Fat Loss VS Muscle Gain

Me: What is your goal for the next 3 months? Fat loss? Muscle Gain?

New Client: BOTH!

Me: Sorry, but you have to pick one.


What? You mean I can't make my muscles bigger and lose this fat around my belly in the next three months? 

Sorry, nope. You cannot gain muscle and lose fat at the same time...unless you are very special* or on drugs**.

Why? Here's the quick and dirty

• BMR- Basal Metabolic Rate. The number of calories it takes each day to keep you exactly the way you are while doing nothing but resting. No weight loss, no weight gain. 

• TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The number of calories it takes each day to keep you exactly the way you are while going about your normal daily activities. 

• Gaining muscle means you are actually adding mass to your body. Your weight will increase because there is more of you. Where will the building blocks for the gain come from? Calories! To gain mass you have to eat enough calories to be in excess of your TDEE.

• Losing fat means you are taking mass off your body. You will weigh less because you are carrying less fat. How will this happen? You will take in calories under your TDEE.

You see the problem with trying to do both? They are on opposite ends of the spectrum! 

The good news though is that when you lose fat, the muscles you already have will stand out more and have more definition, making it look like you gained muscle. I think this is what women mean when they say that they want to get "toned" (a word I would like to abolish). 

If you are bulking (the term for trying to put on mass), the good news is that you get to eat a lot more than you normally would! However, you have to be mentally strong to truly bulk as you will gain fat and get fluffy while bulking. Sorry, there's no way around that. The key is to do an appropriate, well thought out bulk to maximize muscle gain and minimize fat gain. 

Lastly, all these things take TIME!! We aren't talking days or weeks here. We are talking months and years. Be patient and keep your eyes on the prize. To see physique changes that last, you need to cycle through periods of bulk, maintenance, fat loss, maintenance, and keep repeating until desired results are achieved.

PS: Another word I dislike: "bulky", as in "I don't want to get "bulky".  Some women do put on muscle easily and without a good nutrition strategy this muscle will build under their fat layer and cause them to get bigger overall. A good nutrition plan can minimize this by maintaining the strong muscle they already have, but cutting the layer of fat down.

*If you are new to fitness, are extremely overweight and/or are new to dietary tracking it is possible for a brief window to both lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. But it's a small window of opportunity. Don't count on this to be your golden goose.

**Performance Enhancing Drugs can help the user to override normal biological responses. Not recommended.

If you are interested in losing fat or gaining muscle or both (over a period of time!) and need a little help, look here.

Stay Strong Y'all!

I just updated my "Affiliates I Love" page, check it out!

And if you are hip on the social media, 

Follow me on Facebook at Angie McCord, Fitness, Nutrition and Life Improvement.

Follow me out on Instagram, I'm doodleturtle. I'm even more random fun over at IG!

I Am Accepting Applications!

Hey Y'all!

I'm currently accepting applications for the following position:

Gym Caddy

Responsibilities include:

Loading/unloading my barbell during weightlifting work- If I expend energy loading and unloading my barbell, that's less energy I have for my workout. The ideal candidate will be fluent in both metric and U.S. customary units.

Setting up equipment- The time before a workout needs to be spent mentally preparing for the task at hand and emptying the bladder. My gym caddy will allow me to do such things by setting up all needed equipment prior to my workout. This could include boxes, jump ropes, abmats, kettlebells, barbells, etc. 

Knowing my abilities- My gym caddy must know all my maxes, my preferences for rig stations, barbells and boxes, and my capabilities for any given workout. This ties into the duties listed above as the ideal candidate knows precisely what I need for any wod and he/she will generally not need to question me as to which weight and/or size equipment I need. 

Ensuring I have chalk at all times- The gym caddy will be held responsible for ensuring that I am never more than 3 feet from a solid piece of chalk. Minimum dimension on said piece of chalk is 1x2x3. 

Mixing/presenting pre workout drink- Pre workout hydration and supplementation is incredibly important and my gym caddy will ensure that I am ready for the day’s work. Caddy will be expected to know whether the day’s work requires stimulant-type pre workout, supplement-type pre workout or a mixture of both.

Preparing/presenting post workout nutrition- Gym caddy will have the post workout nutrition ready for consumption within 15 minutes of workout completion. The meal or drink will already be planned/packaged by me, caddy may need to assemble and/or heat.

