First Week- check!

So happy I started back on my fitness road at the end of Dec, because my first week is already done! I didn't get to exercise as much as I wanted because I got sick but all the more important to not give up on the food part!

Exercise:
I ran 4.27 interval/strength miles on the elliptical for 435 cals
Hit up Fit Body Boot Camp today for a rockin full body workout.

Found out having an amino acid supplement post-workout definitely helps w muscle recovery after a brutal work out.  Otherwise your body is looking for all of those goodies it needs to recover in your muscle tissue and breaks it down to release the aminos into your system (which means you're super sore the next few days).  Kinda hard to keep up a workout schedule if you can't hardly walk!

So I'm looking for a good supplement but needed to know more (or be reminded because it's been a number of years since biochem...) about amino acids and how they work so I could pick out what would work best for me at the nutrition store.  I found some basic info here: Amino Acids

But to save you a click:

-When proteins are digested and broken down, amino acids are left (a basic building block of life).
-Proteins are not only from the food you eat, but also in your muscle fibers.
(Take away- a protein-rich breakfast can speed up the recovery process because your body breaks down the food protein instead of going for your muscle fibers)
- Amino acids help the body breakdown even more food (does this increase metabolism?), helps you grow (cell regeneration for us oldies), repair body tissue (ahhh muscle recovery)

Amino acids are classified in one of three groups:
Essential Amino Acids (EAA)- cannot be made by the body, must come from food.
               histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine
Nonessential Amino Acids (NAA)- produced by the body, not contingent on what food we eat.
              lanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid.
Conditional Amino Acids (CAA)- usually nonessential except in times of stress (workouts?) or illness.
             arginine, cysteine, glutamine, tyrosine, glycine, ornithine, proline, and serine

So where do you get the EAAs and CAAs (when you're hitting a hard class or are feeling yuk) if your body doesn't make them?  I looked over several websites and I kept seeing the same things- meat, fruit, veg. Specifically eggs, red meat, seafood, spinach, turnips, lettuce, carrots, radishes, cabbage, onions, beetroots, cucumbers, all green leaves, pomegranates, melons, oranges, apples, pineapple, papaya, grapes, raspberries and plums.  Sounds yummy, yes?

Is it possible to get too many amino acids?  Maybe.  I couldn't find a definitely set amount (like I'm gonna bother to calculate that anyway), but it sounded like you really had to try if you were going to max out your aminos.  Like a crazy body builder.  I just want enough so my muscles aren't dead the next day.  The side effects I found are: 

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Tension in the muscles (and stress-related tension)
• Restlessness
• Rapid Heartbeat
• Heart Palpitations

So like a regular day (kidding!).  But good to keep in mind.

Tried a packet of Xtend today: http://www.gnc.com/pwr/product-reviews/SCIVATION-1011718/p/4053257-Scivation-Xtend.html

I'll let you know how I feel tomorrow!

Week-ending Results

I should really have my week start over on Mondays so I don't fudge as much on the weekends thinking I have all week to make up the slack.  I end up just losing that same stupid 5 lbs over and over again. So despite being ill here's where I ended up:

Weight: 150.8lbs DOWN 3 lbs, GOAL: 6 lbs less

Waist: 29" DOWN 1", GOAL: 1" less

Hips: 38" UP 0.5" (maybe how I measured?), GOAL: 3" less

Butt: 41" DOWN 0.5", GOAL: 1" less

Thigh: 25.5"UP 1" (maybe post-workout?), GOAL: 2.5" less

Arm 12" SAME

A good start.  Not sure what happened when my hips and thighs, but I did my measurements post workout.  Wonder if that has anything to do with it?  I try to measure in the same place each time.

This weekend is a challenge because we're doing belated-"Christmas" with my mom's side.  So I've gotta pack Paleo-friendly things in case I need options.  For sure I'm taking what I need to make Cake in a Mug in case I REALLY want some dessert.  I know there's a potato bar for dinner, so I'm bringing a sweet potato.  Made sure some of the snacks and apps we're Paleo-friendly.  No need to fall off the wagon already!  There will ALWAYS be something.  So pick the important somethings only. Otherwise you're falling off all the time.  Frustrating. 

The menu next week will be similar to what I previously posted because I never made most of the menu since I was sick (thus so many days of pulled pork- ha!).  

Good luck this weekend, Self!