How Does Mcdonald’s  Nutrition  Stack Up?

Fast food is a huge part of our lives whether we eat it or not. We see dozens of ads every day on TV, billboards, buses, emails, mobile ads, and many more. We are constantly reminded of the convenience, affordability and improved “healthy” qualities of various fast food items. But how healthy or unhealthy is fast food really? Is it worth saving a few minutes of cooking to eat that double cheeseburger or hard shell taco? I’d like to start a series of posts comparing the  nutrition  facts of various fast food chains vs their homemade counterparts. Today I’ll show you some of Mcdonald’s  nutrition  facts compared to the  nutrition  facts of a healthier, homemade option, then you can be the judge on whether saving a dollar or a few minutes is worth the nutritional differences.

Mcdonald’s  Nutrition  – Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese

Vs

Homemade Version – Quarter Pound Burger w/ Wheat Bun and Cheese

Mcdonald’s Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese:

Calories: 520

Calories from fat: 240

Total Fat: 26g

Saturated Fat: 12g

Trans Fat: 1.5g

Cholesterol: 95mg

Sodium: 1100mg

Total Carbs: 41g

Dietary Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 10g

Protein: 30g

Vitamin A: 10%

Vitamin C: 2%

Calcium: 30%

Iron: 25%

Homemade Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese on Wheat Bun

Calories: 401

Calories from fat: 118

Total Fat: 15g

Saturated Fat: 7g

Polyunsaturated Fat:.6g

Monounsaturated Fat: 4.5g

Cholesterol: 93mg

Sodium: 723mg

Potassium: 469mg

Total Carbs: 31g

Dietary Fiber: 4g

Sugars: 7g

Protein: 35g

Vitamin A: 16%

Calcium: 57%

Iron: 3%

There you have it. The  nutrition  facts for a fast food joint and a homemade burger. Let’s take a minute to discuss the differences in Mcdonald’s  nutrition  and the homemade version. We will start with the fat content. the Mcdonald’s version has more saturated fat and trans fat (the bad fats) while the homemade burger has higher amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fat (the OK fats). The Mcdonald’s  nutrition  shows higher amounts of cholesterol, sodium, sugars, and Iron. The homemade burger shows higher amounts of fiber, protein, vitamins and potassium.

It is no surprise that the homemade version is healthier than the Mcdonald’s version. The real surprise is how much healthier it actually is. By avoiding the Mcdonald’s  nutrition  and taking a few extra minutes to make your own burger, you’ll be taking in less fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar, and more fiber, protein potassium and vitamins. In other words, you turn Mcdonald’s  nutrition  into muscle building  nutrition . A homemade burger with 35g of protein, 4g of fiber, some good fats and much less starch makes for a muscle building, delicious dinner.

Keep an eye for my next fast food comparison coming soon!

If you only have one workout equipment to start your ab exercise, what do you think is it? Choosing what you like and what is best for you are really two different things. Buying an ab machine is a personal decision but if you are still starting out it is best that you ask the help of a professional trainer and if doing so is expensive then read on for this article is for you.

If you plan to buy online the World Wide Web will surely give you thousands of choices. And how do you make a good choice of these choices? Though you can also hit the nearest workout equipment stores but still how will you make a smart choice?

• Fish for some opinions and suggestions if you want to pick something elaborate and expensive. Make sure that you exactly know how it can help you shape your body or your abdomen. So asking an advice from those who had the experience is really worth it.
• The ab workout equipment should be able to answer not only your current woes and concern but also your future needs. The equipment should be able to grow side by side with you. It means that this ab workout equipment can be used if not forever then for a long time. You should not buy the equipment with the thought of discarding it after few uses in lieu of new equipment.
• So what kind of ab workout equipment should this be? I suggest that you think of a sports machine that will work on the different abdominal muscles. The outcome should work on the entire abdominal muscles and not target only a few sets of muscles.
• You should focus on your main goal but it does also mean that you go beyond your budgeted money. There are affordable prices for ab workout machines and you can avail this during sales. Before you hit stores you should have an idea of the price range of your possible workout buddy.
• Some of those looking for an ab workout machine went home disappointed for they are unrealistic with their budget. Before you pin your price range you should have the knowledge of the reasonable prices of the ab workout machines.