Counting repetitions- Gym caddy will be responsible for ensuring an accurate rep count of all movements. Whether it’s 5 reps or 50, he/she must ensure I do not lose count.

Other duties as dictated. Could include cheering and motivating, mopping up blood/sweat/urine,  playing the role of a child in CF kids classes,  fetching towels, turning on fans, turning off fans, etc.

This position is open immediately. Hours vary based on time of year and my mood. Salary is non-existent however; I write excellent letters of recommendation and will gladly lobby for MSU credit hours for the right candidate. Please send resumes to gymcaddy@crossfitmurray.com

**Please note: this is a joke**

**Unless you like to work for free**

Stay Strong Y'all!

RANDOM: Do you Skimm? Check it out to be smart.

Hey, I know you may not know me that well, but can I ask you to do something for me? Do me a favor and subscribe to my email list. Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, I'll send you my weekly planner printable!

And if you are hip on the social media, 

Follow me on Facebook at Angie McCord, Fitness, Nutrition and Life Improvement.

Follow me out on Instagram, I'm doodleturtle. I'm even more random fun over at IG!

Random Thoughts At 5 AM. Who Is Greyber Rubio?

Current Situation:

Eleiko is having no problem sleeping.

I didn't put up a tree last year at all. This year I at least put up a baby one.

So what do you do when you wake up wide awake at 5 AM....and you went to bed at midnight?

Hmmm....I had such a fun, great night last night that I had trouble winding down and then woke up at the end of a weirdo dream wide awake just a few minutes ago. (Today will be fun).

I decided to just write a random blog because there is so much stuff in my brain that I need to get out. This will not be the most grammatacilly correct or most fluid post ever, just roll with me.

After Dallas I decided to not compete anymore in 2015. My body was pretty tired of maintaining comp weight and constantly being pushed hard. I'm no spring chicken and it was getting harder and harder to recover from each event. But then an email inviting CFM to compete in Reps for a Reason found it's way into my inbox last week.

And I love me some powerlifting....

So I entered last Saturday. I weighed in that day at 123.2 and completed

90 squats at 75% body weight
22 bench presses at 65% body weight
40 deadlifts at 85% bodyweight

And then I couldn't walk right for the next 84 hours. Seriously. I've NEVER been that sore in my life.

Last night we hosted our annual Pound For Pound Lifting Challenge and I decided to lift (I'm not real good with the "I'm not competing" thing am I?). It was so fun because I had zero expectations and I didn't cut weight. I just showed up and lifted with friends. I weighed in at 122.8 and snatched 125 and clean and jerked 165. No PRs, but I did attempt to PR both and got really close.

Another reason last night was fun is that I live broadcasted the event on Periscope. Y'all, I'm addicted to that thing! If you aren't on Periscope, it's like YouTube, but LIVE! I get to pretend like I am a reporter or a talk show host. SO FUN! I need to figure out how to get paid to do that.... Wanna hire me to live broadcast your event? :) If you get a chance, hop over to Periscope and follow me. I'm crossfitang over there.

The other awesome thing last night was watching our pre-teens and teens lift. They did sooooo good!! The girls all hit PRs and they were mostly really pretty lifts. I think the boys all hit PRs as well, but their lifts started looking like demolition derbies at the end! Lol, there were barbells and bodies flying everywhere.

I love working with our teenagers! That is were my teacher heart lies. I love watching them get frustrated and then growing. I love the smile on their faces when they do well. CrossFit and weightlifting is just so dang good for kids. It teaches them patience, dedication, humility and perseverance.

Everybody last night was awesome. From the athletes to the parents to the judges to the spectators, it was great!

When I got home, Jeremy and I stayed up watching the videos from the night until almost midnight. I had a little trouble falling asleep because I just kept going over every lift I attempted. #weightlifterproblems

Once I finally fell asleep, I dreamt I was visiting my old school. I was coming in to do a guest lecture and I had brought a few friends. Somewhere in this, a friend (I think it was Audrey), told the custodian he was doing a crappy job. He proceeded to tell us to do it ourselves then and stomped away.

As we were cleaning the cafeteria of styrofoam peanuts (why?!), the cafeteria became overcome by a weird presence. Yep, the cafeteria was haunted and the ghost was harassing us. He was dumping our mop buckets and making big messes after we had just cleaned up.

