Oh happy day 6!

Last night was one of the hardest nights of working out I have had in a LONG time.

A near disaster of not being able to go to the gym because my husband decided to take his Gang Boxes (Really Really large tool boxes) up north to the storage unit at the last minute yesterday afternoon was bailed out by his Grandma Geneise and Cousin Christy. Thank goodness they came and watched the boys for me!

Normally I wouldnt have cared if I miss a night, but this wedding is looming large in my head and I need to get to the gym as much as possible.

So when I got to the gym I started up on the treadmill. Instead of doing my normal manual setting, I decided to mix it up and do interval training. I set my low at 4.0 mph and my high at 5.8 mph. My friend showed up for some walking before she took Body Pump so I kept my setting on 4.0 so I could chat with her. Once she left for her class, I pumped my interval training back up to 5.8 and toggled between that and the 4.0. A few times I even bumped it up to 7.0 and ran at that speed for a minute at a time. I was very impressed with myself. 7.0 really didnt seem that fast though I wouldnt be able to keep that pace consistantly for very long. I figured if I do interval training, it will be a great way to build my endurance up for my next half marathon.

I ended up going on the treadmill for an hour and ran 4.75 mph. Not too shabby given that I walked part of it to chat. LOL.

After I was done there I did some ab work and weight training on my legs using the machines. I need to tone my inner and outer thighs and get rid of these weird saddle bags on the outside of my legs and the loose skin in the inside of my legs.

Then it was time for RPM. I was so glad that I was able to go to the gym! It was a brand new release which was really refreshing because I had no idea what was coming next. The interval track was really really hard with constant stand up for a few counts and sit for a few counts grinding thru the resistance. Ugh. The mountain track I think will always be my favorite track. Not only does it give your ass a break from sitting in that tiny seat, it has a ton of resistance which bumps up the heart rate and sweat factor. And it signals the last working track in the workout. LOL.

All in all last night I burned 1315 calories in 3:30 which is a bit high because I forgot to shut off my HRM after RPM and remembered when I got home.  LOL. That coupled with the 200 calories that I burn every time I do 30 Day Shred signals an awesome burn for me yesterday!

I came home last night and made some tuna wraps with tuna, no fat mayo, onions and carrot strings and wrapped it in lettuce. I also had some clean salt and pepper potato chips and wasabi edemame. More about why I ate what I did under my tip of the day...

This morning I was sore. Not really sore, but just enough so you know I got a GOOD workout.

I got on the scale and Oh Holy $hit! It said 173.0!!!

I lost 2.5 lbs yesterday!!!

That had me running to the closet to try on my dress.

Oh buddy!

It zipped up easier.

And I have barely any skin hanging out over the top.

And I still have 15 days til the wedding!

I can do this!

With my new found weight, I was ready to tackle Jillian this morning. I could kiss that woman.

Here it is Day 6 and I am still dripping with sweat after 20 minutes.

My back is looking phenomenal with lots of definition.

If I am getting results like this on day 6, just imagine day 15...and day 30!

So now I am sitting here and enjoying a new shake...

2 scoops Shakeology Powder- chocolate
some frozen cherries
1 cp almond milk
1 banana

blend til smooth

If you dont know what Shakeology is, it is from the Beachbody line that produces dvds like P90X. I got a sample of it when my mom bought be P90X2.

I havent really had it before so I was interested in trying it after talking to my trainer Eric and questioning him about whether I should be using protein powder in my smoothies...again more about this under my tip of the day.

Here is a review on Shakeology that I found online:

Shakeology 8.4 out of 10 stars



Today we’ve gone ahead and picked up the Shakeology product on line to give you our views. If you can afford/stomach this product it’s definitely the shake for you. We’ll talk about that more in the breakdown.

Value – 5.0

Wow, this shake is not meant for the dieter on a budget. A 30-Day supply of Shakeology come in at $120.00 which is $4 per serving! That’s one of the highest costing shakes we’ve had posted on MRSR.com. We wanted to sample both flavors for you, but we just couldn’t afford to! As you can see in the comment section you can sign up as a coach (their MLM) and get a reduced price but it only drops it to about 3.83 per serving after it’s all said and done.

Hunger-Blockers – 10.0

Here’s a heads up for you guys out there, this shake mixes up thick and we mean really thick. It’s loaded with all sorts of fiber and proteins and if you can get through the entire shake, you’re going to be full for a couple hours. We really suggest mixing this with a very watery beverage, (skim milk, water, or maybe a fruit juice). It turns to concrete in your stomach.

Nutrients – 9.8

Shakeology stands above the crowd when it comes to nutrients. Holy cow this shake is just jam-packed with essential vitamins and minerals, placing it well over 50% of your RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) per serving. 140 Calories isn’t bad either and on top of that they’ve thrown in ton of non-essential health nutrients like Wheat Grass, Barley Grass, all sorts of fibers and other “holistic” nutrients to keep you feeling good. One shake and we had enough energy to keep us going throughout our day, that’s for sure!

Taste – 8.8

Okay, other products that have been offering us only Vanilla and Chocolate flavors have been given lower scores for lack of variety. Well, Shakeology made us eat our words in a bad way.

Shakeology comes in two flavors, chocolate and Green Berry which is definitely something we hadn’t been expecting. Given that we could only afford one flavor, we decided to go with Green Berry. To the right is a photo of the shake. The name is half correct in that this shake is ‘green‘ though how they had the gall to name anything about this flavor ‘berry‘ is beyond us. We thought about video taping and posting some of the horrified faces of our staffers as they tasted this shake, but Youtube already has that covered if you’d like to check it out. We briefly contemplated how the product pitch meeting for this shake went, and this is pretty much what we envisioned.

