RICHARD SEYMOUR'S FIT/SCHOOL...MUSCLE FUEL


Lifting weights and doing cardio vascular exercises is only half the battle. Eating is the other half. Here are some smart tips.

• Eat breakfast every day. Fill up on fruit, along with some carbs and protein (an egg-white omelet and whole-grain toast, or oatmeal with walnuts and almonds).

• Don’t go hungry. Avoid going longer than three hours without some food (snack on nuts, fruit, energy bars or my favorite- a protien shake).

• Eat within 45 minutes to two hours after a tough workout. Choose foods that contain mostly carbs, with some protein thrown in (nuts, a protein shake or bar, peanut butter and whole-grain bread, yogurt and fruit).

• Eat slightly more than normal. You need to eat more calories than you burn all day to build more lean body tissue. You can figure out exactly how much to eat by tracking what you eat now and adding 250 to 500 calories more each day.

Stick with these basic rules, and you're on your way.

Richard-