Weirdly enough, we discovered it was the ghost of the janitor! (I have no idea when he died, but oh well!) We started communicating with him via an Etch-A-Sketch and he told us he was tired of being treated like poop. He said everyone took him for granted and no one ever spoke to him. In fact, he said, no one even knew his name. So we asked what his name was.

Greyber Rubio

And then I woke up. At 5 AM.

And couldn't go back to sleep.

So I got up and fixed a cup of coffee and grabbed a slice of cold pepperoni pizza. Breakfast of champions, right? (My macros will be a little flexible today).

I watched a few Periscopes (Told ya I was addicted) and then decided to write this. My alarm will be going off at 7 AM, but I plan on just sitting here in this chair until then.

What do you do when you are wide awake at an ungodly hour?

Do you 'scope?

WHO IS GREYBER RUDIO??

Stay Strong Y'all!

Hey, I know you may not know me that well, but can I ask you to do something for me? An early Christmas gift if you will? Do  me a favor and subscribe to my email list. Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, I'll send you my weekly planner printable!

And if you are hip on the social media, 

Follow me me on Periscope, I'm crossfitang.  I broadcast about fitness, nutrition, life improvement, planning and organizing and lots of random stuff.

Follow me out on Instagram, I'm doodleturtle. I'm even more fun over at IG!

A rant. Death to Toned and Bulky!

I've been working hard this year to eliminate negative words from my vocabulary. So far, I'm doing great. Now I must move on to bigger things and help all of womankind by encouraging the elimination of a deadly phrase.


This phrase makes my ears bleed and my vision go red.

It makes the muscles of stomach clench up and my jaw jut out and my nostrils flare.

For everyone's safety, this phrase should never be said in my presence again.

Ever.

"I just want to be toned"

It just frustrates me that women have been brainwashed into thinking lifting heavier weights will make them "bulky!"  They think they want toned, but they don't realize that toned is only achieved via lifting weights!


Webster-Tone: having or showing strength or firmness

Urban Dictionary-Toned- Visible definition in muscles as a direct result of having low body fat and reasonably well formed and built muscles.


According to Webster, you have to have strength to be toned. Strength is developed by progressive overload of the muscles. This only achieved through lifting progressively heavier weights.

According to Urban, to be toned, you have to have low body fat. And body fat is 90%  a result of diet! And since I'm ranting, strength training causes more metabolic activity than cardio therefore you will get a bigger calorie burn from heavy squats than running a jillion miles. And muscle is more metabolically active than fat so the more muscle mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate (BMR).


Even if I decide to live with the word, toned, how do you expect to get that way without lifting heavy AND watching your diet?

I don't think people mean they only want to be "toned", I think what they are expressing is that they don't want to be "bulky".

And then that just blows me up as well, but.....

 If they mean big like a bodybuilder when they say bulky, then that is no accident and is a result of really hard work and diet. Those ladies are kicking all our asses in the hard work and dedication department.

If they mean bulky like just big overall, then that's all diet. Step away from the excess fat and carbs.

And then if they are referring to me as bulky then I'm just confused.

Stay Strong Y'all!

The Day Everything Went Right. Masters World Cup 2015

Everything about the Masters World Cup is still very surreal and emotional. The last time I stepped off a platform before MWC, I was crying because everything had went wrong and I had bombed out of the meet. If you are unfamiliar with that story, read about Regionals here.  This time, I stepped off the platform crying again, but for a totally different reason.

I had intended to regroup and go for it again at the Pan-Am Masters, but scheduling the trip was going to be tricky and then my back flared up.That finalized my decision to not lift at Pan-Ams. 

I was frustrated. Then I decided to accept the USAW/IWF invitation to lift in Dallas at the World Cup and I committed to myself that this experience would be completely different than Regionals.

If you have heard of the power of positive thinking, I decided to employ it wholeheartedly for this journey. I am generally a positive person, but sometimes, the gremlins in my head get rowdy and drown out any sweet nothings the little maguies might be saying. 

First was a positive reminder on my phone.  My knee sometimes gives me fits because my quad gets too tight and my back tightens up thanks to my tight hamstrings. This positive thought would appear every single time I looked at my phone. Because of this reminder, I did my stretches and all the things I needed to do to overcome the aches and pains. Also, every time I saw this I visualized the medal being placed around my neck. 

