Top Foods: Show Why Nutrition and Boxing Means Power

Healthy Eating For Healthy Results

Want to lose weight and fall into a consistent workout routine? Make sure you start off with a healthy breakfast, so you can get your metabolism started first thing in the morning. It has been said, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”

Without needing to be said, breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day. And we’ve heard it over and over, “I don’t like breakfast foods.” Well, there’s plenty of other recipes out there besides French Toast, or eggs and bacon, or even cereal and milk.

Try a sliced banana and peanut butter on whole grain toast. Or an avocado with agave honey syrup drizzled over it, combined with two pieces of turkey bacon. You could even slice a sweet potato, put two of the slices in the toaster, then use them as the “bread” for a healthy tomato, mozzarella, and sprouts breakfast sandwich. Yum!

All of these choices are packed full of the protein, antioxidants, and just the right amount of carbs and sugars to get you through the morning. THEN, you hit it. Go workout in the boxing gym. Punch, kick, laugh, and grapple your way to your next meal.

So lunch, yes now we are onto lunch (stomach could be growling by this time). A majority of people eat this by 11 a.m., and if you are a disciplined person you’ve meal-planned and made your mid-day meal. A piece of salmon placed over fresh greens, such as arugula, spinach, or kale, then sprinkled with cranberries and almonds is a good choice. Or a tuna salad, made with chopped radish, carrots, celery, and bell pepper is great to keep the day going as well.

If your workout is planned for the middle of the day, and you’ve had a satisfying breakfast, eat after you are finished. Your body yearns for calories after a good regime, so listen to it and feed nutrients when the time is right for your routine.

After the day is over and you’re ready for dinner, if you’ve meal planned for the week, you should not be ravenous. This is the majority of the time of day people go to their gym. After work, after class, before work, etc. Dinner should be light though. As most people workout in the evening to nighttime hours, it’s also true that most sleep during these hours as well. Meaning the metabolism slows down with one’s circadian rhythm, thus it gets tired and burns fewer calories than daylight.

Simple dinner choices could be tomato soup with lentils mixed in. Or chilled Quinoa mixed in with diced cucumbers and tomatoes, with a sprinkle of turmeric. Another light choice is cold chicken salad pitas, with dolmades. The Mediterranean diet never fails for a boxer.

There is such an abundance of healthy food choices available in Tucson these days. Take some time and shop around and see what new ingredients you can put together to create your own healthy recipes. Listed below are a few of our favorites to experiment with.

Here are our top foods to eat for breakfast:

• Eggs
• Greek Yogurt
• Oatmeal
• Smoothie with Chia Seeds & Flaxseed
• Berries & Other Fruits
• Nuts
• Cottage Cheese

Here are our top foods to eat for lunch:

• Sweet Potato
• Avocado
• Shrimp (or other seafood) Spring Rolls
• Hummus
• Chicken
• Cheese
• Almonds

Here are our top foods to eat for dinner (this is the meal when you should eat the least):

• Quinoa
• Cauliflower (you can even make a crust for pizza!)
• Lentil Soup
• Cabbage
• Stuffed Peppers
• Any Type of Squash, including Zucchini
• Beans, such as Garbanzo; Cannellini; Black; Kidney; Pinto; etc.

Feeling hungry yet? Even if these choices do not fulfill your “hangry”, move onto what does, but perhaps put a twist into it and see what a boxing chef you could turn out to be. Portabello mushrooms can always be a good start to substitute with grilling hamburgers. Plus for dessert, try a yogurt parfait. Some things shift in different parts of the day, one thing stays consistent…the healthier you eat, the healthier you are.

Plus, we did not touch on snacking. It is okay to grab a handful of trail mix. Or eat an extra peach or a pint of strawberries. Try to stay away from the candy bars and the popcorn, as these aren’t necessarily beneficial to your weight loss plan or your metabolism.

Seek what you want to eat. Explore ingredients and learn how to saute correctly. Maybe it is your next calling to be an athlete’s chef. Perhaps it’s your next calling to be an athlete and eat your own delicious concoctions.