The big P

I wanted to do a little blog on protein shakes to share why I use them and which ones I use, as it is a question I get asked about a lot from friends. I also hear different things from people like, 'I was having shakes and they made me put on weight', or that they don’t agree with them and feel they have their place but with professional athletes rather than us every day folk.

Here are the main reasons I have them (no particular order):

1. Convenient
2. Help me get the amounts of protein I need (more on that in a min) that I know I couldn’t get through eating alone.
3. Good for recovery post gym
4. Stops cravings and genuinely keeps me full until lunch time.

The convenience aspect, that’s obvious. I have two children to feed in the morning, my routine is that I run down, put the kettle on for Adam’s bottle/porridge, while that’s going on sort Isabelle’s breakfast and get her sat down. I then quickly mix the shake 2 scoops, 200ml of water, shake, BOOM done). While I’m then feeding Adam I can drink the shake. The rest of the morning then continues with non-stop running around. Now I don’t do this every day. There are days when I will have greek yoghurt (actual greek yoghurt, not ‘greek style’), muesli and honey once the kids are fed and sorted.

The rule I follow for the amount of protein is to aim to eat around 130g a day. (Approx 2g per kg bodyweight). I personally would struggle to eat that amount, so the shakes help me get what I need.

Protein is the key to muscle recovery (and that just isn’t in workout terms, after having Isabelle and Adam (I won’t go into the full details) my body wasn't healing as it should, so my midwife recommended protein shakes and upping my intake of protein to assist). Although, can I just say, even if the midwife does say you can use a shake with green tea and guarana in it while you are breastfeeding, you can’t, unless you want your baby buzzing (poor Adam).

Anyway, back to post workout... 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. Solid food takes more time to digest, break down the protein and send it to the muscles whereas a shake can take less time (about 30 minutes to reach the muscle after ingestion), therefore helping to heal the muscle sooner.

The last reason about cravings is totally proven for me. I have had porridge in the morning and I have had greek yoghurt with muesli and none of them, keep me full until lunch like a protein shake does, not even porridge. I have a shake and I don’t think about food until lunchtime, whereas with the other breakfasts, I’m looking around for something else about 10.30am. I also don't crave sweet things (and those who know me know what a sweet addict I am, in fact I got asked the other day if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life what would it be, I said Jelly tots... at least they would offer flavour variation... see, not so silly now :))

So which shakes do I use? I have tried a few different ones and obviously everybody’s tastes are different. The one I find best for taste and consistency (ie didn’t make me gag, and a few have) is MyProtein Elle True Diet. This is the one I have in my house all the time. The one I use for when I am out and about is USN protein fuel 50 550ml bottles ready made in strawberry flavour. The My protein shake has added green tea, Guarana and caffeine for that extra boost.

Obviously shakes aren’t for everybody so protein can be found in the following foods:

Milk

Nuts and seeds

Lean red meat

White meat

Eggs

Oily Fish

Salmon

With everything that is included in this blog, I am not an expert and just telling you what I do and what I know. The world of protein and indeed protein shakes is a big one and there are lots of different ones out there. Do your research and always consult a professional if unsure about anything.

Hope that helps a little and if you have any questions let me know.

I’ll be back tomorrow with my weekly update and pics…. Its fair to say, as I am writing this I am seriously aching. It’s been a busy ol week and Esther has been pushing me to my limits.

TTFN

Week one

When you feel like quitting, remember why you started

Firstly, I just wanted to say a big thanks to everybody reading and for the lovely comments I've had from some people this week. I'm glad that I'm inspiring some of you to spring into action too.

So here we are a week into the longest month of the year... yet here I am like Tigger (I don't think I've ever been excited in January :). I'm excited because this week has been the first full week of training and eating clean... And guess what, I haven't fallen off the wagon half way through the week like normal (well, there was a cheeky quality street but that is it). I suppose baring your bod to the world really does provide motivation....But more exciting than that is that I am starting to see changes already. My body is quite responsive normally but I thought going over the ol (ahem) 30 hill and popping two kids out, may have slowed it down a bit (remind me of this later when I can't shake the final few pounds off). I'm not sure if you can see the progress that much and the scales don't say it (this is why I don't weigh myself), but I can see it and that just makes me think, if I feel like this after 1 week, how will I feel (and look) after 12 weeks.

Now, I'm not saying this is easy. Far from it. I am really having to dig deep and planning is definitely key as I have said before. Juggling the kids and workouts is hard, but if you want it bad enough you make it work (I also have a good support network around me). Below is a picture of the board in my kitchen. This is just a high level view of what I do but you can see I am a busy bee.

The workouts this week are listed below. I'm not going to list every thing within each workout as that would be boring (and quite a list) so I'll give you a little snapshot.

Friday - Elite - Bootcamp
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Elite - Get Ripped
Monday - Elite - Bootcamp
Tuesday - Esther - First Session
Wednesday - Elite - Boxing session
Thursday - Esther

PERSONAL TRAINING The sessions with Esther have been BRILLIANT! They are killer and have made me sweat, swear, laugh, nearly cry, but more importantly, feel amazing. She knows how to push me to my absolute limits (which is good as that is her job). This week we have been doing full body workouts. They have been weight workouts that have included squats, lunges, bicep curls, dumbbell flys, single leg deadlifts to name a few! It's been fun but hard work and I have come out of the workouts feeling super motivated, albeit unable to walk ;) 

BOOTCAMP bloody hell, I'll have a go at listing most of the exercises... Boxing, step ups, skipping, lunges (with weights), smashing the tyre with a hammer/barrell, tyre flip, pulling the sled, step up with kettle bells, burpees, press ups, TRX, stability ball squats.... need I go on... oh ok, throw in some abs too and you're done.