Then I laid out my training plan and my nutrition plan for the next ten weeks. I was weighing around 53 to 54.5 on any given day, but the goal was to lightly cut down to 52.5 so that weigh in would be a breeze. No repeats of St. Louis were going to happen.

Two weeks out from the event I started visualizing every lift I intended to make. As I sat drinking my coffee each morning, I would visualize what the bar would look like. What color plates would be on there and how it would feel in my hands. I mentally went through stepping on the platform, finding my focus point and making the lift. I saw the judge giving me the 'down' signal and I heard 'good lift'. Then I smiled as the gold medal was placed around my neck. 

And then the day came that we arrived at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. 

When we got to the hotel it was about 6:30 PM, I immediately began unpacking and prepping for the morning. On the bench at the foot of the bed I laid my bra, undies, jogging pants and zip up jacket I would wear to weigh in. On top of the fridge, I placed a drawstring bag with my credentials, drivers license, room key, good luck card and pop-tarts inside.

I got out my shaker cup and put in two scoops of Progenex Belgian Chocolate More Muscle. I brewed two cups of coffee and poured them in, shook and then placed in fridge. A post it note that said, "grab shaker cup" went on top of the drawstring bag.

Can you tell I was serious about this going smoothly? I had to weigh in at 6:30 AM and I am not a morning person so I was taking no chances. I wanted to be able to roll out of the hotel room, weigh in and immediately start hydrating, caffeinating and fueling.

Then I had some work I had to do for the business in order to truly quiet by mind. If I left that stuff to do later, it would just bug me the whole time. About an hour and a half later I closed the computer ready to completely focus on the task at hand.

At this point I had some pre-game jitters and Jeremy was gone to Tiger's Den CrossFit to get his workout in. To calm my mind and nerves, I decided to wander around the hotel and get my bearings.

The first place I went was to the check scale.

Then I went to the training hall and actually thought about picking up the barbell a few times, but as I was pondering this, two gentlemen came in and struck up a conversation. We had a great discussion about weightlifting and CrossFit and how CrossFit has been great for increasing the interest in weightlifting.

Whereas I am fairly new to weightlifting, one of the gentlemen had come out of retirement for this meet and was a former Olympian! Like, the real Olympics! He wrestled in Seoul in 1988 and competed in weightlifting in Sydney in 2000. Alex and Craig were both super nice and we chatted until I realized how late it was and how my booty needed to be in bed.

As I laid down to fall asleep, I again visualized the big lifts I was going to hit. My goal was 55 in the snatch. I saw the yellow plates, the little plates and the Eleiko clamps. I saw myself step on the platform and hit it smoothly. My goal in the clean-and-jerk was 75. I saw the big reds, the little plates and the clamps. I addressed the bar, cleaned it, stood it up quickly and drove my head through on the jerk as hard as I could. 

At 6:15 my alarm went off. I brushed my teeth, put on my weigh in ensemble and grabbed my stuff.

There were already a lot of women sitting out in the hall waiting their turn. As I joined them I saw a lot of familiar faces. Ladies I had lifted with in previous meets, ladies I followed on Instagram and ladies I had stalked on Instagram since I knew they were in my session. Haha!

We were all in really good moods and we were chatting and sharing stories of how hungry we were and how happy we were to be there. We all probably looked like little homeless children with our ratty hair, scruffy clothes and knapsacks filled with food rations! One lady was asked about the tattoo on her foot and her story really moved me. If you missed it, look here.  One really cool thing I've experienced with weightlifting is that even though we are sort of competing against each other, we all recognize that it's really us against the bar. Everyone is generally nice and I talked to all kinds of great women that morning, both in my session and not. We all know that it doesn't matter what anyone else does, we can only control our time with the barbell.

Weigh in was taking too long in my opinion, and when they finally called me it was already 6:50. I handed my drivers license over to the marshal and declared my opening attempts at 45 and 65. As I was talking, I was stripping. I wanted  to get this part done so that I could start hydrating and eating!

I had been visualizing that the scale would read 51.5, and from the weigh in the night before, I knew that is what it would say.

I got a happy surprise though when it actually read 51.21! I opened up my pop-tarts and protein coffee and started celebrating!

