::Beginning with a disclaimer, this post is not for my vegan friends. I support you, I love you. I just have different goals than you. Different health needs. Read the rest at your own risk. With Love, A::
I've recently been listening to a ton of podcasts on health, sports performance, nutrition. I feel like I'm full of knowledge right now. I'm over spilling with facts about protein content. Case in point I informed Iron Woman on a 3 mile run last night about how much protein you should eat in your 30's and 50's. It's a lot.
On the Better Everyday with Sarah Fragoso & Dr. Brooke, a podcast specifically for women and for women who struggle with hormone issues, Sarah and Dr. Brooke recently interviewed Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. Dr Lyon is a functional medicine physician specializing in Muscle-Centric Medicine. Meaning she knows everything there is to know about muscles.
In this episode of the podcast all three women really hit home the importance of taking care of your body through strength training and protein. Each of them busted a myth we grew up believing about how strength training makes you look like a giant unrecognizable beast, and how unless you have only 1 kidney, or a kidney dysfunction it's perfectly healthy to consume animal protein. They did touch on high quality hemp and pea proteins, but the they really underlined the fact that in order to burn fat, lose weight, you need to consume a ton of protein, consisting of but not limited to animal protein.
At minimum we should have 90 grams of protein per day. I thought this would be fairly easy to reach as I had consumed 87 grams before dinner yesterday, but it turns out, consuming LEAN protein upwards of the same gram as your weight....holy sakes that's a hard task! I would love to burn fat and I'm not necessarily worried about losing any weight...or shouldn't be...so I need to consume at minimum 150 grams of protein in order to maintain/lose weight. SO MUCH PROTEIN!
The women were joking about how many eggs you'd have to eat in the morning to achieve that 30 grams of protein...that number is 6. (Of course depending on the size of your egg.) Or 1 cup of egg whites. Which is what I eat EVERY MORNING. Yes. 1 cup of egg whites plus a vegetable ((usually spinach)) as well as 1 apple + 2 tbs of almond butter. As it turns out I learned in another podcast, women with PCOS shouldn't consume peanut butter...that's a different subject for different day. Dr. Gabrielle spoke about the reasons why protein is so important. Not only does it help fight osteoporosis, but it helps with brain power! Most importantly though...it's in every single cell of our body!
Have you heard of the Lamini Cross? It's the protein in every single cell of our body. I love this video, where it explains that God, the creator of all things, stamped us with his symbol. The cross. We are knitted together by him. Okay, as a Christian---this video is kinda over the top cheesy, but it gave me goosebumps too. To me is also looks like the symbol of a waterfall on a map, but...you be the judge. It was neat.
I also listened to an episode of Star Talk Radio Neil Degrasse Tyson who with Chuck Nice and interviewed different NFL professionals on Nutrition and Fitness. It was interesting listening to how athletes of now versus 10+ years ago fuel their bodies. When/how they recover. You thought breakfast was the most important meal of the day? Well the second if not first would be your recovery meal. Granted if you go back to the Better Everyday pod episode, if you're not exercising like an NFL player- you're recovery meal needs, are probably going to look a lot different than a professional athlete.
The thing that stood out to me the most though was this...
What is your picture of health? What is it that you're trying to achieve? If you're an NFL player it's all about your performance and your recovery. If you're a bit of a desk jockey like myself, you're goals are going to be WAY different. Especially if you're a desk jockey who is trying to gain muscle mass versus me who is trying to cut my body fat percentage.
I believe it was Glen Tobias, Sports Nutrition for the Boston Red Sox, on the NFL Nutrition episode who said 'Why are you weighing yourself? If you drink a gallon of water and don't pee you're going to weigh 8 pounds more.' You need to focus on your muscles. The more muscle you have the more fat you'll burn. Fat loss needs to be completed slowly. Otherwise, what good are you doing if you restrict your diet to the point of loosing muscle mass? Defeats the purpose and you wreck your metabolism.
I've been thinking a lot about, how I talk to my body, what I think of my body and what my goals are. Why do I get depressed when I gain weight? I shouldn't. I've been lifting A LOT! I eat mostly healthy and when you're trying to lean up, sometimes you do end up gaining weight.
To me a picture of health is someone who doesn't over eat. Does not eat excess in sugar, but can feel good knowing they worked out, ate right, AND can also ENJOY have a s'more and beer. (In my case allergen friendly s'more and a hard cider...can you tell I'm craving warm weather?)
A picture of health is being able to run 3 miles without feeling depleted.
It's having a clear mind and more energy.
It's someone who constantly wears gyms clothes.
Eats whole foods.
Minimal pain throughout their body beside maybe some muscle soreness.
It's an apple a day.
It's early to bed, early to rise.
It's a smile.
It's a clean report from your doctor.
It's taking your medicine/vitamins.
It's knowing your boundaries and being okay with saying no.
It's not feeling guilty when you put your health first.
It's not smoking.
Constantly eating green vegetables.
These are the things that are a picture of health to me.
Not 6 pack abs or a smaller size of jeans. Not dead lifting 600lbs.
Let me be clear though, none of these things in and of themselves are bad things to achieve or aim for. These are just not my goals.
I would love to be able to run another half marathon or full marathon without walking! I would LOVE to be able to run a 5k in under 25 minutes. I would love to be able to a pull-up without an assist.
These are the things I need to train for. These are the things I am aiming for. I love working out because it's not only good for my body, it's good for my mind.
I would LOVE a flat stomach. I would LOVE not to have wrinkled thighs. This squishy tum-tum and those wrinkled and crinkled thighs carried me well over 300 running miles last year. Through 1 marathon, Up and down a steep stepped Mayan pyramid, 1 Memorial Day Muprh, 2 half marathons, and a lot of gym miles.
