Into LiveFit Week 3:: Make your breakfast work for you!

This Saturday marked the start of my third week of LiveFit training. I'm happy to report that all is going well and I'm really excited at the increase in intensity with the weight training. This program is introducing me to some exercises that I really didn't do much of on my own, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to do this.

I always find that switching up a workout routine to be fun because it forces me to think differently. I like feeling new types of muscle soreness because it let's me know I'm using my body in new ways!

This week means I'll be adding one more day at the gym (an extra leg day). It's my hardest day, but that also make it the most rewarding. I've tried to also stay on top of my stretching as much as possible to prevent any injuries. My quads are naturally insanely tight, which can make squats and lunges more taxing if I don't!

I'm happy to report that my eating is also on track. I'm find myself really enjoying my Sundays of dancing and cooking in the kitchen. Preparing all my food at once is only time consuming for a little bit compared to not having to cook for a whole week and I'm loving it.  Today I put on 80's music and just sang and dance my whole way through. I've made it a bit of a game for myself one could argue another mini workout seeing as how much I was dancing around!

I found that my desire for sweets has once again rapidly diminished even under periods of stress. I'm not tempted in the least for chocolate, which I must say is rewarding all on it's own.

I did buy some new non-stick skillets which are really rocking my world. I just broke down and got some new ones and it's really help decrease my clean up time and the amount of oil I use when cooking. I've only ever cooked with extra virgin olive oil, which is great for you in moderation, it's just nice to know that now a little goes a much longer way since it's not seeping into the metal pan.

My discovery thus far with eating has really been with breakfast. I've always eaten breakfast, but now doing it much earlier is helping me through my workouts. Getting up just that little bit earlier for my yummy egg white and spinach omelet has been completely worth it. I make sure I give myself enough time to eat and digest a little and I don't get so fatigue during my morning gym time. Also I'm still eating a little bit once I get back home to replace what I've burned. It's usually when I have my banana and a little bit more protein. I really do feel my body absorbing it and it's quite a refreshing feeling.

I cannot stress how important it is to eat a solid protein breakfast. At rest your body is fasting, using up everything while you sleep. Empty belly means no energy! I usually eat about 5 egg whites before I workout now and it's helped so much.

Also I have a new love of quart sized egg whites only cartons, so much easier then separating the yolks out every morning <3

LiveFit Week 1 overview:: The important practice of will power

The start to my LiveFit training has been successful. Jamie has constructed the program to ease you in to completely changing the way you eat (and for some working out).

After my first week the biggest change for me is diet. Not with what I eat, but how frequently and how much. I can understand why this is only a 12 week program, I can't imagine eating with this frequency for the long term. I understand the concept of upping metabolism and confusing the body into using food as fuel in the most efficient way possible.

All I can say is LiveFit is not for the casual gym goer nor for someone who lacks discipline.

I'd go as far as saying I definitely wouldn't recommend even doing this program until you've trained yourself with just going to the gym on a regular basis and practiced eating a healthy 3 meals a day for at least a year. I can see the average person getting really flustered on this regimen, because I know it's already taxing for me.

I realized as I started this past week to even keep on top of my eating in conjunction with my work scheduled I'd have to cook as many meals in advance as possible. My life is mostly commuting and working so the kitchen doesn't factor in. I've dedicated my Saturdays to food planning and shopping and my Sundays to cooking.

This worked out really great last week and this week I should be solid until Thursday rolls around. I might have to get creative on Friday and hit the market again we'll see. I've taken a few of Jamie's recipes and modified them to fit my veggie diet and I'll say right now they've worked out fabulous.

Even this all this extra eating I have found that I'm getting the groove. I'm not always hungry and smaller amounts of food do satisfy me. Sometimes I do have to force myself to eat though. The first few days were the hardest as I'm not use to eating a full breakfast and then hitting the gym and then eating again.

Like I said the nutrition is going to be the hardest for me with this training, least right now. The workout routines are currently not as taxing as what I usually put myself through and I'm assuming that because the intensity will change as the weeks go on.

Today I tried to read ahead in the plan and I see I'm going to have to invest in a food scale and log. It's fine, but I can tell the reason this works will come down to a strict science in macronutrients and carb cycling. Something I've never done, but have read about. It's not a way of life, but I've committed myself to trying to follow this program as strict as possible.

I'm actually not trying to lose weight, I'm trying to gain. I know that sounds insane, but I wanted to see how much muscle I could gain and I know that I needed help with the nutrition part the most. Doing this program is really more about will power and discipline for me. I know that every now and again I need to force myself to uphold a certain code. There is something about resisting urge and training your mind in conjunction with training your body.

Will power is learned and if you never practice it you'll never be good at it. It's very much a skill and it's taken me quite a while to except that. Knowing you have control is very powerful, but you have to commit. I'm already feeling good about some things that happened this week that were intensely stressful and I did not falter. I did not comfort myself with bad food and drink.

Tomorrow will be day 10 of 84 and I'm feeling great. I'm confident I'll finish this week off just as strong and I'm looking forward to more intense workouts.

LISTEN UP YOU VEGETARIANS!

I'm back to the blog and I just wanted to say that I'm still training and trying to rev up a little more this June with diet. I'll be writing specifics on this possibly this weekend, but today I wanted to get into my overall diet and lifestyle choice.

