instead of weight. Muscle weighs more per cubic inch than fat weighs. One pound of fat fills a container that’s larger than one pound of muscle. If you’re working out and building muscle, you may not have shed a pound, but lost inches and made progress to a better you.
Weighing in is still important. It can help you identify plateauing. Plateauing occurs for several reasons, one of those reasons indicates you need to vary your workout. Your body burns fewer calories the longer it does the same workout, since it becomes more efficient at it.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Healthy Ways To Reduce Blood Pressure

Published by superadmin on September 15, 2021 | Leave a response

Nobody wants to be tied to a bottle of pills or worry on a regular basis about a heart attack or a stroke. That’s where monitoring your blood pressure and making healthy ways to reduce blood pressure can be a huge benefit. While these will help lower it, always make sure you talk with your doctor and don’t quit medication until your health care provider indicates it’s safe. You can start making those changes immediately. They’re simple, but not necessarily easy to do, since they involve making lifestyle changes.

Lower your blood pressure with exercise.

One of the best moments at Iron Fit is when someone comes up and tells me how much their health has improved, thanks to the healthy diet and exercise. Exercise does several things to help lower blood pressure. It boosts the production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide widens the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure immediately. It makes your heart stronger so it pumps more efficiently. It also helps you lose weight. It also helps reduce stress.

The food you eat makes a difference in how high your blood pressure is.

While cutting out salt has always been conventional wisdom, scientists are now finding that sugar increases your blood pressure just as much, if not more than salt. Eliminate processed foods, those with added sugar and start on a whole food diet. Some foods actually help lower blood pressure, such as food with omega-3 fatty acid, like fatty fish, foods high in potassium and magnesium, such as Swiss chard and foods high in nitrates, which relax the blood vessels, such as beets.

Other lifestyle changes can lower your blood pressure.

Your posture affects your blood pressure. If you have poor posture, it increases the pressure on your lungs and heart and can affect all your organs. Scientists discovered a direct connection to poor posture and slumping and high blood pressure. It has to do with the neurological link with the muscles in your neck. Getting adequate sleep is also important in lowering blood pressure, just as quitting smoking and being more active.

Studies show that losing as little as 2.2 pounds can lower the mercury on your blood pressure by one millimeter. Imagine how low your blood pressure will drop when you lose even more weight.
Studies show that blood pressure changes don’t happen overnight. For most people, it takes one to three months to make a difference. Unfortunately, you’ll lose everything you’ve achieved when you quit exercising.
Make a snack of celery sticks and Greek yogurt dip. Celery has phthalides which relax blood vessels relax and Greek yogurt contains both calcium and potassium. It’s said eating three servings a day can lower blood pressure by 13%.
Learn ways to lower your blood pressure with breathing techniques or meditation. Sometimes, just taking a moment to breathe deeply can help calm you down and reduce your blood pressure.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

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The Truth About Belly Fat

Published by superadmin on September 5, 2021 | Leave a response

What is belly fat? It’s that extra tire around your middle that you can’t seem to shake no matter what you do. There’s a reason. It’s visceral fat, fat in your abdominal cavity that wraps around your organs. Unlike subcutaneous fat that’s right under the skin, it’s harder to lose. One of the causes of belly fat is high-fructose corn syrup. It’s in many types of food, since it’s cheap. Belly fat produces inflammation and can cause plaque. There’s even a link to Alzheimer’s. Getting rid of belly fat means doing more than just a few sit-ups, it means making lifestyle changes.

Start by changing your diet.

Eating healthier makes a difference, cutting out high sugar items, refined flour, processed meats and fast foods is a start. Some people start by giving up sugary soft drinks, but then replace them with ones that are artificially sweetened. New studies show that diet soft drinks actually cause more belly fat. Opt for fresh fruits and vegetables that are higher in fiber, but start slowly. Eating too much fiber at once, without allowing your body to adjust, can upset your digestive system.

Low carbs and high fiber is a good route to take.

Studies show that a diet that’s lower in carbohydrates can help eliminate visceral—belly—fat. Studies show that intermittent fasting can help reduce belly fat by 4-7%. Intermittent fasting can be done several ways. The most popular is eating all your meals in an 8-hour window and fasting the other 16 hours. Increasing the fiber and protein in your diet can make a huge difference in both your weight and the amount of belly fat you have.

Get active.