It's amazing what a picture of health looks like when you stop and think about it.
Here's to you.
Many blessings,
A
I've recently been listening to a ton of podcasts on health, sports performance, nutrition. I feel like I'm full of knowledge right now. I'm over spilling with facts about protein content. Case in point I informed Iron Woman on a 3 mile run last night about how much protein you should eat in your 30's and 50's. It's a lot.
On the Better Everyday with Sarah Fragoso & Dr. Brooke, a podcast specifically for women and for women who struggle with hormone issues, Sarah and Dr. Brooke recently interviewed Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. Dr Lyon is a functional medicine physician specializing in Muscle-Centric Medicine. Meaning she knows everything there is to know about muscles.
In this episode of the podcast all three women really hit home the importance of taking care of your body through strength training and protein. Each of them busted a myth we grew up believing about how strength training makes you look like a giant unrecognizable beast, and how unless you have only 1 kidney, or a kidney dysfunction it's perfectly healthy to consume animal protein. They did touch on high quality hemp and pea proteins, but the they really underlined the fact that in order to burn fat, lose weight, you need to consume a ton of protein, consisting of but not limited to animal protein.
At minimum we should have 90 grams of protein per day. I thought this would be fairly easy to reach as I had consumed 87 grams before dinner yesterday, but it turns out, consuming LEAN protein upwards of the same gram as your weight....holy sakes that's a hard task! I would love to burn fat and I'm not necessarily worried about losing any weight...or shouldn't be...so I need to consume at minimum 150 grams of protein in order to maintain/lose weight. SO MUCH PROTEIN!
The women were joking about how many eggs you'd have to eat in the morning to achieve that 30 grams of protein...that number is 6. (Of course depending on the size of your egg.) Or 1 cup of egg whites. Which is what I eat EVERY MORNING. Yes. 1 cup of egg whites plus a vegetable ((usually spinach)) as well as 1 apple + 2 tbs of almond butter. As it turns out I learned in another podcast, women with PCOS shouldn't consume peanut butter...that's a different subject for different day. Dr. Gabrielle spoke about the reasons why protein is so important. Not only does it help fight osteoporosis, but it helps with brain power! Most importantly though...it's in every single cell of our body!
Have you heard of the Lamini Cross? It's the protein in every single cell of our body. I love this video, where it explains that God, the creator of all things, stamped us with his symbol. The cross. We are knitted together by him. Okay, as a Christian---this video is kinda over the top cheesy, but it gave me goosebumps too. To me is also looks like the symbol of a waterfall on a map, but...you be the judge. It was neat.
I also listened to an episode of Star Talk Radio Neil Degrasse Tyson who with Chuck Nice and interviewed different NFL professionals on Nutrition and Fitness. It was interesting listening to how athletes of now versus 10+ years ago fuel their bodies. When/how they recover. You thought breakfast was the most important meal of the day? Well the second if not first would be your recovery meal. Granted if you go back to the Better Everyday pod episode, if you're not exercising like an NFL player- you're recovery meal needs, are probably going to look a lot different than a professional athlete.
The thing that stood out to me the most though was this...
What is your picture of health? What is it that you're trying to achieve? If you're an NFL player it's all about your performance and your recovery. If you're a bit of a desk jockey like myself, you're goals are going to be WAY different. Especially if you're a desk jockey who is trying to gain muscle mass versus me who is trying to cut my body fat percentage.
I believe it was Glen Tobias, Sports Nutrition for the Boston Red Sox, on the NFL Nutrition episode who said 'Why are you weighing yourself? If you drink a gallon of water and don't pee you're going to weigh 8 pounds more.' You need to focus on your muscles. The more muscle you have the more fat you'll burn. Fat loss needs to be completed slowly. Otherwise, what good are you doing if you restrict your diet to the point of loosing muscle mass? Defeats the purpose and you wreck your metabolism.
I've been thinking a lot about, how I talk to my body, what I think of my body and what my goals are. Why do I get depressed when I gain weight? I shouldn't. I've been lifting A LOT! I eat mostly healthy and when you're trying to lean up, sometimes you do end up gaining weight.
To me a picture of health is someone who doesn't over eat. Does not eat excess in sugar, but can feel good knowing they worked out, ate right, AND can also ENJOY have a s'more and beer. (In my case allergen friendly s'more and a hard cider...can you tell I'm craving warm weather?)
A picture of health is being able to run 3 miles without feeling depleted.
It's having a clear mind and more energy.
It's someone who constantly wears gyms clothes.
Eats whole foods.
Minimal pain throughout their body beside maybe some muscle soreness.
It's an apple a day.
It's early to bed, early to rise.
It's a smile.
It's a clean report from your doctor.
It's taking your medicine/vitamins.
It's knowing your boundaries and being okay with saying no.
It's not feeling guilty when you put your health first.
It's not smoking.
Constantly eating green vegetables.
These are the things that are a picture of health to me.
Not 6 pack abs or a smaller size of jeans. Not dead lifting 600lbs.
Let me be clear though, none of these things in and of themselves are bad things to achieve or aim for. These are just not my goals.
I would love to be able to run another half marathon or full marathon without walking! I would LOVE to be able to run a 5k in under 25 minutes. I would love to be able to a pull-up without an assist.
These are the things I need to train for. These are the things I am aiming for. I love working out because it's not only good for my body, it's good for my mind.
I would LOVE a flat stomach. I would LOVE not to have wrinkled thighs. This squishy tum-tum and those wrinkled and crinkled thighs carried me well over 300 running miles last year. Through 1 marathon, Up and down a steep stepped Mayan pyramid, 1 Memorial Day Muprh, 2 half marathons, and a lot of gym miles.
It's amazing what a picture of health looks like when you stop and think about it.
Here's to you.
Many blessings,
A
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