Are you getting enough protein?

Are you getting enough protein?

 

In 2008, I decided it was time to take a trip to Afghanistan.  I had served in the military for 10 years and never had the opportunity to be "volun-told" to live in hell-hot heat.  Well, my opportunity came when I started working for a contracting company.  I was asked if I wanted to go to Afghanistan for a while and it took me no time to respond with yes.  Prior to my deployment to Afghanistan, I was living life up with going to weekly parties, countless nights out on the town, and tons of beer filled trips to the beach.  I didn't realize it at the time, but my waist line was gradually get bigger.  Yikes!

So, once I made it to Afghanistan, I decided it was time for me to work on my waist line.  My plan to reduce my waist size include:

1.  Less than 1800 calories per day.
2.  Weight lifting program - Lifting 3 days a week.
3.  30 high intensity minutes of cardio on workout days.
4.  60 to 90 minutes of high intensity cardio on non-workout days.
5.  Sunday was a rest day, also giving me the opportunity to cheat on my calorie intake with cookies, ice cream, and what ever other craving I had. 

With this routine, I managed to lose 25lbs in 5 months.  Boy was I excited.  I was looking lean, mean, and tired.  I was in the gym anywhere form 90 minutes to 3 hours.  The one thing I refused to take was any form of extra protein and/or supplement.  One day, as I was showing off my newly transformed body, I received a comment from a few women.  "You're getting too skinny, guys aren't suppose to look like that!"  I was thinking too myself, dang; it worked for skinny Luther...but then again, I can't sing like skinny Luther.  

At the time I didn't realize it, but while I was on my quest to lose 25lbs, I not only lost fat, but I lost precious muscle, which made my look too skinny.  Had I known the power of protein, I could have probably look ed like a teenage mutant ninja turtle when I left Afghanistan.  Here's the deal.  Your body needs energy to perform any activity.  It generally uses carbs, when available.  But it also attempts to burn fat for fuel as well.  But when your muscles needs to repair themselves, lack of protein means your body using the precious muscle for energy and fuel sources.   

Here are the facts about protein:

1.  Your muscles need protein to repair themselves.
2.  Generally, must people need to consume 1 gram of muscle per pound of lean muscle mass (with a healthy training routine).
3.  Taking protein supplement can be one of the easiest ways to get the amount daily protein needed.
4.  Protein doesn't make you fat, unless you're consuming too much of it or you're not working-out regularly.  
5.  Protein makes up your body's structure.
6.  Proteins are made up of amino acids.
7.  Protein digestion releases nitrogen waste.
8.  Inadequate protein intake damages your body.
9.  Most of the protein we eat is burned as calories.
10.  Many people have increased protein needs.  

BodyHealth.com had this to say about protein consumption, "The body may actually 'eat itself' to acquire the necessary amino acids, or borrow the amino acids from the immune system or body functions to meet its protein needs. If you workout and don't have enough protein to rebuild your body, instead of getting stronger, you will become weaker and be subject to injury. Whether due to restricted diets, illness, skipping meals, poor diet choices, and so on, inadequate protein/amino acid intake can compromise your health and affect body functions."

Reference

http://www.bodyhealth.com/html/biobuilde/key.asp

Do you got the ITIS?

Has this ever happened to you?

You’re busy as crap at work, you have 3,000 things to do when you get home, and plus you still need to hit the gym.  Now you know you’re having a bad day when you have to sing this to yourself:    So after you take care of that, you leave and you start task number 10.  (Yes I know yall do personal stuff on company time…hell…we all do.)  Task number 10 is completed, and then you head home.  You take care of a few other errands around the house, but somehow you end up sitting on your couch or your bed.  You tell yourself, “Self…if you sit your ass down, you know you’re going to fall asleep…don’t do it!!”  After having this very personal conversation with yourself, you sit down anyway.  After all this….the ITIS attacks!!

Oh boy…when the ITIS comes…it comes.  It’s like a big slap in the face.  So as you’re probably not even fighting sleep at this time, you tell yourself you’ll only sleep for one hour and then you will go to the gym once you wake up.  Now…who are you kidding?  You know good and well that after a long day at work that once that ITIS slaps you, you might as well set that alarm for tomorrow morning’s wake-up call.  There is no escaping the ITIS except for this one little trick……

Here's the trick...when you get home and hear your bed calling your name...rebuke it!  Put on your gym clothes and get your butt to the gym!  You need to do this every time you feel this ITIS attack you.  If you allow the ITIS to control when you go to the gym, you’ll probably end up skipping gym workouts and not ever meeting your physical fitness goals.  Once you’re at the gym, you’ll forget you were ever sleepy, you’ll have a great workout, and you’ll be proud of yourself that you didn’t miss another workout because of the ITIS.  According to an article written by “HOWTOBEFIT.com,” here are 10 good reasons to escape the ITIS and journey to the gym:

1.  Detoxifying – Reduces psychosocial stress
2.  Anger Management – Physically release negative energy
3.  Increased Awareness – Helps prevent the psychosocial process of stress
4.  Decreased Boredom – Going to the gym is never boring.  The gym can also serve as a challenge for your body.
5.  Stronger Immune System – When you’re in good shape, your immune system allows for quicker recovery times.
6.  Endorphins – It’s released during exercise.  It provides a pain relieving effect and promotes a sense of euphoria.
7.  Introspection – This time to yourself for thinking, meditation, and other self time needed activities.  Take this time for yourself.
8.  Reduction of Muscular Tension – Constant resistance training promotes muscle growth, and prevents muscle tension, in the form of backaches, arthritic joint pain, etc.
9.  Moving Meditation – Repetition of motion promotes calmness and tranquility.
10.  Improvement in Sleep – After escaping the ITIS, it will hit you even more once your exercises are complete.  You’ll have a great night sleep and be happy you didn’t let the ITIS get you, because you reduced stress, meditated, had time to yourself…and you’re feelin’ good.

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