As long as I was under 53.0, I was fine. But our session was extremely close in totals and I knew there was a good chance I could tie with someone. If that happens, the lighter person wins. This 51.21 was amazing and was the lightest I can remember weighing ever as a non-preteen.

I went back to the room and took a shower. I drank a bottle of water and then went to the warm up area at about 7:30. My session started at 8:30. I found a platform and started doing some dynamic stretching while listening to my favorite lifting music. At this point, 1/3 of the battle was over and it was time to start getting my mind focused on lifting.

When you enter a weight lifting meet, you declare your opening attempts at weigh in. I declared that I was going to take my first lift at 45 kg. In reality, most people do not actually open with their declared opener. You can increase your opener two more times before you actually go out on the platform. J and I had agreed that I would open at 50 and then probably go 52 or 53 and then 54 or 55. We have a great partnership and agreement that he makes all the warm up decisions and platform decisions and I just lift the barbell.

When they called us out to do introductions, I was overcome with giddiness. I felt so ready. So prepared. I knew it was going to be an amazing day!

In the back, I started my warm up lifts. When you are in the warm up area, there is a screen where you can see what weight is on the barbell on the platform and who is lifting. J tries to keep me right with the platform, but on the snatch, I need a lot of repetitions to warm up, so sometimes I like to get ahead of the bar a bit. 

I was lifting and watching the screen and the bar got to 44. A few ladies lifted and then it went to 45 and my name popped up. J went to the marshals table and bumped me to 47. I hit 47 in the warm up area, then 49. When my named popped up again at 47, J moved me to 50. According to our plan, I hit 50 in the warm up area so that I would be completely confident on the platform. 

And then it was real. They called my name for 50 kg and I walked out on the platform. The lift went off like nothing and I was grinning ear to ear. That was the most I had ever hit at a meet so anything I hit after would be personal record! 

J declared my next lift at 52 so I had a couple of minutes to rest. I closed my eyes, put my head phones in and visualized hitting it over and over. I've done 52 multiple times in training, but I've tried 52 at 4 different meets and never hit it. Today was going to be my day. 

And I did it! I teared up and was so excited that I had set a new PR! 

The decision had to be made though, 54 or 55 next?

While I had visualized 55 and wanted 55, we decided to go with 54. It was still going to be a 4 kg meet PR and I've never been 3/3 in the snatch. 54 sounded good to me. 

And then I was up again, just like that. I chalked up, found my focal point and addressed the bar. I smiled as I set up because I knew this was happening. And just like that, it was over my head and I was getting the down signal. I heard "Good Lift!" and was just overcome with joy!

I got some high fives in the warm up area from those around me and then grabbed some food and drink. There were still a few ladies that were snatching and then there was a ten minute break before the clean-and-jerk. Since my lifts were pretty high in the c&j, I had a decent wait before I had to lift again.

I wanted to stretch and process for a bit about the snatch session before I turned my mind to the clean and jerk. But as I was stretching I started hearing, "no lift" and "she needs this one to keep her in the competition" and "no lift" again and it set my mind into territory I didn't want it to go in. Some thoughts that ran through my head were...

"Oh shit, no lift. That sucks!"
"But if she bombs out, that helps me!"
"Stop it, Angie!"
"That's mean! You want to win but not that way!"
"Your thoughts manifest themselves into reality, if you think about her 'no lift', you'll get one, too!"

All these thoughts are running around in my head with the 30 second buzzer going off and 'no lift's bouncing around the room. 

The coach we are sharing a platform with asks J where I am sitting in the standings, 

"LA LA LA I don't want to know!"

I quickly grabbed my headphones and cranked the Rob Bailey. I needed to focus on my own lifts, and not what was going on with other people. "When the sun rises...I wake up and chase my dreams..."


With the clean-and-jerk, I don't need as many repetitions to get ready as I do with the snatch. I had declared 65, but the plan was really 70, then 72 or 73, then 74 or 75. My meet PR is 72, but after Regionals, I wanted to play a little conservative. And since I had nailed all my snatches, the thought of going 6/6 was tempting. 

I warmed up with some light cleans with double jerks. Then I started doing singles as it got heavy.

65 and my name popped up. J sent me to 67.

I hit another lift and then all of sudden the bar was at 70 and it was go time. 