Many bodybuilders have found that despite their best efforts, their arms simply won’t grow. They might be overtraining, undertraining, or just plain doing it wrong. Here are a few tips for getting those stubborn arms to grow.

High Volume

Muscles grow when blood is forced into them. If you have all the other aspects of your diet and nutrition down, then the focus becomes “What can I do to move more nitrogen-rich blood into these arm muscles?” At this point, high volume training should be considered. More sets and more reps mean more blood flows into the area. Just watch for overtraining.

Blitzkrieg

For stalled smaller body parts such as calves or arms, some trainers recommend an initial “blitz” in which the muscle group is hit with a brief yet intense training session every day for 5 to 6 straight days. The belief is that the muscle has become accustomed to a once-weekly workload and will no longer grow from it. However, daily ambushes upon the muscle group force it to face a new, nearly insane challenge, and it will grow as a result.

Calorie Boost

You can’t get big arms without excess calories to be used for growth. If you’re dieting, your arms are shrinking, not growing. Many trainers forget this simple, obvious fact. If the goal is to grow your arms 1+ inch, you should be eating 500 calories per day in excess of what your body burns.

Focus on forearms.

Many bodybuilders often ignore forearms, as biceps/triceps are the showpiece arm groups. However, if the forearms lack functional strength, they might be the failing point in biceps or tricep exercises. Strengthen them, and see if your biceps and triceps suddenly carry a bigger workload. Additionally, well-developed forearms make the upper arms look better in most poses.

Lose the cardio

Many bodybuilders who are near-ripped year-round often suffer from small-arm syndrome. They never allow their bodies the calories, or their Central Nervous Systems the resources, to grow. As a result, their arms do not grow. If this describes you, cut cardio by 75% for a month and see if the arms start to grow.

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight you’ve probably been introduced to hundreds of diets and other diet menu plans. But have you ever thought about whether a diet is really what you needed? What if you could lose all the weight that you wanted, keep it off, and continue to be healthy? If you need to lose weight, there are alternative to diets that you may not be aware of.

If you’re on a diet, why are you dieting? It’s probably because you want to lose weight right? So you’re on a diet with good diet menu plans and you lose a good 10 pounds. Well what happens when you’re done dieting? You put all that 10 pounds back on and sometimes more, don’t you? If there was an easier way to lose weight and ensure that you kept that weight off, without dieting, you’d probably want to know more, wouldn’t you?

Okay. I used to be overweight. I had been overweight for all of my life in fact, and I kept going from one diet to the diet, like a lot of people do. And I did all of this without really thinking much about it, all I wanted to do was find a diet that would work for me. I knew it had to be out there somewhere. I searched for healthy diet plans, diet menu plans, weight loss diet plans; basically everything that I could think of. The only problem was that I didn’t need a diet, I needed a complete shift in the way I thought about weight loss.

It wasn’t until I found The Diet Solution Program that it all finally started to make sense for me and I finally started to lose weight, and best of all, keep it off. I didn’t need any diet menu plans or any strict eating program at all. I’ve lost over 55 pounds now, and I haven’t gained an ounce back. I learned how diets will never work long term. I also learned how a lot of diets are in fact, very unhealthy and could actually do more harm than good. Armed with this kind of information, you could lose the weight you want and keep it off too.

Even though the vast majority of women may not think so, most women already have great abs, but in many cases, those well formed abs are simply hidden from view. I’ve often heard women say they’ll never be able to have great looking abs because they’ve given birth to a few kids, but in actual fact, the exact opposite is true. Most women who have kids also have well developed abs. The problem isn’t that they don’t have abs, it’s that their abs are concealed by excess body fat. Burn the fat away, and you’ll almost certainly see great looking abs starting to appear. So, if you’re long to have a sexy looking stomach, here are a few things you need to do, and also a few things you should avoid doing.

