Reality of You

Real talk about health, fitness, and weight loss.

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3 Things to Know About Protein and Weight Loss

ProteinandWeightLoss

The fitness community can pretty adequately be summarized by these three things: protein powder, yoga, and fruit water. 

Today I’m here to talk about protein, which always seems to be at the center of every blog post ever (I know, I know, I’m #basic now that I’ve broken down and am blogging about protein and protein powders but I’m only answering your questions ok???)

1. Know how much protein you need per day to reach your goals.

Protein helps with weight loss because it boosts your metabolic rate and decreases your appetite (source.) The common recommendation for those trying to get lean is around 1 gram of protein per pound, although it does really depend on how active your lifestyle is and your goals.

I really hate the nitty-gritty details of protein calculations, so if you need more info on this, I would recommend this website.

2. Protein powder and shakes aren’t necessarily the answer.

The main issue with protein powders, bars, and shakes is that these things can contain high levels of sugar and artificial ingredients. Supplements might make sense if you’re struggling to reach your daily protein goals as-is, but make sure you do your research. Pick protein that is plant-based, and doesn’t have soy as too much soy can increase your estrogen levels too high.

As a rule, I try and stay away from supplements except for daily multivitamins, but I’m giving Vega protein powder a try to see how it affects my workout schedule and the results of my training, and I’ll let you know how it goes!

3. Try and eat protein at every meal.

Whether that’s meat, fish, legumes, tofu, or whatever else floats your boat, try and make protein a center for your meals.

I love bean soup, quinoa and fish, avocado eggs, and things like parfaits for snacks.

Make whole, healthy foods your first stop, and only use protein powders for things like post-workout recovery drinks. Protein powders don’t have all the nutrients that whole foods have, so I would warn against using them as meal replacements too often.

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There you have it! What’s your favorite source of protein? Let me know in the comments!

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Should You Drink Caffeine Before a Workout?

Cafe-Latte

#blessed

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a self-proclaimed espresso connoisseur. Anything less than four shots of espresso will put me to sleep. (Kidding. Sort of.)

Aside from being that girl in the library at 2am discovering why a Red Eye is the best coffee drink of all time, I also am not a morning person. So when I needed to do morning workouts in order to fit them into my schedule, I wondered… can I drink coffee or other types of caffeine right before a run or a gym sesh? Leg day would surely be better with some cold brew, amirite? [Read more…]

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7 Day Clean-Up: Passing the FBI Fitness Test and Other Fitness Goal-Setting Tips [Day 3]

7daycleanupnew

This is part of the 7 Day Clean-Up Series. See all posts in the series here.

This summer, my best friend was like, “Amy, we have to be able to pass the FBI fitness test. Y’know, for fun. Also job security since we’re graduating.”

I foolishly agreed, thinking that it couldn’t be that hard. I work out, and I’m also currently training for my third half-marathon (in part because this guy I like asked me to run it with him #priorities).

The first part of the FBI fitness test is 60 seconds worth of sit-ups. Easy. Doing yoga has its benefits.

Second task: 60 seconds worth of push-ups. I was able to get through about one push-up before collapsing, and could only get through 30 seconds of knees-on-the-ground push-ups. Clearly my upper body strength needs work.

Third task: a 300-meter sprint. That’s about 3/4 of the way around the track. Suffice to say my “sprint” was more of a “light jog.”

So while yes, I am in fairly good shape because of yoga and lifting, my endurance and upper body strength needs some serious work. My best friend and I want to be able to pass the test before winter.

While you may not be training for a life of adventure and mystique within the walls of the FBI like we are (or pretending to, anyways), it’s good to set goals you can actually measure.

If you don’t have fitness goals, you don’t have any indication of where you’re at now and if you will have made any progress six months from now.

3 Great Fitness Goals to Set:

  1. Pass the FBI or President’s Fitness Test
  2. Complete the 30 Day Shred
  3. Complete the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge

So set some goals and get ready to join the FBI.

Or just get really fit.

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3 Things You Need to Do After Every Workout

3 things to do after every workout

So there’s a new yoga instructor at my gym. He’s basically pioneering the concept of “cardio yoga” and the workouts are super intense, with nonstop vinyasa flows, jump squats, and screams of pain and anguish. Kidding about the last one (sort of), but the point is when you’re doing hellish workouts you need to make sure you optimize your workout and help your body recover and improve. A post-workout routine is just as important as a pre-workout routine!

1. Eat protein within 15 minutes after your workout.

Your muscles are hungry! Feed them. Eating protein right after your workout ensures that your muscles can recover and grow, and it also reduces muscle soreness.

Some good sources of protein include lentils, nuts, lean meats, and quinoa. Check out my list of 8 post-workout snacks for more suggestions!

2. Stretch to remove toxins.

Vigorous exercise releases free radicals in the body, while stretching and yoga inversions help disperse and remove them. Stretching also helps improve circulation and is just a good idea after a workout. Stretching is key for pre-workout, too, but before your workout make sure you’re doing dynamic stretches instead to reduce injuires.

3. Drink water to rehydrate and energize.

Drinking water also helps flush toxins, but also makes sure you don’t feel fatigued and helps you re-energize post-workout, especially if you’ve been working out in hot weather.

 

Have a great week of fitness, everybody!

-Amy

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The Ultimate HIIT Guide (High Intensity Interval Training)

 ultimate guide to HIIT

What if I told you that by spending 30-45 minutes at the gym running intervals would help you lose fat faster than walking on the treadmill for four hours?

Welcome to the wonderful, time-saving world of high intensity interval training!

 

What is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)?

It’s a kind of exercise that aims for maximum fat loss in a short period of time, and it combines two kinds of training:

  • High Intensity Training. Working out at maximum effort in order to reach VO2 max, which triggers the afterburn effect that makes your body burn calories up to 48 hours after your workout ends. 
  • Interval Training. Alternating periods of low-intensity with moderate-intensity. This builds lean muscle mass and boosts metabolism, and burns more calories than steady state cardio (working out the same duration for a set period of time.)

By combining these two types of training, you get HIIT!

 

What are the benefits of HIIT?

1. Increased metabolic rate. Who doesn’t want that?

2. Increased calorie burn during and after your workout. The afterburn effect from high intensity training is magnified by adding intervals into the mix.

3. Improved mitochondrial function. HIIT actually improves your body at the cellular level, improving mitochondrial function and energy levels in our body.

4. Increased fat loss. Intervals combined with intense exercise boost your metabolism and the afterburn effect, promoting fat loss.

5. Shorter workouts save you time. Research has show that 27 minutes of HIIT 3x/week produces the same set of anaerobic and aerobic benefits as doing steady state cardio 60 min/day for 5x/week! [Read more…]