Quickie: Lost in the 'Hood

What a crazy week this has been!!! I got two tickets, was in one accident, and bought a new car all within a one week span. However, the most memorable moment was getting lost during my six mile run in my own neighborhood. What was that you asked?? How does one get lost in her own neighborhood? Well, when you have absolutely no sense of direction and overly rely on technology it's actually quite easy. So here's how the story goes.

My wonderful husband purchased a Garmin 405 Forerunner as my gift for Mother's Day. If you don't know what this little doohickey does, allow me to explain. It is a GPS enabled watch that can be used to track your mileage when you are out biking, walking, or running. I use it for my outside runs. This particular watch has many bells and whistles. It stores your runs, allows the user to customize workouts, has an interval timer for speed work, and permits one to set his/her pace and race against a virtual partner. Oh, and it can be used as a heart rate monitor. This is just a brief overview of what this watch can do. It's fabulous!!

On this particular day, I charged up my little gadget, laced up my running shoes, gathered my liquid refreshment and walked out the door. But wait...I locked my house keys in the house with my cell phone. At this moment, I should have known that this run wasn't a good idea. It was one of those moments where I realized that my key was inside but continued to close the door anyway...it was like an out of body experience. I was in the Matrix. I ran to my neighbor, who was pulling out of her driveway, and asked to use her cellphone to call my husband. It took him about 20 minutes to get home and let me in. At this point, I was still determined to run.

After chatting with the hubby for a few, I hopped in the car and drove to my starting point. This particular trail was relatively new to me. I ran part of it the week prior with a gym buddy. We did about 4.5 miles but because it was supposed to be a six mile run I had to add some distance so I put in a turn. Now, this is where my Garmin 405 Forerunner comes into play. I figured, since the watch was going track my mileage that I would just turn around at the halfway point (3 miles). This is something I've done before, so no big deal, right??

The first few miles or so of the run were great. I ran a straight path, made a right turn down a street, reached my halfway point, turned around, and made a left turn to continue on that straight path. Well, that last left I made wasn't the left that I was supposed to make. I have no idea how it all went wrong, but it did. This was the first day of Richmond's triple digit temperature days. While it wasn't quite triple digits yet, it was starting to get hot as hell. Okay, back to the run...I tend to zone out when I run outside, so I didn't realize I made a wrong turn until I reached a fork in the road. I stopped and had a quizzical look on my face. Where the hell was I? I started to panic slightly because I just ran approximately 1/2 mile down a street and I had no idea where I was. I decided to turn around and run the 1/2 mile back to the point where I made the turn. At that point my shirt was dripping with sweat and I am extremely thirsty. On the way back I passed a woman watering her grass and was tempted to ask for a sip from her hose. I didn't think she would take it too well so I kept it moving.

When I reached the starting point I realized that I turned too early. If I ran down one more block I wouldn't have added an extra mile to my already long run nor would I have been so damn dehydrated. While, I will continue to run outside I will definitely pay more attention to my surroundings. Lesson learned!!

Peace!!

Supplements...Should You or Shouldn't You??

A supplement, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is something that completes or makes an addition to something else. There are supplements for almost anything. Ladies, if you want longer hair, stronger fingernails, bigger boobs there are millions of products offered that can help you with that. Oh, and let's not forget the fellas...if you desire a larger, uh, let's just say "member", there are even supplements to help you out with that too. Come on, we've all seen the commercials and heard those radio advertisements. However, for the purpose of this blog we are going to focus on supplements, specifically dietary supplements, that are intended to positively impact your health and fitness goals by adding a little something extra.

In the health and fitness world there are supplements that assist in boosting metabolism, losing weight, building muscle mass, etc. As I researched these supplements I learned that some have multiple purposes. Here, I will give you some insight into some of the supplements and what their functions are.

Burn, Baby, Burn
In this first section we will discuss supplements intended to burn fat. People are always trying to find that magic pill that will eliminate that extra belly fat. Well, these aren't magic pills but they may help.
Green Tea Extract: The powerful ingredient in this supplement is the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate...say that 10 times fast. We'll just call it EGCG. The EGCG works with the body to increase fat burning and metabolic rate. This supplement is also reported to enhance muscle recovery as well as assist with joint recovery. You can purchase this from your local health food store, vitamin shop, even places like Walgreen's. For this supplement to be effective, it's recommended that people take 300-500mg three times daily, before each meal.
Fish Oil: This supplement as a fat burner is new to me. However, some studies show that in addition to the many benefits that fish oil provides, it works to activate fat burning and turn off the genes that increase fat storage. Now, if that isn't another reason to get some Omega-3s in your life, I don't know what is. Dosage recommendations can be found on the back label of the product.

Caffeine: Yes, you read correctly...caffeine. No, I'm not talking about the mocha cocoa choco latte that you get from Starbucks or wherever. Actually, the most effective form of caffeine would be in tablet form. This is because the other ingredients in coffee may inhibit some the effects of the caffeine. Caffeine increases the amount of fat that is released from your fat cells. Once again refer to the package label for dosage recommendations. Increase the fat burning ability of this supplement by taking a dosage 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to your workout.
CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid): This is something brand new to me. This supplement works to prevent fat storage, use existing fat as energy, and increase lean muscle mass. You can also find this at GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. It is recommended that you take 2 grams of CLA three times daily with meals.

