Liquid Lunch

Okay so two years ago "liquid lunch" would mean 4-6 bottles of Summer Ale, but that's not what I mean today! Good morning everyone. It has been a productive and educational week on all fronts. My new challenge has been re-connecting with some of you to really help you iron out some of the wrinkles you've been experiencing on your journeys, and I take personal responsibility as your coach to help you through. If I haven't contacted you and you are still having issues, please contact me immediately so we can set up an appointment and/or a workout date. I realize that each of us is different, responds to different kinds of workouts, has different scheduling issues, etc. The main thing I see that we all have in common is the eating and nutrition aspect of health.

Especially here in the Midwest, we are surrounded by signs pointing the wrong way. Whether that means fast food, larger serving sizes at restaurants, or cheap groceries and convenient stores, it seems we use the "no-time-to-cook" or even "no-time-to-eat" excuse, which is, simply, inexcusable. Yesterday, I had the privilege of visiting a coach on my team and good friend, Brittney and her mom Donna and family for a Hip Hop Abs workout and to work with them on their nutrition. First, they were ready to go when I got there, so I quickly changed and joined in my first Hip Hop Abs workout, and it was so fun! I am familiar with Shaun T from his more recent program, Insanity, but the workout we did was a fun cardio workout filled with energetic dance moves that worked us from head to toe. It was even more fun because we did it together, and even the neighbor kid and Brittney's cousin joined in and we had our own Hip Hop Dance Party, sweat included!

Afterward, Donna mixed up some Shakeology, which is perfect for a moderate to even intense workout. I am usually all about eating whole food and real meals, however what I have learned (through my professional trainer education) is that liquid nutrition, in the form of Shakeology or P90X Results and Recovery Formula, just to name a few, is ideal for a post-workout meal since your body will absorb and process the nutrition quick enough for your body to reap the nutritional benefits before your "window of opportunity" is up. (That's usually 0-60 minutes after your workout when your body is primed to take in and replenish the nutrients for rebuilding, repair, and recovery). Besides this "liquid lunch", you do need to integrate better nutrition, and I showed Brittney how to use www.myfitnesspal.com, which I am not affiliated with, but I use as a powerful tool to track mine and my clients and team members' dietary intake, macronutrient breakdown, and weight loss. There is a huge database packed with all types of store-bought and bulk food items and their values. Once you know what you are burning on a regular basis, you can plan to defecit your calorie intake, work on your macronutrient proportions, and start losing weight safely, healthily, and effectively. More importantly, you will learn how to pick and choose your foods more carefully, and this planning and scheduling of your meals can help you pack your foods for the next day so you have no excuse to run out and grab something, skip meals, etc. Aim for your fat to be 15-30% of your daily calories for proper health, and shoot for the lower end when working to lose weight. Your body can store fat easier than it can convert it, so it's important to keep it to a minimum. Also, keeping your diet low in fat will allow you to actually eat more since fat is more calorie-dense than protein or carbohydrates. Here's an example:

Let's say you have a sandwich, and you use 1 tbsp of mayo. Well, that 1 tbsp of mayo equals 90 calories, which comes from 10 grams of pure fat! Substitute that mayo with no calorie mustard or vinegar, and you can use that 90 calories elsewhere, like 90 calories worth of pretzels or carrots and a pickle! How is that? A gram of fat yields 9 calories while a gram of protein or carbohydrate only yields 4. So you can have over twice as much "gram-for-gram" of carb or protein than fat! When you enter your meals into your calendar for myfitnesspal, it will show you the gram breakdown. multiply the grams by 4 or 9, depending, and use that number and divide it by the total calories in the day. This will show you the percentages of macronutrients(protein, carbohydrate, and fat) that you are taking in. Tweak it day to day and make small improvements, and your small improvements will lead to huge results! Wow, I guess I got carried away. Don't forget to save your Shakeology shake for one meal to get a nutrient dense, low-calorie meal that will help you feel amazing, look great, and be healthy! Find out more at www.shakeologylife.com. Thanks for reading, everyone, and have a great weekend!