1. Prime Yourself with Some Cardio

Cardio exercises or aerobics cause your body to burn fat, and while aerobics may not be the most efficient fat burning strategy, it can certainly help if you do some cardio exercises for about five minutes or so before you get started with your actual exercise program. The reason for doing this is simply to get your body’s fat burning mechanism activated. So, from now on, start each training session with a short five to ten minute brisk walk, of if you prefer, you can jog or cycle instead.

2. Interval Training

Interval training is considered by many to be one of the most effective approaches for developing abs, irrespective of whether or not you’re women. Basically, interval training is when you go flat out for about 15 seconds, and then slow down to a comfortable pace for about one minute, or perhaps a little less depending on your level of fitness. For example, if you were out running, you would run as fast as you can for about fifteen seconds, then you spend the next fifty seconds jogging, and of course, you would keep repeating this routine. This principle can be applied to any form of exercise, and no matter what others may tell you, short bursts of high intensity training burns more fat than long sessions of low intensity training.

3. Resistance Training

Resistance training is a crucial aspect of abs workouts for women and men alike. The interesting thing here is that you need to do this type of training with your entire body in mind, and not only for your abs. What many popular programs don’t tell you is the fact that you need to exercise all the muscles in your body in order for it to burn off excess fat. Just think about it for a minute – you have never seen anyone whose entire body is fat apart from their stomach. Before you can begin chiseling out your abs, you first need to get rid of all your excess fat, and to do that, you need to exercise your whole body. Weights are a great form of resistance training, but they’re not always easy to master, and you may not have space for such things in your home. While you certainly don’t have to join a gym, it would certainly help because you’ll have unlimited access to all the equipment, including those machines that have been designed specifically for resistance training.

What Not To Do

Don’t rush out and spend a fortune on gym equipment, particularly if you have a gym in your area. Also don’t jump the gun as far as diets are concerned. Fad diets come out almost daily, and you can be rest assured, most of them are utter nonsense. Lastly, trust all diet pills with a huge amount of suspicion. While the vast majority simply don’t work, others can be downright dangerous to your health.

Abs exercises for women are no different than they are for men. Sure women will use lighter weights than men, but that’s about it. If you want a flat stomach, you need to know the truth about abs, and the truth is it takes some work on your part in order for you to have a six-pack.

With all the different opinions out there on how to  build   muscle  and get in shape, it can be difficult choosing which advice to utilize. Following a great  workout  program is the single most important factor that will determine if you are able to gain weight and  build   muscle . That is why choosing the right training routine the so important.

If you are someone who gains weight and can  build   muscle  easily and quickly, you can choose pretty much any routine you find. The health magazines are written for people like this, as they consist of the majority of their readers.

People that struggle to gain weight and  build   muscle  must be much more selective when choosing the right training routine. They are considered hardgainers, due to the fact that their muscles take longer to recover and heal. This means they need a  workout  that allows for this extra healing time and does not overwork their  muscles  during each training session.

The best workout routine for a hardgainer consists of only 3 to 4 hours in the gym each week. Each training session should not last longer than 1 hour. This is the ideal amount of time to be lifting as it will not overwork the muscles but still forces enough stress on them to trigger some serious muscle growth. You should also take a day off after each day in which you lifted. This day off will ensure the muscles recover and fully heal in between lifts.

The final step to gaining weight and  building   muscle  is starting today. The more you put it off, the less of a chance you have of actually following through and starting the process. Finding the right  workout  program today is the step you need to take to start seeing  muscle  growth tomorrow.