I tightened my belt, chalked up and walked to the bar. For a nano-second, terrible, ugly thoughts of how I missed this same weight at St. Louis flooded my mind. I shook it off, smiled and lifted. If you watch the video, it is one of the ugliest cleans I've ever done. My mind wasn't exactly in the right spot and my feet never moved and I sat forever in the bottom. Once I stood it up though, I knew I was good. I smiled again, chomped my gum (a very redneck looking habit, but I NEED my gum) and nailed the jerk. 

I HADN'T BOMBED OUT! I HAD DONE IT! 

With that lift I had set a new meet total of 124! My previous was 122. Everything else was going to be cake!

We decided on two goals at that moment. Go 6/6 and hit a new meet c&j PR. While 75 would have been tasty, 74 was completely in my confidence range. 70-72-74 was the plan, but J was going to make changes if needed to get me on the podium. My job, was just to lift, not think.

At 72 I was completely calm and ready. The clean was easy. The jerk was not the prettiest, but it was given three white lights. Again, I teared up because now my total was 126 and everything was going perfectly for me!

As I'm walking out to take 74 with 58 seconds on the clock, J grabs me and says, 

"I need to tell you something." 

Even though I know he would never tell me something that would mess with my head, I was afraid of what he was going to say, so I shook my head and said, "No, I don't want to know." and stepped up.

When I stepped on that platform for the last time, I knew that 74 was mine. It would be a 2 kg meet PR and would give me a big 6 kg total increase. I was 100% sure it was going up. 

The clean happened and then I dipped for the jerk. As I locked it out overhead, I about exploded with joy. However, I knew my lock out might have been iffy, so as I dropped the bar , I turned to J and asked,

 "Was it a good lift?"

"Yes, you got it!" he said (Please note, I'm tearing up as I type this)

I cried like a baby and then J says,

"What I was going to tell you was that you had third all locked up and that if you wanted to go big for 75 or 76, you could."

Damn! I should have trusted him! Haha!

Turns out, that 74 was the second best clean-and-jerk of my session.

As I was walking out of the area, I stopped to introduce myself to Rachel Batista. This lady is amazing. I became enamored with her at Regionals because when she steps on the platform, she owns it. She hollers and stomps so loud, you cannot help but snap to attention. It's not an obnoxious display, but rather a commanding threat to the barbell that it better watch out. She coaches kids in weightlifting as well, and just appears to be an all around awesome lady.

We chatted for a bit and she was super nice, she even suggested we take a picture together. Did I mention she's a bad ass? Here's proof. She lifted that day and earned bronze, but had also qualified for Nationals and lifted again on Friday with the young 'ens!

As I stood on the podium at my first international meet with the National Anthem playing, I just couldn't help but smile like a big dummy.

What an adventure. What a day.

Thank you all for following along and supporting me. I know it's just an old people meet, but for me, as a complete non-athlete all my life, CrossFit and Weightlifting have given me an opportunity I never had before. It's given me the confidence to know that I can do whatever I set my mind to.

Make a plan. Execute the hell out of it.

What events in your life have made you realize you can do whatever you dream? When did you realize, "I got this"? 

Stay Strong Y'all!

Freedom units for those that don't speak kilograms

45 kg/99 pounds
50/110
51.21/112.662
52/114.4
53/116.6
54/118.8
55/121
65/143
70/154
72/158.4
74/162.8
75/165

This is proudly linked up at

The Fit Dish Link-Up hosted by Jill Conyers & Jessica Joy

and

IIFYM Part 1: What is a macro? And why are they important?

8.14.15

So the big meet is over and I still can't believe how awesome it went! I have a post started about it and I'm adding thoughts and memories constantly to it, but I'm not really ready to let go of the magic so that post will stay offline a while longer. 

I have decided I like this format of blogging that I used the last few weeks, so I'm going to pull it out quite often. I'm personally really enjoying the "Best Things". I hope you are as well. 

Life

I opened the mail at the gym yesterday and got this.

My curiosity was piqued and then I knew who it was from!

"L" was a wonderful young lady that came to our Special Olympics night and she completely stole my heart that night and then again as I read her letter. 

The best things in life are when you can help others better theirs!

Learning

Someone near and dear to my heart messaged me yesterday and asked, "What is a macro?" I realized that I talk a lot about macros and 'If It Fits Your Macros' (IIFYM), but some people may have no idea idea what I'm talking about. I'll talk over the next few blog posts about macros, what they are, counting them and setting yours.