Inactivity is a killer that not only packs on the pounds, collects those pounds on your midsection. Leading a sedentary lifestyle is a killer. One study showed that people who watched more TV, which was the measure of how sedentary they were, had more belly fat. Those watching more than three hours a day were at twice the risk of belly fat. Today computer or smartphone viewing are part of the mix and just the same as watching TV. You simply don’t move enough or get active enough to be your healthiest. Exercise also burns off the hormones of stress, such as cortisol. Cortisol is linked to weight gain and belly fat.

Trans fats can create an inflammatory response, which increases insulin resistance. That also increases the amount of belly fat that accumulates.
Alcoholic beverages can slow the process of burning fat and cause the extra calories to store as belly fat. Studies show that people who consume less than three drinks a day had an 80% chance of having less belly fat.
The microbial balance in your gut can contribute to belly fat. So can an imbalance of hormones, such as during menopause. Exercise not only helps balance hormones, it boosts the friendly microbes and can help reduce belly fat.
Get adequate sleep to help keep your hunger and satiety hormones in balance. Drink more water to help flush your system, reduce hunger pangs and boost your energy level.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

How To Beat The Soda Habit

Published by superadmin on August 25, 2021 | Leave a response

Soft drinks give you a sugar rush, plus they many contain high amounts of caffeine, to add to boost it. They also pack on the pounds with the sugar they contain. It’s more than just the sugar in soft drinks that’s damaging, it’s the phosphorus and other ingredients that cause health issues and tooth decay. In fact, it’s even linked to bone issues. Here are tips to help you beat the soda habit and declare yourself free once and for all.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It took a long time to develop an addiction to soft drinks. It’s the flow of sugar and caffeine to the brain that triggers the same area as opioids. If you drink more than a bottle a day or two, start by cutting back. Buy smaller cans or bottles or get a good cap that seals in the fizz so it doesn’t go flat. Turn each serving into two servings or alternate between soft drink and water. Work your way to one a day, then one can every other day, etc., until you give it up completely. It takes a while to change a habit, especially if you’re had that habit for years.

Opt for non-carbonated, unsweetened options.

Explore a bit, start getting creative. If you need a caffeine jolt, opt for a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. Both have benefits for your body. In fact, a cup of coffee before a workout can make your workout more productive. Don’t put sugar or cream in either, or any other shots or squirts of flavor. Learn to be a fan of water. If your water quality is poor, opt for a water filter or bottled water. Try making infused water that’s flavored with fruits and vegetables if you hate plain water.

Get a real eye-opener if you’re trying to lose weight and track your soft drink calories.

You’ll be surprised when you see just how many calories you consume in an 8-ounce serving. It’s about 100 calories a serving with no nutritional benefits! When you think of how long it takes you to exercise to burn that many calories, especially if you’re drinking more than one serving a day, you’ll want to put that soft drink aside.

Don’t think that substituting diet soft drinks will help either. Studies show that drinking diet alternatives can lead to an increased waist circumference. So if you want a slim middle with no belly fat, skip the diet cola.
If you aren’t ready to start making your own infused water, switch to flavored water first, then infused water and ultimately to regular water. The same is true of tea or coffee. Slowly add less sugar and cream until you drink it without adding anything.
Do you find you tend to drink more soft drinks at certain places, like fast food restaurants? Avoid those places for a while. If you are paying for the soft drink, put the money you saved by drinking water in a jar and save it for something you want.
Keep alternatives ready to use. If you’re switching to unsweetened ice tea, have some made in the refrigerator. Is infused water your option? Have it ready to drink when you’re thirsty. Carry a bottle of water with you at all times.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Tips For A Healthier Heart

Published by superadmin on August 15, 2021 | Leave a response

Preparation for athletic events is just one of the reasons people come to Iron Fit in San Antonio, Texas. Most people want to look and feel better or have issues with their health that exercise and weight loss can address. Improving heart health is one of those concerns. If your blood pressure is sky-high and you get winded climbing just a few steps, it’s time to take heed and take back your life. Here are some tips for a healthier heart. You’ll find you have more energy and can enjoy every minute of life when you have a fit healthy body.

How do you know if you have a healthy heart?

That’s why you need regular check-ups. No matter how young or fit you are, getting an annual check-up is important. It helps identify any problem early and gives the doctor a baseline to watch its progression. If your blood pressure is lower and suddenly starts to climb, something is wrong. Knowing your numbers is also important. You should also know your fasting glucose rate, blood pressure, LDL, HDL and triglyceride levels.

Lower your blood pressure and lose weight with a great exercise program.