Evaluate exercise and  nutrition  by setting goals for yourself that can be implemented into a program that you can follow. In order to be able to implement your goals they must be obtainable and measurable. You also must have a balance of physical activity and  nutrition , which should become a lifestyle. Being able to get the results you want stems from making a commitment.

Evaluating exercise and  nutrition  is important because the two go hand in hand. They both have great individual benefits, but neither can give you everything that your body requires. Therefore, in order to get everything your body needs there must be two separate plans that are merged together into a lifestyle. Both of these programs must have a component of consistency and efficiency. Without those two components, these programs will not be able to become a lifestyle, and therefore will not be as beneficial as they could be to the body.

In order to have a life changing effect, there must be a targeted plan that consists of both a  nutrition  and physical activity program. This can be done by breaking down the process needed to build a program.

• Make short term and long term goals

• Define how the goals we be measured

• Create a written short and long term training program

• Create a written short and long term  nutrition  program

• Sign a contract for consistency and efficiency

Defining Your Goals:

Goals must be decided upon before you can start looking for results. Otherwise, you will spend all of this time working towards something that does not exist. First, define about three short term goals you have for yourself. Second, add on to those short term goals by creating your long term goals, these are where you want to eventually end up with your body or health. The short term goals should be measurable compared to the long term goals. It is important to write down these goals and keep track of them as you progress to see if they need to be adjusted. This is where your goals must be measurable.

Measuring your Goals:

Any goal that you set for yourself must be attainable; otherwise you will be wasting your time. In order to be attainable, it must be measurable. If a goal is not measurable, you have no way of knowing if you have reached that goal or if you still need to work to achieve your objective. This could be something as simple as, I want to eat at least three servings of fruit each day for a month. You can keep track of how many servings of fruit you eat each day for a month and see if you met your goal. This allows you to then reflect on the actual goal itself and whether it is something that you want to continue pursuing.

Training Program:

One of the biggest mistakes people make when starting a physical activity program is that they do not have a plan. They simply say “I am going to work out four days each week.” What are you going to do for those four days? You have to go into the gym with a plan, or you will be stuck in the gym for hours doing what you could have accomplished in thirty minutes. You must take your goals that you have written and create a plan that will help you measure the goals and assess where you are in terms of reaching your objectives.

 Nutrition  Program:

You absolutely must have a plan when it comes to  nutrition . There are too many components that need to be achieved each day to wake up and think you can accomplish all of them without structure. This is even more important when you add this to a training program, because then you have to account for everything you are doing as far as physical activity in order to replenish your body correctly. I am not saying that every meal has to be planned out days in advance, but you need to have some sort of structure that works for you, so that you can implement all of the components you need on a daily basis.

Sign a Contract:

Hold yourself accountable to your goals and your targeted plan. Put your signature on a paper that says you will follow your plans consistently and will work to meet your goals every day! The key words there are every day; you must be stable in your efforts. Hit and miss effort will not get you very far in terms of  nutrition  or exercise.

If you are training to be a better baseball player you can’t just walk into the gym and wing it.

You need to have a plan.

Better yet, you need to have a baseball-specific plan.

That’s because your strength training for baseball should do more than just give you bigger, stronger muscles.

It should also focus on evening out the muscle imbalances that are caused with doing the same movements (throwing and batting) thousands of times each season. Your strength training should help loosen up tight muscles and strengthen weak muscles so that your technique is maximized.

As a Sports Performance Specialist, I have had great results building better baseball players by adhering to these following principles when strength training:

• Get the Posterior Chain Strong The posterior chain is a group of muscles on the back of your body that are comprised of the mid back, low back, glutes, hips and hamstrings. This group of muscles work together to give you power when batting and throwing. The general rule when setting up workouts for baseball players is to include a lower body compound exercise such as a Trap Bar Deadlift or a Safety Bar Squat (The Safety Bar is awesome for baseball players because it doesn’t put stress on the shoulders), a 1-leg exercise that focuses on the quadriceps, a hip dominant exercise and a rotational core exercise.
• Use a Foam Roller This is my secret weapon for getting baseball players loose and ready to play. It also helps your overall strength gains throughout the year because when you get more blood flow to your muscles you recover better from strength training. In turn, you develop more absolute strength. Baseball players should foam roll the Piriformis (glute area muscle that helps you step into a pitch) and your Ilio-Tibial (IT) Band. Basically, it means you need to foam roll the hips, glute and outside of the thigh. Baseball players should also foam roll the Thoracic area of the back as well as the posterior deltoids (back of shoulders).
• Train the Brachialis Muscle Baseball players are notorious for developing elbow injuries. This is especially true for pitchers who repeatedly throw high velocity pitches and breaking pitches, which cause torque on the elbows. This is why so many baseball pitchers wind up having a Tommy John surgery, which replaces the medial ligament in the elbow with a tendon from somewhere else in the body. The good news is you can avoid elbow throwing injuries by getting the Brachialis (forearm muscle) strong. The best way to do this is with some sort of Hammer Curl. A Hammer Curl is any type of unilateral curl that allows you to keep your thumb up as you curl the weight.
• The Medicine Ball is Your Friend I always have my baseball players perform medicine ball exercises during the preseason so that they can increase explosive power for throwing, running and batting. To do this, I have them perform various lying, kneeling and standing exercises with a medicine ball. Two of the best exercises for baseball players are Soccer Throws and Sideways Wall Throws. These two exercises give a fantastic explosive core workout and train the Internal Obliques muscle group that is so important to overall power as an athlete. BUT… the preseason is best done for only 6-8 weeks prior to the start of the season. In other words, Medicine Ball and other power training exercises are best done for short periods of time… not year round. The bulk of the time should focus on building a foundation of strength from which you build speed and power around.
• Train Over Your Head One of the silliest things we’ve dealt with when training new baseball athletes at our gym is their coaches instructions that they are NOT to do any exercises that involve their arms overhead. They mistakenly believe that the players will get hurt by training any exercises over their heads. Listen, here’s the truth… The only exercises that you may want to avoid overhead are the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk. These Olympic style lifts can lead to torque and injuries in the shoulders… especially when attempted by individuals who aren’t properly trained nor experienced enough. Personally, I think Olympic lifts are useless for baseball players and won’t use them with my players. Instead, exercises such as strict standing shoulder presses, overhead triceps extensions, and a Pullover machine are amazingly effective for creating a balanced group of muscles for throwing and batting.

There are a ton more things you can to maximize your baseball performance through your baseball-specific workouts. Give these 5 tips a consideration when designing your baseball-specific workouts so that you avoid injuries as well as improve your game.

When you want to build muscle, you must eat a proper diet. A complete, balanced diet will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to grow and accommodate the expansion of muscles so that you can achieve that Michelangelo-sculpted body you’ve always dreamed about.

A proper diet will consist of a balance of the recommended servings of each of the food groups, with an emphasis on protein-based foods. Building muscle requires a massive amount of protein, as protein is the main cornerstone for developing muscle.

Protein can be obtained from several different foods, so you don’t have to eat something you don’t like! It can be found in numerous vegetables, meats, fish, and also can be obtained in drinks such as milk, and other dairy products such as yogurt and cheese. There is also a product called whey protein, which comes in powder form and can be mixed into any of your favorite drinks (healthy ones though!), water, fruit smoothies, or just about anything else.

For meats, lean meats are the best way to go. Poultry such as chicken and turkey are among the best. One of my favorites is turkey pepperoni, it is much lower in fat and is overall healthier than pork pepperoni. It also is higher in protein, so it will benefit your muscle building much more.

Fish is also a great source of nutrients. Tuna is a favorite among many bodybuilders. Salmon and walleye are a couple others. Be sure, however, that you do not eat them deep-fried, as that will be detrimental to your body, and will affect your gaining of muscle mass.