There are (basically) three macronutrients that we all need to survive and thrive. Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats. Alcohols are treated like carbs in IIFYM plans, but they are really a fourth, separate, non-essential macro.

Here is what the McKinley Health Center says about each.

Proteins- We need protein for:

• Growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant women)
• Tissue repair
• Immune function
• Making essential hormones and enzymes
• Energy when carbohydrate is not available
• Preserving lean muscle mass

Protein is found in meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes, and in smaller quantities in starchy foods and vegetables.

When we eat these types of foods, our body breaks down the protein that they contain into amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Some amino acids are essential which means that we need to get them from our diet, and others are nonessential which means that our body can make them. Protein that comes from animal sources contains all of the essential amino acids that we need. Plant sources of protein, on the other hand, do not contain all of the essential amino acids. 

Carbs- Carbohydrates are the macronutrient that we need in the largest amounts. 

• Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel.
• Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy.
• All of the tissues and cells in our body can use glucose for energy.
• Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the brain, the muscles (including the heart) to function properly.
• Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and liver and later used for energy.
• Carbohydrates are important in intestinal health and waste elimination.
• Carbohydrates are mainly found in starchy foods (like grain and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts.

Fiber refers to certain types of carbohydrates that our body cannot digest. These carbohydrates pass through the intestinal tract intact and help to move waste out of the body. Diets that are low in fiber have been shown to cause problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids and to increase the risk for certain types of cancers such as colon cancer. Diets high in fiber; however, have been shown to decrease risks for heart disease, obesity, and they help lower cholesterol. Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products.

Fats- Although fats have received a bad reputation for causing weight gain, some fat is essential for survival.  We need fat for:

• Normal growth and development
• Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
• Absorbing certain vitamins ( like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
• Providing cushioning for the organs
• Maintaining cell membranes
• Providing taste, consistency, and stability to foods

Fat is found in meat, poultry, nuts, milk products, butters and margarines, oils, lard, fish, grain products and salad dressings. There are three main types of fat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans fat. 

Click here to read IIFYM Part 2!

Training

Today begins cardio hell! I've reached most of my weightlifting goals and am now returning my focus to CrossFit. I have already done one  baby WOD this morning and see a few more in my future this afternoon. Time to overhaul this little 4-banger into a V8! We have a HUGE team competition coming up at the end of September and I have to earn my spot on the team!

Best Thing I Came Across Lately

While sitting in the hall waiting to weigh in Wednesday morning, all of us ladies were chatting. One lady had a fork prominently tattooed on her foot and someone asked her about it. She said she got the tattoo because her grandmother told her to never send the fork back, because the best things were yet to come. 

I love this! Especially on that day, the pinnacle of my training. The "now whats?" could creep up once it was over. It would be easy to "send the fork back" because I was done. But instead, I'm going to keep the fork, because even better things are coming! 

Stay strong y'all!

Do me a favor and subscribe to my email list. Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, you'll get first notice when I finish this really cool project I am working on! I promise not to spam you or sell your information! 

This project is one that I hope will enrich your life! It's taking a lot of things I've learned through the years and boiling them down into quickly digestible truths. 

Proudly linked up at:

1 day left! We are here!

8.11.15

BW 51.5

Life

About last night.....

Jeremy needed to get some lifting in and I needed to stretch, but when we got to the half-way to Dallas hotel, the on-site gym facility was closed. It was 10 PM so no surprise there.  No worries though, they have an agreement with Anytime Fitness so off we went! 

 

I did about 30 minutes of selfies and 10 minutes of stretching. Lol, I can't be left unattended. 

     

I mean, really, who thinks a room of mirrors is a good idea? There is no way I could actually do work in here. I KNOW what my face looks like when I workout! Eewwwww!

Let me tell you. I don't know what magic was in that hotel room, but I fell asleep like a log at 11:30 and woke up at 9:30 with J gently shaking me and asking me if I want breakfast. It was the best sleep I've had in a long time and I am an excellent sleeper! 

I brought my own oatmeal, nuts and deli meat in case the hotel breakfast was no good. But that wasn't a problem, they had everything I needed. 

