In my youth, I was active with snow skiing, running track and field, ice skating, cycling, etc. I could eat anything without gaining a pound. Even well into my early 30′s, the biggest problem I had, was putting weight on. Breakfast of a sausage-egg & cheese croissant and x-tra large coffee with cream and sugar, would be picked up on the way to work at the local Dunkin’ Donuts in Brighton. The average lunch consisted of the largest servings of whatever it was I was eating, a large soda (Usually a Coca-Cola) and something sweet for desert, like a whoopie pie from Mike’s in Boston’s North End. Dinner would be a grilled steak or 1/2 pound burger with bacon, cheese and corn on the cobb, mashed potato, you name it. Of course my nighttime snack would be sinful and as nutritionally hazardous as eating half of a Sara Lee Butter streusel coffee cake, or, if I was really in a pinch, I could down 3 different candy bars and a full bodied beer, or three. At 26 years old my body fat percentage was 9-10% and I struggled to stay over 160 pounds at 5’10″ tall. Now fast forward to shortly after my 40th birthday. I’m somewhere around 190-200 pounds with a 32%+ body fat percentage. Medically I had become obese. How did I get so fat and out of shape?
After a high intensity workout, your body is prime to recieve proper nutrition to aid in muscle recovery and rebuilding.
If you find you are sore for 3 days after your workout, then you’re not giving your body the nutrients it need at the right times. You’re also not maximizing the results of your efforts.
To help with the muscle rebuilding and soreness the next day, you need to give your body fuel to repair muscle within your metabolic window. Here’s what works for me.
Within 45 minutes of finishing my workout.
I sometimes eat one weight watchers cheese stick, 15 RAW almonds and a small green, or fuji apple. Eat the apple last.
I sometimes have 4 slices of low sodium turkey breast, 15 almonds and a green apple. Eat the apple last.
I sometimes have a recovery drink.
I sometimes have chocolate milk.
I sometimes do a egg sandwich on whole grain flat bread with 1 slice of swiss cheese and 8 oz of orange juice. Have juice last.
All 3 of those choices have almost the exact same carb / protein / fat makeup, but with varying volume and calories.
You have to experiment a little and find out what works best for you.
If you’re already hurting though, it is not an instant fix.
It will take about 3 days to catch up to a missed metabolic window.
Make your snack before you workout, or get a simple recovery drink.
I currently prefer 40g Carbs/10g protein for Insanity and weight loss.
Keeping a little notebook journal can help you fine tune your after workout eating habits.
If you make a habit of eating correctly after your workout, you get used to it and you hardly have to remember. It just comes naturally.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who prefers the Chocolate version of Shakeology. I’m always trying out new cocoa concoctions and although I have my favorites, there is a constant sampling ritual for the all important liquid meal in our home.
My favorite so far is the Nana Nutter which is simply half a banana and one tablespoon of Teddie all natural peanut butter blended with ice and water.
Variations could include using almond milk or non fat milk instead of water, but my favorite modification is to just double the additions to a full banana and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. YUM!
Here’s a quick video showing how I make Chocolate Nana-Nutter:
Normally it isn’t a good idea to radically change your routines because you are that much more likely to return to them. Take it one step at a time. Whether you just stop drinking soda or go for a walk around your block, do something today. Immediately you will have a success to feel good about. Then get yourself plugged in.
Why do so many people that join gyms never end up losing weight and getting in shape? No support system! Going to the gym might sound like the perfect solution when you want to change, but after about a couple of days most people never go back. It is lonely when you don’t know anyone and it is hard to keep yourself motivated if you don’t have someone who is holding you accountable. Not only that, but a lot of people are embarrassed to work out in public when they are overweight or have a poor self image.
When you are ready to change, do what works. Do you know why so many people have heard of P90X? I will give you one hint….its not because the infomercial is good (which it is). It’s because IT WORKS!!! I was in a holding pattern of just being dormant, watching too much TV, virtually no exercise, not eating right and sort of not feeling all that great about my life.
One Sunday morning, I was flipping through the channels while the Food Network was on a commercial break, and lo and behold, Tony Horton – the P90X guru himself was there on the infomercial talking about his program and showing real people getting real results. I sat there will the spoon half way up to my mouth thinking, “should I give this a try?” Then I realized I had nothing to lose but the extra pounds I was carrying around. I picked up the phone and started on one of the greatest journeys of my life.
At first, I was just really impressed with the program. But then I started working with my coach who was assigned to me by Beachbody. That is one of the parts of this program that sets it apart from anything else out there. I was really gung ho that first week. I got up every day at 5AM, blogged about my experience and settled down for an awesome exhausted sleep every night. Then the second week came and if it wasn’t for the fact that I knew my coach was going to ask me about my workouts, I might have skipped one or two. Having a coach holding me accountable was one of the biggest parts of my success in this in the beginning until it became a habit. Of course P90X is an incredibly fun and effective program. However, it is no walk in the park!
After I was working really hard for a while, Coach Dan told me about how he became a Beachbody Coach and I thought ~I~ want to help people too! I signed up to be a coach and now I have a team of coaches that works with me to help people transform their lives. I organized P90X fitness classes out of my church, I have hikes twice a week with my group and I will soon be offering a running and biking group too. Never in a million years could I have imagined that I would be doing this well when I was sitting there eating on my couch. I can only say, that if ~I~ can do it, ANYONE can do it….and that means YOU! Let me help you change you life. And all it takes, is that one baby step…and you’re on your way! Decide, Commit, Succeed!