Protein can also be found in many vegetables, so you do not have to eat meat constantly. I personally think that it is not healthy to eat meat constantly, and a good amount of vegetables is necessary to build muscle properly. Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and romaine lettuce are great for building a healthy body. Have you ever seen the show Popeye? There is some truth to his having massive muscles from eating spinach.

And, as I said earlier, there also are protein-concentrated products that can be mixed into a milkshake-like drink, or into any food. One of my favorites is chocolate-flavored. It is easy to mix and can be drunk just after or right before a work out.

There are many diets to consider when you wish to change your eating habits, lifestyle, health, and weight.

George Ohsawa, who promoted that a simple lifestyle produced positive health benefits, created the microbiotic diet. The diet was comprised of ten restrictive steps, forcing the dieter to exhibit a great deal of self-control.

For example, the last stage of the microbiotic diet involves the dieter consuming only brown rice and water. Diet planners, due to its excessive restriction no longer suggest this first version of the microbiotic diet.

Well Being

The microbiotic diet appeals to some because it not only focuses on the physical well being of a dieter, but also deals with the spiritual and planetary aspects of health.

The microbiotic way of dieting is low in fat, as well as high in fibre. Vegetarians could easily follow this diet because the diet places emphasis on vegetables and whole grains.

The microbiotic diet calls for low amounts of sugar, dairy items, and meat.

Soy products

Soy products are also an integral part of the diet because they contain phytoestrogens, thought to have positive effects on cholesterol levels, menopause, as well as some types of cancers. This is why patients who are suffering from cancer or other chronic diseases have followed this strict regimen.

The phytoestrogens may also prove beneficial in the prevention of estrogen-related cancers like breast cancer. It is important not to confuse this healthy way of eating with a cure for serious medical conditions and diseases.

Whole Grains

When following the microbiotic diet, 50-60% of each meal will consist of whole grains, including brown rice, barley, millet, rye, corn and buckwheat. This diet allows an occasional meal with rolled oats, noodles, pasta, bread or baked products.

Soup

Each day, 1 to 2 bowls or cups of soup are required. It is suggested that a dieter choose shoyu or miso, which contains fermented soybeans.

Vegetables

Vegetables make up 25-30% of the daily food intake, where 1/3 of the vegetables should be eaten in their raw state. Boiling, steaming, baking or sautéing should prepare any other vegetable portions.

Beans

10% of the daily food intake should consist of cooked beans. Bean products such as tofu or tempeh can also be eaten.

Cooking Oil

The most common cooking oil used when preparing meals is dark sesame oil. Additional oils to consider include light sesame oil, corn oil, as well as mustard seed oil.

Flavourings

Natural sea salt, shoyu, brown rice vinegar, grated ginger root, fermented pickles, roasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions are some of the seasonings that can be used when adding flavor to foods.

When it comes to animal by-products while on the microbiotic diet, small amounts of fish or seafood are acceptable each week.

Dieters should stay away from eggs, dairy, meat, and poultry.

When eating fish or seafood, microbiotic dieters should consume horseradish, wasabi, ginger, or mustard in order to aid in the detoxification process against the effects of the seafood.

Other foods allowed while on the microbiotic diet include the moderate consumption of seeds or nuts, as well as desserts such as apples and dried food.

Dieters should not consume sugar, honey, molasses, chocolate, or carob.

Fruit

Several times a week, the diet permits fruit such as pears, peaches, apricots, grapes, berries, and melons. Avoid tropical fruits, such as pineapples and mangoes.

The microbiotic diet can be tailored to fit individuals depending on their age, gender, health concerns, as well as climate and seasonal factors.

Side Effects

There are a few side effects associated with this diet. Certain nutrients are not absorbed into the body through this diet, such as protein, vitamin B12, iron, magnesium, and calcium. This can affect a dieter by lowering their energy levels, as well as lead to health complications.

Some nutritionists frown upon this diet because they feel it is too restrictive.