Good or bad: Popcorn

I love popcorn and can eat a whole huge bag of salted popcorn without thinking twice. I'd eat it everyday!

Having this obsession about popcorn and being concerned that it is not healthy I started to search the Internet to find out if popcorn is good or bad for you and if there are any nutritional benefits of popcorn or any bad consequences of eating too much of it.

Guess what? There are numerous people that are worried about loving popcorn too much. So let's have a look at nutritional values of popcorn (air-popped, white, with no oil or butter added).

Website NutritionData.com an excellent placed to find out about nutrition information for almost every food. It has lots of nutrition facts graphs and tables with the data on micro nutrients and vitamins. I personally like Caloric Ratio Pyramid (TM) that "shows you what percentage of the calories in a food come from carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and alcohol". So you can see if the foods you eat are more carbs, proteins fats or somewhere in between. Popcorn is 81% carbohydrate and it has a bit of fats and proteins.

According to the website popcorn's benefit is it is a good source of fibre and it is low in calories. It is a healthier snack than crisps if it is made without butter or oil and salt. But no salt on popcorn is boring to my mind so I still like to add a bit. If you don't make popcorn yourself and buy it in the supermarket then be aware that a packaged popcorn could have much more calories due to added oil or butter so check the label before stuffing your face with it. Some people like it sweet or toffee which is fine but it is not a healthy snack anymore but rather it is a Sunday treat.

Are there any risks of eating too much popcorn? Too much of anything is bad (even too much carrots). Popcorn doesn't have any minerals or vitamins so it gives you empty calories that don't bring any nutritional value to your body. Also it has high (72) GI which means it has rapid effect on blood sugar levels which have been linked to increased risks for diabetes and some other diseases. Remember that these are the risks of overeating popcorn but if you enjoy it in moderation it is a good healthy snack.

My friend Val makes the best homemade popcorn I have ever tried and it is very healthy. I asked her to share the recipe with me.

“Put a little bit of sunflower oil into a large saucepan and wait for about 5 mins or until it gets warm. Next put the corn seeds (¼ of a glass) in the saucepan and cover it. Once corn stops popping then it’s ready.”

Mmm... I think it is a popcorn time for me now....

When it hurts

Should you exercise when your muscles sore?

My muscles really hurt on Tuesday after I started a first week of a new routine of exercises on Monday. Hardly able to walk I still went to the gym in the morning and did interval cardio workout and some stretching. In my experience it is better to do some exercise than to have a day off (unless I can't walk at all) and this is how I was taught since young age by all trainers when I did sports seriously (I did figure skating and dancing, both close to a professional level). I got used to the soreness and fine to continue exercising when my muscles are in pain but it could be a common obstacle for people who are just starting to train and could make them stop training or slow down their progress.

Soreness which in scientific terms is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS is OK to have if you're a beginner, if you've changed your usual workout or if you're trying new activities. These kind of muscle pain is occurred because of micro tearing of muscle tissue. It can last for 24 up to 48 hours and it is no good to skip workouts for more than 2 days. Important thing to remember that it is normal and a part of adaptation, muscle growth and hence body changing. Just imagine that your old weak muscles are turning into a new stronger and more beautiful ones. Inspirational, isn't it?

I wouldn't advice you to do any vigorous exercises the next day especially if you are a newbie but if you do some walking, easy running or swimming it usually reliefs the pain and allows you to be back to your exercise routine sooner. Yoga and stretching are also good in helping to ease the pain. Different fitness sources report that ice, massage or heat (I go to the sauna for example) should also be beneficial in this case. But if you feel a terrific pain it is good to have a rest and maybe even take some painkillers.

A don't forget that a good warm up before your workout reduces the possibility of the soreness. Women's Health magazine has a good example of a warmup routine to follow: The Best Stretches to Start Your Workout

To sum up, if you feel soreness and able to move DO some exercise but Take it Easy.

Workout of the day

Type: Interval Cardio

Description:

1. Warm up the first 2 minutes at Intensity Level 5

2. Minutes 2-3 move from Intensity Level 5 to 6

3. Minutes 4-5, 6-10 and 11-14 work your way from Intensity 6 to Level 9, maintain for one minute.

4. Minutes 15-19 work you way from Intensity 6 to Level 10, maintain for one minute.

5. Minute 20 cool d

own to Intensity Level 5 for one minute.

Official Body-for-LIFE Cardio-Training Plan

Machine used: Treadmill

Benefits: Quick but very effective

Do it in the morning

The benefits of exercising in the mornings

Love waking up early on Saturday morning and go to a gym to do a session of cardio. Just came back from my gym and being in a very positive mood I decided I would like to write a post why it is extremely good to you to exercise in the mornings.

I wouldn't write about it if it wasn't a good healthy habit of course. And there are some physical and psychological benefits of it.

The most important thing to my mind if you exercise on an empty stomach in the mornings you loose 300% more body fat! Wow! That's a lot! I'll dig into biological explanations of it in my next posts and will give links to fitness resources that prove it. At the moment just believe me that it is true.

When you do it first thing in the morning you don't have excuses of skipping your workout later on the day. You are done with it, satisfied, you can forget about it for the rest of the day and have much more free private time in the evening. And as most of the gyms are almost empty in the mornings you don't have to queue for a treadmill, weights, benches, machines and space for stretching. Another physiological benefit is if you feel shy by the way you look (happens only when you are just starting to go to the gym), or you are intimidated by people watching you working out there are much less people in the morning to disturb or distract you in the mornings. Unfortunately you can't get rid of all the people unless you have your own gym. I personally as well feel much more energetic and confident after a workout.

And the last thing is (girls this one is for you) I have noticed there are more handsome and fit guys lifting weights in the mornings! Even if you don't feel like talking you can still enjoy watching....

Hope I managed to make you at least to start thinking of changing your routine and starting working out first thing in the morning.