Aspire, Perspire, Nourish Yourself

https://storify.com/adelynnjoy/protein-shakes-what-s-shakin

If you flip through any fitness magazines you’ll see a bunch of ads for protein supplements, recovery shakes, protein meal replacements and related products. Each promises to help fuel muscles, speed up recovery from exercise, and in some cases even burn fat. How do you choose between them? Should you even use these products? An equally confusing experience is walking down the aisles of health stores. With the numerous types and brands of supplements and protein products, making sense of these products can be a full time job. Where do you start?

Understand your needs

http://vickygarciafitness.com/protein-carbs-fat/

First and foremost, understand how much protein you should be consuming based on your body weight, physical activity level, and special needs. An equally important factor is knowing how much protein you are actually ingesting because consuming too much protein may have negative effects on your health. Besides increasing fat storage, having too much protein could develop a toxic form of ammonia in your body that can make your kidneys and liver work harder.

How much protein do I need?

Amidst controversy among professionals, many government agencies responsible for health have established minimum guidelines for the amount of protein the average person needs per day. Generally, the suggestion is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. However, exercise physiologists and other professionals recommend that individuals who exercise rigorously should consume higher levels of protein. Keep this in mind when determining the correct ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fats in your meal planning. To ensure you’re getting the appropriate nutrients in your diet, calculate the calories you need per day to appropriately maintain your weight (or lose weight if that’s your goal). Based on the calories then you can calculate the breakdown of protein, carbohydrate, and fat you should be consuming. There are formulas to help with the calculations, which you can find at various sites such as at:

You can also use apps such as MyFitnessPal or CalorieCount, which will automatically calculate your macronutrient needs based on a few criteria like your weight, gender, activity level and weight goals. Once you know how much protein you need, you can determine the best place to get it. Keep in mind that protein is contained in many foods besides meat. You’ll also find it in nuts and legumes, vegetables, and grains. In developed countries such as North America we tend to get more than enough protein from the everyday food we eat, if we eat a balanced diet, so if you plan to consume protein supplements, be sure to understand what you’re getting.

Research the product

The best way to know about what you’re ingesting is to research it. Don’t blindly purchase a protein supplement because it’s the most advertised product or because your friend told you it was the best they have found. Each of us has individual needs that may not be met from the same product.

How is it manufactured?

Take responsibility for understanding the product, the way it’s manufactured and the ingredients used. For instance, there are various sources of protein such as whey, soy, and casein to name a few. Some proteins are animal based and others are plant based. The manufacturing processes also vary. For example, whey comes in an isolate, concentrate or hydrolysate format. The differences are based on the processing and yield different protein contents. Learn more about the difference at built lean.com. Visit the manufacturer’s site to review the products you intend to purchase, and carefully read all the ingredients included in the product. Do further independent research on the long list of ingredients. Knowing what’s in the product will also help you avoid problems with allergies and food intolerances.

What the source of base ingredients?

If you are concerned about hormone injected food, carefully review the source of protein products. For example, the whey may come from grass fed sources or from countries where injecting growth hormones in cows is an acceptable practice in the milk producing industry.

Target the use

Finally, live by some simple guidelines about supplementation. There are times when using them makes sense and times when food will still give you the best protein options.

If you follow a balanced diet most of the time, you may not need to use protein supplements.
Use protein powders, shakes, and bars as meal replacements rather than adding to your regular diet; otherwise, you may be ingesting more protein and calories than you need.
Use protein supplementation after workouts that are rigorous, when you don’t replenish with appropriate nutrients through food.

As Dr. Fred Hatfield, Co-founder and President of The International Sports Sciences Association, suggests:

“You don’t need all of them all of the time.” (1)

Reference:

Hatfield, Frederick C., Fitness: The Complete Guide, Official Text for ISSA’s Certified Fitness Trainer Course, Edition 8.6.6, International Sports Sciences Association, 2013: Carpinteria, CA, p. 575.
http://vickygarciafitness.com/protein-carbs-fat/

Recipe of the Week: Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup

Thankful for A Day Off

Once a week I build in one day off from my training schedule. No running, no weight training, no strenuous workouts. By the end of the training week my body is begging for a day off, especially during marathon training time.

This morning as I hobbled out of bed, gingerly walking on feet that ache from old plantar fasciitis injuries, my head was swimming with all the stuff I needed to do on my day off to catch up with life. Write the blog, make some appetizers for the afternoon gathering with friends, do some work for the upcoming PTA meeting, help my son with his homework, do some laundry, and the list goes on. Yesterday I thought that my first priority was sleeping in. Today, while lying in bed, thinking of this mega list, somehow sleeping in shifted to the bottom of my list.

Rest Days are Important

Although I fill my training rest days with all the other stuff in life that needs doing, I enjoy these days. I get to sit at my computer with a great cup of coffee and just write or maybe I start the day with getting the laundry going. The start of this day is peaceful as the rest of the family sleeps in. It’s still my time and I get to pick what to do.

Psychologically, rest days are important because they give my mind a break from the routine and focus of the ‘rigid’ training schedule I set for myself. The routine is particularly rigid when there’s a running goal ahead. My mind won’t let me quit when the GPS on my watch says 8.78 miles run. I might as well round it up to 9 miles!

Physiologically, rest days are critical for my body to recover from the stress I cause to my muscles and joints. Without the rest days, my muscles would be constantly in need of energy. Instead of building muscle I would be breaking down (catabolizing) muscle. It took my Type A personality wisdom for this message to sink in. As I got older, my body could not keep up with the constant stress and as a result I got injured more often.

Active Recovery also Important

Besides building in a full day of rest in my routine, I also build in easier training days throughout the week. A hard day of running is followed by an easier day of cross training. It’s amazing how refreshed I feel and ready I am to do another hard day after the easier training day.

Having said this, there are times when I have pushed too hard on easier training days. As I drag myself through a tough workout the next day, I remind myself to stick to the plan: there are days to recover and days to go to the max!

Mark Your Calendar

For those of us with jobs, families to care for, house to keep tidy, and volunteer commitments to complete, fitness and nutrition goals may seem daunting. Make fitness part of your daily life and remember to schedule proper rest days. You can’t keep a hectic schedule without regular breaks. Refresh your mind and your body by making your ‘day off’ an ongoing habit.