18/365 Yum Yum Fruit-Yogurt Smoothie

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Here's my yum yum recipe for a fruit and yogurt smoothie.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen fruit (replaces need for ice)
1/2 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp peanut butter (to last you longer than an hour)
Dash of sugar

Directions:
Blend ingredients. Enjoy with a piece of toast and/or an egg for a wholesome breakfast or as a snack (~300 calores)!



In health,

Lauren

17/365 Orthotics: Not Just for Old People

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

That's right, orthotics are for young folks too  :)  They can help your gait and keep you running for a long time.
After a long battle with shin splints, knee, and ankle problems, I finally went to a podiatrist for my aches and pains. The cure for my heavily pronated feet was orthotics. These are inserts that go into your shoes. They were specially molded for my feet using a cool pressure sensing software. You don't necessarily have to go a doctor to get them but, if you have pain they might help you out.

If you experience pain in your knees or shins, it's possible that your feet are actually the problem. Having to compensate for any imbalances, your muscles are strained in ways they weren't intended to.

My point in this blog entry is that some pains require deeper investigation than google. You may find the solution to make exercising more enjoyable. I'm easing myself into running with the orthotics but I feel confident that I'll be able to get back up to speed in a few weeks.

My feet now feel strange when I walk without them. My mom and I just got slippers for me so I can wear them in the house. Joy!

In health,

Lauren

16/365 The Power of Protein

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Let's talk protein. As a girl, I was intimidated and curious about protein. Who will I become if I start taking protein? Am I going to turn full meat head? Will I Hulk out?


First off, protein is essential for your survival. It helps restore "muscle glycogen, repair[s] muscle damage, attenuat[es] protein degredation, and initiat[es] protein synthesis. (Ivy and Ferguson)" What more will you need after you've been exercising? When you exercise, you use up a ton of glycogen to supply you energy. You also tear up your muscles so that they can rebuild and get bigger. Proteins are super important for exercisers of all kinds, from performance athletes to enthusiasts.

As a recovery drink, my double chocolate whey protein from Gold Standard mixed with water hits the spot. Unless you're a vegetarian, there's really no difference in drinking whey and soy protein.You ought to have your recovery drink within 30 to 40 minutes of your exercise to optimize it's uptake. You may not feel hungry but, your cells are. If you wait longer than that, your body takes a longer time absorbing all those nutritional goodies you feed it. Also, if you wait until you actually feel hungry (remember, blood gets shunted away from those organs and areas that don't need it), you will most likely ravenously scarf down your food.

So, take the leap, invest in some protein at your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. You won't feel as sore after your workout and your body will recover faster for your next bout. Also! Be sure to drink lots of water as the nitrogen in your protein will not be very nice to your kidneys.

In health,

Lauren

Ivy, JL, and LM Ferguson. "Optimizing resistance exercise adaptations through the timing of post-exercise carbohydrate-protein supplementation." Strength & Conditioning Journal (Allen Press) 32.1 (2010): 30-36. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 5 Aug. 2010.

15/365 The Trouble with HFC

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I am anti-high fructose corn syrup. It is evil. Forget about those commercials featuring people sitting on a blanket eating Popsicle with HFC. They aren't happy. They had to advertise that this artificial sweetener is okay despite what bad press it's received. Does honey ever have to do that? I didn't think so.

So what's the big fuss? High fructose corn syrup is an artificially made sugar. Though your brain recognizes it as sweet, your stomach does not recognize it as energy. Leptin is an enzyme that tells your brain that you're full. This is based on however many caloric units you've consumed. Since HFC is so foreign, leptin isn't triggered. Despite however much you've consumed, your body is still craving sugar. You can see how this could lead to overeating and eventually obesity.

HFC is in (almost) everything though! How did it get this way? HFC is made by corn. Corn is cheap to make. HFC is cheap. It's the food manufacturer's way of making their products "affordable," more like poor quality. There's still hope. A quick look on the back of the box will tell you. Ingredients are listed in order of how much of that ingredient is used. If HFC is high on the list, I would do my best to avoid that, like soda.

HFC isn't real. Neither is Splenda or any diet sweetener. I will discuss these another day. Stick with turbinado (raw sugar), table sugar, or honey.

In health,

Lauren

14/365 Do the Lawn Mower!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Back fat. Those two words just do not sound happy together unless you're talking about a delicious piece of meat that you probably shouldn't consume anyway. Regardless, I have found a love for rowing type exercises. They have made my back lean, strong, and sexy. Here's one to add to your repertoire.


The Lawn Mower

1. Begin by taking a knee (the left knee is in front). Rest your left arm on your left knee.
2. Right arm is holding your weight; arm is straight. Keep the small of your back arched.
3. Bring your elbow up and behind you. Do not twist your back.
4. Repeat for reps on both sides, returning arm back into straightened position on the inside of your left leg.

You should feel the muscles along the side of your back working.

In health,

Lauren

13/365 Creature of Habit

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Something that I have found that helps me in my endeavors to be healthier me is becoming a creature of habit. Routines can help you stay disciplined with your diet, exercise, and/or sleep. Try scheduling your work out at the same time every day, preferably at the beginning of the day. I suggest that because you are more likely to do it. With our busy lives, we can easily make excuses to not exercise if we put if off until later in the day.

If eating healthier is where you struggle, try eating the same great food every day. In the morning, I have my yogurt-fruit-granola/cereal parfait, a piece of whole wheat high fiber toast with peanut butter and preserves or honey, and a glass of milk. All the food groups are represented and I find my breakfast to be delicious. I'm full for about 4 or 5 hours and packing in about 400 calories. Then I work out, have my protein to refuel (I'll discuss this later), then lunch. Lunch consists of a very large salad of mixed greens with cranberries on top. Dressing is whatever I find but limited to a tablespoon. Tossed correctly, that tablespoon goes a long way. Dinner is up to me.

Yes I eat the same things for the first half of every day but, I don't get tired of it. When you eat healthy, you don't get that uncomfortably full feeling, just satisfaction.

So try a routine for a week making sure that you're getting in all your food groups, exercise, and sleep. You may find that you like it.

In health,

Lauren

12/365 Say Yo to Yogurt

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I adore breakfast as you know. It should be your most calorie packed meal. The more you have to start your day, the fuller you'll feel and the less you'll need by the end. You must eat breakfast!

One of my favorites to eat is yogurt. It counts towards your three servings of dairy a day and tastes delicious when you eat it with the right stuff. I recommend non-fat french vanilla flavored yogurt because it masks the inherent sourness. Don't go for the "Lite" variety because I guarantee that if you look on the back, it will say high fructose corn syrup or something equally bad under the ingredients. The generic brand is okay by me.

I say this because I have a gripe with Activia. This brand claims to have special bacteria and can "contribute to the improvement of digestive comfort." They make it seem like Activia has something that other yogurts don't. However, this is false. All yogurts have good bacteria called probiotics. These little guys help the good microorganisms inside of your digestive tract grow. In turn the microorganism will help regulate everything that's going on as well as provide other benefits. You can read more here.

I eat 1/2 a cup of yogurt with two handfuls of blueberries or a few sliced strawberries or half a banana or whatever fruit you can find, fresh preferably. Then I top it off with granola or high fiber cereal for some added calories and crunch. Delicious!

Pictures to come as well as recipes for your own granola and yogurt smoothie!

In health,

Lauren