It's been TOO long!

Jeeez, April 7th was my last post?! Really?! Man time flies. There is SO much I want to write about and not enough time. Where do I begin? First of all, there will not be this long of a gap between posts again unless under extreme circumstances!

So, hmm....OH! I discovered a great and delicious snack at the SuperStore a couple days ago. They're called VitaMuffins (http://www.vitalicious.com/store-vitamuffins.html) and they are only 100 calories, have 4-7g of fiber (depending on the flavor you get), are very low fat, and have lots of vitamins and minerals. I tried the deep chocolate flavor and think they're a great way to get in a chocolate fix without the guilt. They're not large, but for a snack they shouldn't be. It says on the box to keep them frozen, but I have no idea why because they aren't enjoyable frozen?? Anyway, keep them in your fridge and you'll be set!

I got up for a spin class at 6am yesterday (yes, 6am *barf*) and it was just a bit too early to want my normal breakfast, so, knowing how important it is to eat in the morning before a workout, I grabbed a muffin and half a banana. It was light enough that I didn't feel heavy and gross, yet substantial enough to give me energy for the class. I got home, felt energized for the day, had my normal breakfast, and was off to work!

A lot of people think if you don't eat before a morning workout you'll burn more fat, so they skip it. Please don't make the mistake of thinking if you don't eat you'll burn fat! It's not the way it works. Let me try to explain without getting too technical or wordy.

OK, well, first, when you wake up in the morning, it's likely been at least 8 hours since you're body has had any fuel; to get up and demand it to perform work (especially intense work!) is cruel. You don't have to have a big meal but you need something! Drink a glass of water and grab something to eat preferably 30 minutes (or so) before working out. Sometimes I find just half of a piece of bread with PB (100% natural PB, of course) and a glass of water does the trick! Bananas are great too because the natural sugars get into your system quickly and your body can use it as fuel faster.

Now, regarding how your body burns fat. The amount of times I've heard people say "I'm not going to eat carbs because I want my body to burn the extra fat instead", or "I didn't eat breakfast because I want to lose weight" is saddening. You burn fat by working at a specific intensity (very low intensity) rather than by cutting out carbs or skipping meals, which would render you unable to work hard and burn more calories, and your body will start using protein as fuel. Protein is required to repair muscle damage; without that you're body won't heal itself properly between workouts, you won't get stronger, and you won't see the results you want.

Your body has three different energy systems. When you train in the "fat burning zone" (long, low intensity exercise) you expend a lot less calories than if you were to do harder work for a shorter period of time.

To lose weight, you take in less calories than you use. Note that I said calories, not carbs, or fat, or protein. The body uses calories from food (protein, fat, and carbs) to produce ATP (energy). The the most efficient way is with carbs and oxygen. As long as you're working out at an intensity that is high enough to keep you out of the fat burning zone, and low enough to keep you from the anaerobic zone (without oxygen), you will burn calories at a faster rate, therfore you will lose weight faster.

Was that too wordy? I could seriously keep going and going and going, but I won't. LOL If you got lost somewhere, email me any questions, or just trust that I know what I'm talking about and do what I say *smiles*

Ok, it's late, I'm hungry (all this talk about food!) and need to go home. I'll write again tomorrow!