Can Alcohol Affect Muscle Recovery?

Daily Nutritional Tip

You probably guessed it…yes! Alcohol does negatively affect muscle recovery. Alcohol suppresses muscle protein synthesis, which helps you build muscle after you workout, and thus it leads to the continuation of muscle breakdown. BUT our fitness journey is one of balance and we will at some point head out for drinks with a couple of friends or significant other. So how can we improve our chances of improving our muscle protein synthesis if we go out for a drink after a gym session? Make sure you drink a protein shake! When a person consumes alcohol AND protein after working out they will have 75% muscle protein synthesis compared to 100% muscle protein synthesis if they just consumed a protein drink after working out….not too shabby! (but be aware this 25% decrease can add up overtime).

 So make sure you have a protein shake before you hit the town this weekend!

 

 

Snack of the Day

 

Mango

My girlfriend, who was born in Colombia, taught me how to make this simple & delicious snack!

Just peel a mango, slice it, squeeze lime juice over the slices, and sprinkle some sea salt.

The combination of the lime and salt tastes like a summer drink in your mouth!

Mental Toughness Exercise for Life & Fitness: Positive Thinking

Welcome Back Monday!

Positive thinking is a major skill and tool to practice daily to improve your mental toughness. Today I want you to complete a simple exercise that you can perform throughout the day to not only improve your mental toughness but also allow you to complete those small steps towards your ultimate goal. Mondays are great for motivation and mental toughness practice so that we can start the week off with the fire in the belly! When you start to notice negative thinking trails of thought I want you to say this mantra in your head: “A change may just be around the corner”.

What is your mantra for positive thinking today?

Conditioning Workout

100 Cardio Cals (optional)

30 second rest interval (in-between each):
40 Jumping Jacks

10 Push-ups

30 Bicep Curls

10 Incline Push-ups

30 Tricep Kickbacks

25 Mountain Climbers

30 Seated Russian Twists

30 Side Lateral Raises

15 Laying Leg Lifts

30 Jump Squats

Repeat 2-3x

100 Cardio Cals (optional)

Snack of the Day

Rice Cakes!

•  $1.99 at Stop n Shop for 14 cakes
•  Macros for 1 rice cake: 0g fat,  11g carbs, and 1g protein

Rice Cakes are a great snack to eat while driving, use as a preworkout, or an afternoon snack! Sandwich 1 tbs of peanut butter inbetween two rice cakes, or top with marshmallow fluff, or banana slices! My favorite flavor is the caramel because it goes great with my Nuts ‘n More Salted Caramel peanut butter (found at GNC)  🙂

What will you top your rice cakes with?

 

Mental Toughness Exercise

“Mental Workout”

Author, Jason Selk, has a 100 second, or 2 minute, mental toughness workout. I love that it is only two minutes!! Fits in perfect with the values of Cal Fit, creating the time in your life for fitness, nutrition, and mental health!  Try to challenge yourself to complete this every day before you fall asleep for 30 days!

Two Minute Mental Workout:

1. Start with a centering breath. Breathe in for six seconds. Hold that breath for two seconds, and then breathe out for seven seconds. Controlling your breathing this way is a stress reliever, and it reduces your state of arousal.
2. Recite a personalized identity statement to yourself in five seconds. A good identity statement is one that emphasizes one of your positive qualities and pinpoints something you want to become, like “I am confident and passionate. I’m consistently excellent every day as a leader, executive, and mother,” or “I care more about my clients and I will outwork the competition. I am a million-dollar salesman.”
3. Visualize your own personal highlight reel for 60 seconds–seeing in your mind three things you’ve done well in the past 24 hours and mentally rehearsing three important things you need to do today.
4. Repeat your identity statement to yourself for five seconds.
5. Finish with another centering breath cycle–breathing in for six seconds, holding for two and then exhaling for seven. Your mind is now ready to focus and perform.

*Read more about the Mental Workout here: http://www.inc.com/jason-selk/the-two-minute-secret-to-mental-toughness.html

Conditioning Workout

100 Cardio Cals (optional)

Repeat 2-3x
10 second rest interval (in-between each):
10 Burpees

30 Bicep Curls with Band

25 Squats 

10 Tricep push-ups 

30 Hammer Curls 

25 Squats

20 Front Raises

30 Lunges

20 Tricep dips (off couch or box)

30 Mountain Climbers 
100 Cardio Cals (optional) 

Daily Nutritional Tip

 

Cauliflower!

One fun fact about me is that I love wings!! I have been making Cauliflower “buffalo wings” every weekend during football season and I dip them into a lower fat blue cheese,  OPA greek yogurt blue cheese. All you have to do is place cauliflower on a baking sheet and roast for 25 mins at 425 degrees. Smoother in hot sauce & garlic and roast for another 5 mins. Serve immediately! When I found this post on Women’s Health I just had to share: 15 Crazy Delicious Cauliflower Hacks to Help You Lose Weight. Most of the recipes are healthy & nutritious versions of your favorite comfort foods! I can’t wait to try #11 this week:

11. Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Carrots, coconut milk, and squash can be added to sautéed cauliflower for a no-cheese ‘cheese’ sauce that’ll squash your hankering for the gooey favorite.

 

*Left is cauliflower buffalo wings & right is real wings from Nature Promise

*Find more of the 15 recipes here: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/cauliflower-recipes-weight-loss

Weekly Recipe!

 

Spicy California Shrimp Stack

 

• Cook Uncle Ben’s, long grain & wild, in the microwave. Portion out 155g and add .5-1 tbs of rice vinegar (or vinegar of your choice). Place to the side.
• Cook 1-2 servings of shrimp (85g & any size). Cut into small pieces. Place to the side.
• Mix together 1/2 cup diced cucumber & 1 teaspoon chives. Place to the side.
• Mix together 2 teaspoons mayo or greek yogurt & 1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce. Place to the side.
• Mash 50-75g of avocado. Place to the side.
• In a 1 cup measuring cup layer: the cucumber mixture, the mashed avocado, shrimp pieces, & then the rice. Flip over onto a plate. Complete again, if needed, to create a second small stacks until you used all your ingredients.
• Sprinkle both stacks with sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, & the sriracha mayo.

Adapted from Skinny Taste:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/spicy-california-shrimp-stack/#eooMHcExF8h2S8id.99

 

 

Motivational Monday

Sore Today, Strong Tomorrow

 

So you created a goal for yourself, “tone my lower body”. What if you have self-doubts and think that this is a goal that you will never obtain? I see a lot of postings on social media about moms who have given up, place the white flag in the sand, and stated that their new body is what they are now going to have to live with. I disagree with this line of thinking! Everyone who sets a goal for themselves can achieve it if they set themselves up for success. One way you can do this is by creating small successes for yourself, little goals that you know you can achieve. Going back to the goal of toning your lower body, maybe your first success would be that the first week you work on your form, by watching videos, asking friends, or an employee of your gym, and perform body weight squats. The next week you may hold a 5 pound weight in your hand. These small goals, goals that you know you can achieve, will keep you motivated to continue on the path towards your ultimate goal. This week write down a small goal that you know you can achieve!

Now rise & grind!