If you’re working out regularly at the gym, you probably don’t need an extra set of exercises to help lower your blood pressure. If you’re not, maybe it’s time to start working out. Start slow if you’re out of shape. There are quick four to ten minute workouts to be done throughout the day that can significantly lower your blood pressure. They include working large muscle groups, such as squats or jumping jacks, which boost the production of nitric oxide to dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure. Our fitness program helps build all muscles and aids in weight loss. That helps reduce insulin resistance, which is the precursor to Type 2 diabetes.

Diet plays a significant role in having a healthy heart.

While scientists are still learning new things daily about the body, one truth hasn’t changed, you truly are what you eat. Eating healthy whole foods, instead of highly processed ones, provides nutrients your body requires to be its healthiest. In fact, there’s a whole school of medicine devoted to “food as medicine.” Eating foods without added sugar is a start, so is avoiding highly processed food like cookies, pastry, white bread, processed meat, imitation cheese and margarine or soft drinks. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals, plus phytonutrients you don’t find in a vitamin.

Frozen fruits and vegetables are as good as fresh. Frozen fruits and vegetables without additives are as good as fresh and since they’re immediately frozen, often contain more nutrition.
If you’re out of shape, start slowly. A personal trainer can help you with a program that is specifically created for your needs. If you’re working out at home, you can break your workout into several shorter sessions of at least ten minutes or more.
Move more during the day and get eight hours of sleep at night. Even if you workout, if you have a job that keeps you at a desk, get up and move around every hour or so. It’s important to your health.
If you have any symptoms like heart palpitations, chest pain or cold sweats, don’t ignore them. Always check with your health care professional first before starting a program of exercise.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Should I Really Be Eating 5 Times A Day?

Published by superadmin on August 5, 2021 | Leave a response

How often should you be eating? Should you be eating 5 times a day should you be fasting long hours and eating in a smaller window of time? There’s a debate on which is right and multiple answers, but the best answer for weight loss is the one that works best for you. With that said, let’s look at the case for eating five times a day. Those are three meals, plus mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. When it’s broken down like that, it seems quite normal. Eating more often can help keep your metabolic fires burning throughout the day, so you’ll burn more calories.

Eating more meals during the day can prevent that feeling you’re starving.

Have you ever been so hungry you couldn’t wait to get food into your mouth or you ate something you normally wouldn’t consider eating? When you have five planned times you eat throughout the day, you won’t have those bag of chips, face-stuffing moments. Your planned snacks are healthy and lower in calories, so you never develop that ravenous appetite.

You’ll be running at full steam throughout the day when you eat more often.

Eating smaller, more frequent meals can keep your metabolism burning high, which also keeps your energy high. You’ll have more energy to workout, take the stairs, walk to the store and even do chores. It’s one reason we suggest a pre-workout snack. It boosts your energy level to increase your benefits of the workout. A light snack following can help your muscles recover faster.

Timing isn’t everything.

The key to weight loss isn’t magic, eat fewer calories than you burn. How you do it and which method is successful depends on you. Some people naturally do intermittent fasting, by skipping breakfast and eating a later lunch. It works for them. If you’re a three meals a day proponent, then you’ll probably appreciate the five meals a day regimen, because the extra snacks help curb your noon and dinner appetite, so you eat less. Do what works for your, but make sure your menu contains healthy whole foods.

One other method of eating is called grazing. You have food constantly on demand with not limit of times you eat during the day. As long as those foods available are healthy options, it could help you shed extra pounds, too.
No matter what type of eating method you choose, make sure you have adequate protein, fat and carbohydrates in your diet. Both protein and fat help you feel fuller longer and could be a huge benefit as one of your “snack” meals. Think nuts or nut butters.
Include whole foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Don’t substitute juice for the whole fruit or vegetable. The whole fruit has fiber and the juice doesn’t. Fiber not only helps your digestion, it keeps you feeling full longer.
You can keep your blood sugar levels more stable if you eat smaller, more frequent meals. It also helps promote better digestion and can help people with issues like acid reflux and gastritis.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

How To Stay Fuller Longer

Published by superadmin on July 25, 2021 | Leave a response

At Iron Fit in San Antonio, Texas, we help you get fit faster. Our workouts are designed to build muscle tissue fast and get you in shape. No matter how much muscle tissue you have, excess pounds can hide your progress. If you have to lose weight, the workouts burn tons of calories, but you will get better results if you eat healthy. That doesn’t mean dieting. In fact, dieting can slow your progress. It means eating healthier and focusing on food that will help you stay fuller longer.