Muscle Mania

If your goal is to build lean muscle then these supplements may be just what the doctor ordered.

• Protein: Protein can be found in many foods that we eat. Chicken, turkey, and beef are choices that are high in protein. However, protein also comes in supplemental forms. Whey protein is a good supplemental choice if you desire to build lean muscle. Whey delivers aminos to your muscle tissue quickly and contains peptides, which increase the blood flow to the muscles. You can purchase protein powder almost anywhere. My husband and I purchase ours from the grocery store. It also comes in many flavors, which can be mixed with water or you can make a shake. It's best to consume your protein when you wake up, thirty minutes prior to your workout and within 30 minutes after your workout.


• Creatine: Creatine occurs naturally in the body. It is produced by the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. This is apparently one of the top supplements for building lean muscle. It works by delivering more energy to the muscle, which in turn means more power for that muscle. More power equates to more reps of an exercise. More reps assists with muscle growth. Simple enough. Creatine comes in many forms. The dosage will depend on what form of Creatine you take.


• BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids): These are the essential aminos leucine, isoleucene, and valine. These play an important role in protein synthesis, which is the process that builds muscles. A gym buddy of mine uses BCAAs as a recovery method. It feeds nutrients to your muscles post-workout. She mixes the powder form with a sports drink. This is also a supplement that comes in multiple forms. It is recommended that you take this pre and post workout.

The Energizer Bunny

Is something slowing you down?? In many cases, nutrient deficiencies are responsible for lack of energy. Deficiencies in B12, iron, and/or magnesium may be the culprits.

• B Vitamins: Studies show that B Vitamins work to boost energy levels. A B12 supplement may reduce fatigue. There are also supplemental forms of iron and magnesium that you can purchase.


• Multi-vitamin: Multi-vitamins are good because they fill in the gaps for many nutrients that your body may be deficient in. As mentioned above, nutrient deficiencies can lead to low energy levels.


• Some of the supplements mentioned in the other areas have claims of increasing energy levels. Green tea extract, creatine, caffeine, and BCAAs are some.

Recovery...whewww

Recovery is very important after an intense workout or any kind of workout. You have a short window, approximately 30 minutes, after a workout to refuel. The glycogen that your body stores is depleted after your workout, therefore you need to replace it to allow adequate recovery. Glycogen is important because the body uses it as energy during your workouts. Ideally, one should intake 1/2 - 3/4 of a gram of healthy carbs per pound of body weight within that 30 minute window. Within that timeframe carbs turn into glycogen up to three times faster than other times, which is energy that can help you perform better for later workouts.
Carbs can't do the job alone so here are some other items you can add to your post workout recovery routine.

• BCAAs: As mentioned above BCAAs feed necessary nutrients to your muscles post-workout.
  


• Protein Shake/Smoothie: The whey protein will increase blood flow to your muscles, which will allow the muscles to receive more oxygen and nutrients. You can add in fruits that are high in antioxidants, like berries, which will aid in eliminating the free radicals in your body.


• Fish Oil: You can take this for its anti-inflammatory properties, not necessarily right after your workout but in general.

It is always wise to consult with your physician prior to introducing something new into your diet. I am not a doctor nor am I an expert on supplements. I'm just the SkinnyFatGymRat who knows a little something, something. Therefore, if any of these options sound good to you, conduct further research so you will be aware of any side effects to know if it's right for YOU. My husband and I have tried a few of these supplements and a few we keep in rotation. I also know fitness buffs who swear by some of the supplements mentioned. However, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for everyone. Also, this is only an abbreviated list of the many supplemental options that are available on the market and just using the supplement without proper diet and exercise may not yield desirable results. So, before you run out to the store conduct your own research and remember exercise and proper nutrition are always paramount!!

Peace!

A Visual for Nutritional Labels

Use the above visual as a reference when "Dissecting Nutrition Labels and Packaging" http://http//mahoganystrengthspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/07/disecting-nutrition-labels-and.html

Dissecting Nutrition Labels and Packaging

Once you have made the decision to begin living a healthy lifestyle, you have to start educating yourself. You should start with something simple...the nutrition label. Losing weight, maintaining weight, whatever your goal is relies heavily on what you eat. A person can exercise all they want but unless they change their diet they will continue to struggle with the same issues. It's like running around the hamster wheel...you're always stuck in the same spot.

The label is actually easier to decode than many people think. On most food items the label can be found on the back of the package. The first things to observe are serving size and servings per container. All the nutritional information i.e. calories, fat, cholesterol, etc. is calculated per single serving. Take a look at the label above. According to this label this food item has 25 servings and in each serving is 6 pieces. Therefore, if you counted the contents of the entire package, there would be 150 pieces inside. Pay attention to this so that if you go over the serving size, you know to adjust the calculations for the amount per serving.