The reason I'm doing this is because in the past few days I've met some new people in my bootcamp class who claim vegetarianism as their diet and lifestyle choice {exciting :D }. I've been a vegetarian for 15 years, longer then I've eaten meat, and through this dietary choice I've learned, adapted and changed.

So a bit of body composition first! If you want your body to be what the world refers to as "lean or tone" what you're really saying is "I want more muscle then fat on my body". No matter how you want to look at that, you need to build muscle.

Building your muscles is a two step process.

First you need to tax those muscle fibers, which means you constantly have to work them harder then you worked them before. Your body gets use to the work you make it do, if you don't challenge your muscles you eventually will plateau in your progress!

Secondly you need to eat to fuel that muscle reconstruction and growth. Growth believe it or not is what makes you tighter and leaner (speaking from experience!) I'm not the hulk and I don't want to be, but I do want to be tone so I work and feed my muscles accordingly. If you want to get lean you have to replace some of that fat with something!

Protein is the fuel that makes a lean body possible. It's the main macronutrient that everyone should be focusing on :)

Vegetarianism is often viewed as unhealthy because most don't have a varied or nutritious diet. It's much more difficult to live this lifestyle and you have to be dedicated and creative to be healthy living it. As with any diet if it's not balanced it's not good for you.

So how do I get my protein?

Well first I had to do a lot of research on protein sources and the company's manufacturing them. I say this because if you're not careful, you can end up eating a lot of "meatless" alternatives that are so processed you might as well just be eating pure salt and sugar.

As with anything "boxed" you HAVE to read the label. Vegetarians often don't realize their sodium, fat and carb intake is off the charts!

I've finally found a few companies to whom I'm very loyal for my protein sources. These are products where the protein content is high and the processed content is low. I also try to find these sources in their most "pure" form because the more it's flavor or "shaped" the more it probably contains things that aren't super great for you.

I also don't recommend, but insist that vegetarians need to have a source of powder protein in some form. Whether it be whey, rice, egg, or an isolate blend. It is sometimes the only way I can make sure I reach adequate protein ingestion without having to eat a mountain of food. It also is one of the EASIEST ways to get a high dose of complete proteins into your system after a good workout. (Adding to that growth and lean muscle I talked about earlier!)

Also everyday I make sure to try and get a decent combination of proteins. I don't JUST eat tofu, in fact I've lowered my soy intake for the sole fact that as women, not getting any younger, it's not great to ingest copious amounts of soy.

I get protein from eggs, nuts, legumes, setain, soy, whey, casein, protein isolates and on extremely rare occasions yogurt and cheese. Being partially lactose intolerant I don't dapple much in the dairy department and you also have to be careful you don't eat too much dairy because it's very high in fat. The key is always moderation.

While that list doesn't seem as big as the animal kingdom, it's far more varied then people may realize. The legume and soy family alone is gigantic and make great additions to a lot of recipes in place of mountains of grains. I actually eat very little in the way of rice, bread, oats or pasta. Most if not all of my carbs come from vegetables, fruits, and usually are a part of my protein sources.

It is very easy to be a lo carb vegetarian and not tired all the time, you just have to be willing to want to eat that way :)

Oh and bottom line you need to cook. I don't even want to hear you don't have time because it takes less then 15 mins to make an awesome meal. Even when I was at my breaking point with no time, I would make all my food on Sundays so that I never had to think about cooking. Remember fresh veggies are best, but frozen is "cool" too <<<sorry bad pun. Sometimes I can't always get fresh, so I have loads of organic frozen veggies for emergencies. No salt added, just 8 mins to steam. YUM!

You cannot always rely on outside sources for your meals because as a society of omnivores places often don't offer protein options based on a vegetarian lifestyle. New York City is an exception as I imagine San Fran is too, STILL as a veggie you should always be carrying food. I pack my breakfast and lunch almost everyday I go to work and if the event I've forgotten or can't I'm sure to throw something protein based in my bag, (usually eggs, raw nuts & protein powder), so that I get something if my lunch is mostly veggies.

You also have to except that you will have to supplement your diet. I firmly believe that my losses would not have been so dramatic if I hadn't been consciously supplementing, not only with a protein powder, but also with daily vitamins. It's a must to make sure you're hitting your B12 and iron, you don't want to be sick or tired.

I also tracked my eating habits for a long time to understand how much protein was enough. The tighter I honed my diet to include more protein combinations the easier it's been to see progress physically.

It's very possible to be a healthily vegetarian. As one I've excepted responsibility of my choice not to eat meat and believe me it is a responsibility. I don't care what your reason is for being one, with that choice you ultimately made "eating" a conscience part of your life. If it's too much work or too much of a stress, it's worth reconsidering why you chose to be one. Doing yourself bodily harm because you love animals seems like priorities need readjusting and I can say this because I feel a moral connection to animals that I cannot overcome. I could not bring myself to kill one, so I feel obligated not to take part in consuming them.

I find my choice to be a veggie was right for me. I'm happy, healthy and can see progress in my fitness goals even with the diet I've chosen. I'm not afraid to adapt or change ratios in the foods I do eat and I'm always aware of my health first.

So to all veggies out there, do your research and eat your protein!