You need protein to build muscles and stay fuller.

Not only does increasing the protein in your diet provide the nutrients you need to build muscle tissue, but it also helps you feel full quicker and longer. Studies show that a high fiber diet increases the feeling of fullness and dulls your appetite. One reason may be its effect on your satiety hormones and hunger hormones. Another may be that it takes longer to digest. Studies show that when people increased their protein intake even modestly, they lost weight.

Fiber will fill you up and help you lose weight.

There are two types of fiber and both of them help you feel full, so you eat less. It remains intact in your digestive system and makes you feel fuller. Soluble fiber absorbs water and becomes a gel in your digestive system. It feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut and slows digestion, so you feel fuller longer. Insoluble fiber isn’t digested in the body. It travels through the digestive system filling you up and adding bulk.

Don’t be afraid of fat.

People usually freak out when they hear that increasing the amount of fat in their diet may actually help them lose weight. It’s especially true if they purchase all the fat free products available. Fat keeps you feeling fuller longer because it takes longer to digest in the small intestines and slows your digestive system. It also is necessary for creating hormones that help burn fat. When manufacturers create fat-free foods, they replace the fat with sugar to make the food more palatable and sugar can make you pack on the pounds.

Foods that contain high amounts of soluble fiber include beans, broccoli, apples and other fresh fruits and vegetables. Foods that contain insoluble fiber include bran from grains, berries, beans, and green peas.
Avocados, nuts, olives and olive oil, ground flaxseed and fatty fish like salmon are high in healthy fat. They should be part of your diet. As a bonus, dark chocolate also falls into this category to provide a treat as you lose weight.
A few foods high in protein include eggs, lean meat and poultry, fish, and nuts. Nuts and fatty fish are also good sources of Omega 3, a very healthy fat.
Toss some beans into your salad, add an egg, and sprinkle it with nuts. Have a snack of Greek yogurt, nuts, berries, and bananas. You’ll be healthier and stay longer fuller.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness

Good Plant Based Protein Options

Published by superadmin on July 15, 2021 | Leave a response

One problem faced by vegans is getting complete proteins when choosing plant based protein options. Protein is made of amino acids. There are 20 amino acids, but only nine of those are essential amino acids. That means the body can’t make them and you have to get those amino acids from the food you eat. Histidine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, lysine, methionine, and valine are the nine essential amino acids. If a type of food contains all the essential amino acids, it’s considered a complete protein. That’s not easy to find when choosing plant based options.

While it’s hard to find complete proteins in plant based foods, it’s not impossible.

Getting complete proteins from one plant based source is tough, but there are foods that provide it. Three types of food that provide this are quinoa, buckwheat, pistachios, hemp seed, chia seed and soy. Some of these can be used as a main dish, while others, like pistachios, are more add-ons to salads or used as snacks. Quinoa is a great substitute for rice that adds a nutty flavor, fiber, and the protein you need.

You can combine sources of protein to get a complete protein.

Beans and rice are probably the best known combination, but there’s also peanut butter and whole grain bread that rounds out the essential amino acids. While it was once thought you had to eat all the proteins at once to get a complete protein, it’s now known that it doesn’t have to be all at one meal. You can eat various sources of protein throughout the day to fill your daily need of essential amino acids.

Soy products are probably the most versatile.

There are many ways to use soy. Tempeh, soy that’s been cooked and fermented, is one way. Just a half cup of it has 15 grams of protein. Soy milk is another way to get your protein from soy. Tofu and other soy products are also available. One soy product growing in popularity is edamame—immature soybean pods. Comparing the amount of protein in these products, tofu beats out edamame in protein content, containing ten grams of protein for a half cup, compared to eight and a half grams for a whole cup of edamame.

Using edamame in your cooking can increase your protein intake and add versatility. They can be steamed, used fresh or roasted and added to stir-fry, used as snacks or as a topping for a Buddha bowl.
Lentils and beans are a great protein source that are relatively inexpensive and could fill out anyone’s meatless Mondays. Lentils not only contain 8.84 grams of protein per cup, but also provide other nutrients like potassium.
Have you heard of the latest food craze, protein breads? Ezekiel bread is one example. It’s completely vegan and a great source of protein. Coat it with nut butter and some fresh fruit and you have a great snack or main dish.
You don’t have to be vegan to increase your protein intake with vegetables. Kale is one good source with 2 grams per cup and so is broccoli, with a huge amount of 4 grams per stalk.

For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio

Posted in Fitness & Wellness