The calories listed on the label refer to how many calories are in each serving. Pretty easy, right? The difficult part with understanding calories is the attractive wording that manufacturers put on food labels to make it more appealing to dieters and health conscious folks, like us. For instance, how many times have you seen "low-calorie", "reduced-calorie", or "calorie-free" on an item and purchased the item because of these labels? Let's look at exactly what those terms mean.

• Low-calorie means that the food item has to have a calorie count of 40 calories or less.
  



• Reduced-calorie means that the food item is required to have at least 25% less calories than the regular version of that same food item.



• Calorie-free doesn't necessarily mean that there are zero calories in an item. It only means that there are less than 5 calories per serving.

If you see these terms on an item that you want to purchase remember to flip over to the nutrition label to see if it's really that great of a buy, particularly with labels that read low-calorie and reduced-calorie.

The next section is the fat. Fat gets such a bad name, however it plays a positive role for the body. It builds nerve tissue and hormones and the body uses it as fuel, as well as serving many other functions. However, fat can become something to avoid when the fat isn't burned. It then becomes deposited into your body in fat cells. That's when we get our muffin tops and moobs...not a good look.

On the same line as the calories there are the calories from fat. These are the fat calories from all the fat in that item. When you are grocery shopping choose items that have a significant difference in the amount of calories and calories from fat. The top line that reads "total fat" includes the grams of fat found in all types fat: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat. Manufacturers also label their packages with similar terms as calories: fat-free, low-fat, and reduced-fat.

• Fat-Free: Less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving




• Low-fat: Three grams of fat or less per serving
  



• Reduced-fat: At least 25% less fat per serving than the original version.

Cholesterol is next up on the list. Cholesterol contributes to higher blood cholesterol, putting a person at risk for heart disease. Cholesterol-free food items have less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol. Items marked with low-cholesterol on the packaging have 20 milligrams or less of cholesterol.

Now comes sodium also known as salt. Eating more than the recommended amount of sodium can lead to water retention and high blood pressure. That water retention could lead to higher numbers on the scale. A daily intake of 2,300 milligrams or less is what you should shoot for.

Total carbohydrates tells you the amount of ALL types of carbs found in a single serving. A key area to be mindful of under total carbs is the amount of sugar. Ideally, the less sugar the food item has the better. Dietary fiber is also listed in this section. Choose food items with at least 2.5 grams of dietary fiber per serving.

Lastly, we have protein. You can calculate how much protein your body needs by multiplying your weight by .37. Keep that number in mind when you're reading nutritional labels. Beef, chicken, and eggs are all great sources of protein.

As far as the Percent Daily Values, just know that these percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet and they indicate the percentages per single serving for each element (fat, protein, sodium, etc.) present in that particular food item. The goal is to eat 100% of each element.

Now that you are a little bit wiser, go to your local grocery store and shop in peace!! Peace.

In a Time Crunch?? Have You Ever Considered 30 Minute Workouts?

There are days when I just don't have 1 - 2 hours to give to my workouts. Now, I don't intentionally spend that much time working out but time just slips away from me. I find that I am at my most peaceful moments when I am working out. However, with family, work, and just life in general, time is of the essence.

We all know that I will NEVER stop working out because if I did, what would become of the SkinnyFatGymRat?!? *Gasp*Therefore, on days when my time is limited I am going to restrict myself to a 30 minute workout. Many health professionals recommend that the average adult should exercise a minimum of 30 minutes per day. On it's face, a 30 minute workout may not seem like enough. However, you get out of a workout what you put into it...with that said a 30 minute easy walk or a weak strength training session isn't going to cut it. You have to maximize your workout due to the limited time.

During my 30 minute workouts I like to combine cardio and full body strength training, typically circuit training.Each circuit is completed 3 times. A circuit is when several exercises are completed back to back with no or very little rest in between exercises. The intensity of my circuit is high and I perform moderate reps (12-15) of each exercise. Some exercises that are included in my 30 minute workouts are: jump rope, box jumps, push ups, bicep curls, rows, jumping jacks, step ups, and bicycle crunches. The trick for me is to keep a variety of exercises to choose from. It prevents the routines from getting boring. Write down the ones that work for you and put them in a book for future use.

If developing your own routines isn't something that you want to do, you can always just do a google search of 30 minute workouts. Why reinvent the wheel, right?? Here are a couple of links for effective 30 minute workouts.

• This site provides workouts for novice, intermediate, and advance levels of fitness: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/thirty_minute_workout.asp





• Read this site thoroughly it provides some good information about an effective 30 minute workout:http://http//www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/fitness-blitz-the-30-minute-workout

Also, some ketltebell workouts tend to be on the shorter side. See this previous post for some ideas regarding kettlebell routines http://http//mahoganystrengthspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/08/ketlebell-workouts-are-truth.html

Remember that you can always modify your workout to match your fitness level so don't be intimidated by exercises that seem too difficult or unfamiliar. If the exercise is unfamiliar "Google" it. My advice is to try to fit a workout in whenever you can because your body and your clothes will thank you for it. Peace!