Traveling tips for eating on plan:

1. Pack a cooler and food bag. Have everything you need so that you don't have to improvise.
2. Think outside the restaurant. Last night I ran into a Wal-Mart for my supper. I got a veggie tray and an apple & cheese tray from the produce section. It was cheaper and more nutritious than fast food!
3. Bring your food scale and don't be timid to use it! If you do eat out or eat at a hotel, use your food scale. It's better to be a little dorky and obsessive than to mess up on your goals because you guessed. 
4. Choose your hotel wisely. Most Marriott and Hilton brand hotels have an excellent free, hot breakfast. This one had oatmeal, scrambled eggs and fruit. All great options for a healthy breakfast!

These little signs were so cute!

Oats, Peanut Butter and Banana! I also added in a few chocolate chips! 

Note the scale. You have to measure!

Now, if you are serious about your goals, but don't have a weigh in (in less than 24 hours), you can be a little more lax. Just remember that your results are directly proportional to your effort. Actually, I would say exponentially proportional to your effort. 

After breakfast we got back on the road and I immediately got on the CrossFit Affiliate Finder map so J had somewhere to get his workout in. Then the next priority was finding a Target! 

I'm such a basic girl, the highlight of my trip so far is finding a Target. I wanted to go ahead and get my food for tomorrow morning and for my lifting session taken care of. And I love Target. We don't really have one anywhere near us, so I go every opportunity I can!

I didn't purchase this, but I wanted to!

Made it to the hotel and got my credentials! 

I'm going to work a bit tonight on my nutrition clients' weekly check-ins, do some mobility and then head to bed!

Weigh in at 6:30 AM tomorrow. Lift at 8:30. Watch live here!  (UPDATE: I think it's pay per view)

Training 

Does deep breathing because of traffic stressing you out count? Does enthusiastically grabbing the "Oh Shit" handle because your driver is crazy count? No? Ok, well then I'm doing some yoga. That's about it. 

Best Thing I Came Across Today

Attitude is everything. I don't have to train. I GET to train! I don't have to count macros. I CHOOSE to because it will help me reach my goals. It's all about the mindset. 

From Lean Bodies Consulting.

Stay strong y'all!

Do me a favor and subscribe to my email list. 

Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, you'll get first notice when I finish this really cool project I am working on! I promise not to spam you or sell your information! 

This project is one that I hope will enrich your life! It's taking a lot of things I've learned through the years and boiling them down into quickly digestible truths. 

2 days out and it's National S'mores Day!

8.10.2015
BW 52.0

Life

Happy day today! I woke up so excited for this week's adventure! I took the Turd to the boarder's and coached the morning class. Then I went to Dr. E for a tune up!

It must have been a good WOD!

It's National S'mores Day! 

In honor of this I will share my current favorite S'more inspired "recipe".

Take a few Quaker Popped Rice Crisps....

and lay milk chocolate chips and mini marshmallows on them. 

Nuke for 5 seconds and BOOM! S'more-ish goodness!

Mmmmmm! Enjoy!

Approx macros for one rice cake:

Calories 21
Protein 0
Carb 3
Fat 1

My other favorite S'more is the Quest S'more bar! Get yours here!

Mmmmm! So good!

Training

Cleaning out the gym bag is always a fun "Where's Waldo" type experience! 

No training today. I'll just do some stretching and yoga tonight and then rock and roll Wednesday. Weigh in at 630 AM (gross), lift at 830 AM.

If you want to watch live, FloElite has coverage here.



Best Thing I Came Across Today

This article. Read it folks and then rock it.

"You are the one who should say if you’re beautiful or strong. You determine your self-worth. You determine your story. Not the memory of some kid who teased you in middle school or some guy at work who made a remark. "

Stay strong y'all!

Do me a favor and subscribe to my email list. Not only will you be able to keep up with all my random thoughts, you'll get first notice when I finish this really cool project I am working on! I promise not to spam you or sell your information! 

This project is one that I hope will enrich your life! It's taking a lot of things I've learned through the years and boiling them down into quickly digestible truths. 

***Affiliate link*** because I am an Amazon Associate they give me a little thank you gift of a few pennies if you shop through my link. The price is the same for you as if you just went to straight to Amazon. Even if you decide not to purchase a box of Quest bars, use my link and buy something you would normally buy, ok? And then I can write in my YMJ that someone shopped through my link and earned me a penny for my thoughts. :)