Man in Lab Coat: “Sir! We’ve come up with a shake that has the best nutrients and hunger blockers on the market! It’s sooooo freaking healthy!”
CEO: “That shake looks like vomit. What flavor is it?”
Man in Lab Coat: “Flavor?”
CEO: “Yes, what does it taste like?”
Man in Lab Coat: “Uh it tastes like we’ve liquefied 70 nutrients and crammed it down your throat.”
CEO: “Hmmm, Call it Green Berry and ship it!”

Update: Alright, as promised we did try the chocolate as well (someone sent us a free sample because we’re so poor) and it was better. This is where we’re going to get in trouble because a lot of people assumed that when we said in the comment section that “chocolate tastes better”; that we really liked it. This isn’t entirely the case. Their chocolate tastes better, but it’s certainly nowhere near the best we’ve tried. We still haven’t tasted the highly anticipated new flavor, but when your nutrient list is 74 ingredients long, you’re going to really have to work hard to cover up that vitamin taste…it didn’t go away even in the chocolate. If you’re going to try this shake though, we’d highly recommend the chocolate over the…other one. (I can’t even say it…the memories haunt me)

 And yes. I am not really enjoying this shake very much. I will be trying to finish up this packet of Shakeology quickly so I can buy a different type protein powder from the gym. My friend who I chatted with on the treadmill yesterday is going to split it with me. We are looking at the Peanut Butter Cookie flavor. Oh yummy!

So the reason for the protein?

Tip of the Day:  PROTEIN!!! (I hope you find this as interesting as what I did!)

From Bodybuilding.com:

Protein: The Benefits

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So why is it that so many bodybuilders take protein shakes? Well, protein is used for the production of muscles. Proteins are also used to manufacture hormones, enzymes, cellular messengers, nucleic acids, and immune-system components. Without adequate protein, our bodies can't put together the structures that make up every cell, tissue, and organ, nor can it generate the biochemical substances needed for cardiovascular function, muscle contraction, growth, and healing. Without an adequate amount of protein our muscles wouldn't heal up as quickly and could therefore lead to overtraining your muscle which could lead to injury.
Also, after a workout is one of the best time to get protein into the body so that the protein can be delivered to your muscles, to begin healing the"micro tears" (very small tears in the muscle tissue, caused by intense contraction of the muscle during workout) in the muscle.
Because solid food takes more time to digest and to break down the protein and send it to the muscles, it can be best to take a protein shake immediately following a workout, since protein shakes only take about 30 minutes to reach the muscle after ingestion. Definitely, we can see the advantage to taking a protein shake in this instance.   
When Are The Best Times To Take In Protein?

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So now you know the benefits and how much you should take in, but the question arises, when is the best time to take protein into your body? Well, one of the times that your body is in need of it the most is immediately following a workout since your body starts to heal the muscle right after a workout, taking protein at that time will give the body the fuel it needs to heal and grow.
Following your workout it's a good idea to take in small meals containing high protein in about three to four hour intervals, thereby providing your muscles with a constant supply of protein to help your muscles heal. It is also vital to take in a protein drink or a slow burning protein (such as cottage cheese) before you go to bed therefore providing your muscles with protein, since your body will be slowly depleted of protein as you sleep. Breakfast is a key meal as well, because your body awaits nourishment after sleeping for 8-12 hours. One of the best tips of advice I can give you though, is to eat consistently, day in and day out.

Eric encouraged me to look at a protein powder to add to my smoothies in the morning especially because I do the 30 Day Shred in the morning.

There are two different types of protein- a fast release and a slow release so make sure you pick the right kind for your needs. (As mentioned above from bodybuilding.com)

Slow release- Have it at night before bed. It will do what it says...release protein to you slowly throughout the night. ie. cottage cheese, meat, poultry, fish, eggs and peanut butter

Fast release- have either before a workout or after a workout. It delivers the protein quickly to your muscles to help the repairing of them begin. ie. whey or soy protein (think protein powder)

Eric recommended I have no more than 40g-50 g of protein a day for me trying to lose weight so it is important to read your labels on the powder. MyFitnessPal recommends 65g of protein. I havent been charting my food intake for a while but I think I am going to start back up and I will go with what MyFitnesspal recommends because it worked so well for me in the past.

For example: on the protein containers at the gym, one scoop of powder has 24 g of protein in it. Two shakes a day and you are screwed with not being able to have any other protein during the day. He recommended putting maybe a third of a scoop into my smoothie instead of a full scoop.

I did find this calculation online for finding out how much protein you need a day:

How to Calculate Your Protein Needs:
1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg
2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm.
Use a lower number if you are in good health and are sedentary (i.e., 0.8). Use a higher number (between 1 and 1.8) if you are under stress, are pregnant, are recovering from an illness, or if you are involved in consistent and intense weight or endurance training.

Example: 154 lb male who is a regular exerciser and lifts weights
154 lbs/2.2 = 70kg
70kg x 1.5 = 105 gm protein/day

I did mine:

173.0/2.2 = 78.63kg

78.63kg x 1= 78.63

I did 1 gm/kg because I dont do intense weight training but I have been doing endurance training with running and high cardio with zumba, CX and RPM. This protein intake will obviously be something that varies for me day to day depending on what my workout schedule is like.

Also Eric recommended to have something like Tuna after I workout in the evenings which is what I did last night. Tuna is chalk full of protein and it is very easy for the body to digest. Funny that after I had it, I lost 2.5 lbs. Was it a coincidence? Not sure!