Not Just Working Hard, Work Smart!

Have you ever walked into the gym and seen the same people working out day after day and you notice they are working so hard but in the end you never see a change in their body? Better yet have you ever gone into the gym and worked out so hard and at the end of the week you weigh in and nothing has changed? Perhaps you may have worked out extremely hard and even watched what you ate. You may have eaten 100 calorie packs, low fat items, drank diet drinks, etc... but in the end nothing or so little weight has come off that you are demotivated. You think, "Why am I doing this at all?" If it is this hard to lose a pound, how am I ever going to lose the 10, 20, or even 50 pounds I need to lose?

As I blogged about yesterday, as God provided Jason in answer to my prayers He gave me the knowledge and wisdom that I needed to really make a lifestyle change. First let me say that as God answered my prayer by providing this person to help and guide me, our relationship has become a two way street. Jason is where I was 15 years ago in life. Just graduating and getting ready to get married. Jason just got engaged and just finished his Master's degree this past December. Also Jason is one of the Worship leaders at his church so we are constantly having great spritual conversation about our faith and who we belong to. One other important thing to bring up here is that the information you are about to see is from Jason and he has told me to share it with everyone I can. His only hope is that he may be able to help as many people as possible with this information.

That all being said ,the first things Jason spoke to me about was how the body worked. So I want to take a few moments and give some information here that may help some of you in keeping your New Year's Resolutions to lose and keep off weight.

What is a calorie?

Answer: It is a unit of measure that equals heat energy. In other words it is energy for the body.

How do we use this (calorie) energy?

Answer: Through our daily activity and through our resting metabolic rate.

What is metabolism?

Answer: Metabolism is how fast you burn through the fuel you put in your body. This is made up of both genetics and muscle mass so, in other words, your muscle equals your metabolism.

As I wrote yesterday your body is made up lean muscle mass and body fat. If metabolism equals muscle then you can clearly see that you want to protect the muscle that your body currently has when losing weight. If your weight lose only burns the muscle off your body your metabolism will slow down and once you stop working out you will gain back the weight faster than you can shake a stick at. And what is worse you will not gain back the muscle you lost but instead will gain more body fat.

So how do you protect yourself from this not so good circumstance? How do you keep yourself from losing muscle and instead maintain or gain muscle and lose body fat? Well this is a process much too long to share in one blog, but I will give you some of my thoughts:

Nutrition plays the key role here. The body requires three types of calories to operate. These are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Proteins help the body restore and build muscle. Carbohydrates provide energy for the body. Fat is used to provide some storage of energy for use when you may not have time to eat and still need energy (typical breakdown: 30% of your total calories should come from proteins, 40% from carbohydrates, and 30% from fat).

A lot of people when they workout go in on an empty stomach and then leave and do not eat anything out of fear that they will reduce the effects of what the workout just did. Perhaps a person will go to a workout eating a 100 calorie pack ,and when they are done they will do the same (eating another 100 calorie pack). You can see that the body is starved for nutrition to build back up the body.

How should a person eat pre and post workout?

Answer: Prior to the workout a person should have either small amount of protein with some complex carbohydrates or just some carbohydrates. (I have a protein shake or some Gatorade) It makes sense that your body is needing energy at that point and thus you should give it some fuel to get through the workout.

After the workout your body is broken down and needs to repair itself. So a post workout meal should include protein within 30 minutes of finishing the workout. I use a post workout protein shake. You can get it in various flavors, and when mixed with water the chocolate tastes like chocolate milk (see link for more details on the brand I use http://www.dpsnutrition.net/get_item_on402.htm) Once you have had your post workout shake you should plan on having a meal within the next 1-2 hours that is made up of a lean protein and complex carbohydrates.

How do you eat the rest of the day?

Well every 3-4 hours you should eat. At first, I promise you, you will tell me that you cannot eat that much as you will be constantly full. However, over time your body will adjust and this will become normal. What you should eat should be 300-400 calories at a time made up of some lean protein (chicken breast, tuna, turkey) and some carbohydrates (brown rice, sweet potato, oranges, grean vegetables).

I always think about my car when I am processing the food I am eating. Would I put mud in my car in place of oil? So why should I put all kinds of fat in place of the fuel that my body needs to run proficiently? IMPORTANT: This does not mean you cannot have the desserts you love, it just means you need to cut back on them and have them as a reward and not as an everyday thing.

I know for me it is easier to make something work if I understand how it was designed to work. Understanding the grand design of how God made us to work should be helpful in getting the most out of your workouts. I will try to add a section to my blog of tips and lists to aid all of you in your journey. Have you made the decision to be healthier? What is stopping you? Make the decision and pray for God to provide the help and encouragement you need today!