Personal Training

Measuring cup blunders & Prooootein!

Posted on by Naomi

Happy Hump day ladies and gents! It was a crummy weather day here in Boston but as always, I tried to not let the weather get to me! This morning I got to sleep in a bit since Wednesdays I start work at 11:30. I hit the gym before hand and also met with the manager at Beacon Hill Athletic clubs to go over how to set up the music and everything for teaching spin class! I am SUPER excited 🙂
—-
Set 1

  • Bicep Curls (20 reps, 20 lbs)
  • Tricep Skull Crushers (20 reps, 25 lbs)
  • Bench Leg lifts (20)
  • 30 sec quick squats
Set 2
Set 3
  • Walking Lunges with lateral raise (20 total, with 5lbs for lat raise)
  • Crunch with medicine Ball
  • Squat push press
As you can see, I tend to always do my workouts circut style, always keeping my HR up. I also tend to do lower weight, higher rep. My body tends to respond much better this way then lifting heavy heavy weights. I did that for a while and my legs packed on so much muscle I couldn’t fit into my jeans. I started working with my trainer and he had me doing lots of body weight and lower weight routines with HIGH reps, and I completed transformed my body composition. This is just what works for me!
1/2 C oats with some Naturally More and DCD. 2 eggwhites were in here as well. Post workout fuelage

Liquid crack

I did a test to see how much was really 1/4 of a cup of the Best Damn Granola (which is one serving) This is how I would fill the 1/4 C (25 grams).

And then after zero’ing the scale and putting my 1/4 C amount, it really came out to 32 grams! This just goes to show that measuring cups can really overestimate a serving size. I do not weigh all of my food at all, but for certain things, like oatmeal in the morning or if I just want 3oz of meat for a sandwich I do love my food scale. I was more curious to use it for this experiment

This is the TRUE 1/4 C which is below the line!!

um I think I ate twice that when I first tried the granola! Oh well, it was delicious!!

Lunch was a delish salad from home. Romaine, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, cukes with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

A whole wheat pita with hummus, romaine, turkey breast, kosher dill’s and sprouts!

Some snackage at around 4:30. 1/4 C oats mixed with frozen berries, plain Chobani and cinnamon!

Nom Nom. I also had an apple!

Dinner was some leftover turkey tomato soup!

Josephs wrap with hummus, romaine, tomato, pickles, tofu. So good!

I had some of Aprils Protein bar for some sweetness!

And my blueberry honey graham yogurt left over from yesterday!
—-
I was chatting with my cousin, who has a blog as well about the importance of post workout nutrition. She was asking me a fitness professional’s standpoint on Protein! Below is some info!

After a workout, it is important to get in a mix of carbohydrate and protein within about 45 minutes to fuel your muscle recovery. Carbs are important because they aid in restoring muscle glycogen. No carbs after a workout means that your body may actually break down muscle tissue. Carbs also create a spike in insulin levels which will help move nutrients into your bloodstream at a faster pace.

Protein is the next important nutrient you should be eating after a workout. While animal protein, fish or eggs can be a wise choice after a weight training workout, whey protein is highly recommended because this protein is delivered to your body at a must faster pace because it is in a liquid form, also not to mention it is a fast digesting protein. 

You want that protein in your system post workout to being protein synthesis which aids in muscle repair and recovery. Protein is the building block for muscle and during a workout, it breaks down which is known as protein degradation. After the workout, in the repair process, it’s built up again which is known as protein synthesis. The body cannot synthesize protein with nothing in its system, it needs nutrients which are why after a training session, you need to make sure you are providing your body with fuel to do its job! After a workout, the protein synthesis SHOOTS up and stays there for 24 hours. This is why it is best to eat within 45 minutes of a workout (protein and simple carbs)

Now, lets talk Protein. Protein does more than speed up your metabolism and feed those hunger pangs, but it also helps you maintain muscle while losing fat simultaneously. Protein improves mood because of the tryptophan which is an amino acid.

Below is the RDA recommended amount of Protein to have daily

Age
Protein RDA
0-6 months
2.2
6-12 months
2.0
1-3 years
1.8
4-6 years
1.5
7-10 years
1.2
11-14 years
1.0
15-18 years
0.9
19 + years
0.8
[* per kilo of body weight]
Example: 150lb woman=150/2.2=68 kg. 68×0.8= 54g protein
With this RDA here, I want to point out that there are different ranges of protein requirements depending on individual goals. There are three estimates of strength training athletes protein needs. One lower, one at the high end and one in between. The high estimate is commonly recommended for those who are trying to lose weight without losing muscle size.

Low: 0.5 grams per lb of body weight per day, or 70 grams (150 lb woman=75g protein/day)
Medium: .75 grams per lb of body weight, or 105 grams (150lb woman=112g protein/day)
High: 1-1.2 grams per lb of body weight or 140 grams (150lb woman=150-180g protein/day)
 ——————
  • What is your favorite source of protein? I am on a tofu kick right now!
  • Do you use measuring cups or food scale? Thoughts on either way to measure food, or measuring food in general?
  • Do you have any idol favorites?? I don’t just yet!!

Naomi
Naomi