BOXING The boxing session nicely(!) sandwiched between Esther's session was also a killer. Boxing is great though! It has so many benefits, one that it is a cardio workout for the whole body. 

As I am typing this blog now, everything is hurting... no pain no gain though eh!



As for food.... Now this may shock you but on the days that I am training (ahem, nearly all of them!) I need to be eating about 2300kcal. I know, pick your jaw up. I am not following a calorie count diet, but that just show you, YOU HAVE TO EAT!! Your body needs fuel. None of these juice diets, limited calorie diets, fad diets! 
I'm not a professional so I'm not going to try and explain the science behind food and eating, but all I know is that you need to eat and should try to eat around 6 small meals a day. To see what I am eating you can have a look here: Kirsty's Food Diary

You will see in my diary that protein shakes feature in my diet. As I've been chuntering on for a bit already in this post today, I'll do another over the weekend to tell you what I know about protein shakes and why I have them. I have been using them since I had Isabelle and love them. There are lots of myths, stories etc about them so next time I'll tell you what I know and my experiences and which ones I use and why. 



Right, enough chat, lets get on with the progress pics. Here you go.

  

Tomorrow I am doing the thing I hate, running, pah! It's a rest/run day. I don't have any running trainers (all my trainers are crossfit/weight trainers) so I am going to pop to Cheshire Oaks to visit Asics for a good (but cheap) pair. I didn't budget for trainers on maternity pay :) I have to have good supporting trainers as those who know me, know about my dodgy knees which cut my running career dead was I was a young un.

That's it for now, thanks for reading!

Weigh to go!

The secret to getting ahead, is getting started

Today was my first meeting with Esther to go through my stats, goals and plan. Oh yes, and to take my before pics *cringe*

Goals first of all. Personal goal setting is an important part of any weight loss/fitness regime. In fact, it is just as important as keeping track of your nutrition and the exercises you do. When setting your personal goals, it's important that you come up with fitness goals that are challenging but achievable. I have come up with three.

1. To get to my post baby weight and fit comfortably into my post baby clothes. This is a toughie as before I got pregnant I was training for Tough Mudder 2012 and it’s probably fair to say I was in the best shape of my life. So at the moment I am size 12 but can squeeze into my size 10 jeggings, but it ain’t all that comfy. So it’ll be about losing a dress size.           Timescale 12 weeks
2. To get a six pack. I very nearly got one post Isabelle (see pics below). It has been something that I have always wanted to have. I find it hard to believe after 2 children I can get one, but Esther assures me it is possible. But boy, is that gonna take some doing! But hey, I like a challenge.                                                                                                                       Timescale 12 weeks (hopefully) 
   
   
     
3. To get fit for Tough Mudder. All that know the event know it’s hard to train for as there are so many different obstacles, but I know my weaknesses (Upper Body strength, hand grip being two) so I need to focus on these. The one obstacle I REALLY want to master is the monkey bars. Oh I also need to do the thing I hate the most, run! Pah!                                    Timescale: 9 months (oh the irony after dropping out last time due to being pregnant).

Now for stats. Esther and I spoke about this today and because one of my aims is about building muscle, it’s important not to focus too much on my weight/inches too much and focus more on my body fat. I don’t really agree with weighing myself (I don’t even own any scales) as I always go off how my clothes fit.

Rather than me trying to explain the whole fat/weight/muscle thing in words, these pictures should help (This isn’t me obviously J):

So the only stat that you need to really know at the moment for me is that my body fat is 20.73% (for my six pack I need it to be 5%(ish) lower).

Now for the dreaded pics. So, when I first did these with Esther today, she saved my blushes by giving me a t shirt to wear rather than showing off my tum. But thinking about this on my way home I thought, getting a six pack is one of my aims, so I guess you’d better see the tum (and the juicy booty as Matt says) rather than me hiding it away or you won’t see the transformation (which is the point of this blog)! Just don’t forget that I’ve housed two children in there, ok! Oh and it’s just been Christmas… J

Here you go! Post-Christmas, post baby belly & juicy booty!

 

Just as a reminder AGAIN, post two babies (go easy on me).

  

So my next blog will include the training I am doing and also what I’m shoving in my mouth (and you’ll be surprised to know that it isn’t rabbit food, my new food plan is actually awesome).

     

Before I go, I just wanted to tell you about a fab deal that Esther has on in January. She is offering 10 personal training sessions (plus free entry to her high intensity training classes (normally £5 per class) on top of that) for £250. You also don’t need to be a member of a gym to train with Esther. For more details email info@transformpersonaltraining or call 077 0356 9645.

TTFN and thanks for reading.

Excuses Excuses

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Soooo, new year, a lot of people are ready to start getting fit, the gyms fill up with the newbies with their new trainers and gym clobber. By the end of Jan the regulars are still there and the newbies are nowhere to be seen. I don’t judge people for it; at least they are doing something positive in the first place.

It’s bloody hard to stay motivated and although people think I am super motivated all the time, I’m not. My mum has always said that I can find an excuse for anything, be it spending money (I REALLY need those new shoes even though I can’t afford them), eating badly (come on ladies, we have all eaten that chocolate bar (or three) and said, ‘what!? It’s that time of the month’ or even worse, ‘It’s ok to eat these chips because I’m going to the gym later’), but we all know the best excuses we come up with are for not going to the gym (or any other type of exercising) and not eating right.

I have been trying to get back in shape post Adam and although I have managed to get to the gym, there have been many MANY times when I have been met with a number of excuses not to go to the gym, too many to list here... I have total devil v angel going on in my head. Here’s a classic example…

Angel Kirsty – Come on, the kids are in bed, let’s go to the gym!

Devil Kirsty – Yeah, but I’ve had the kids all day and corrie is on and I’ve not had my tea yet and I’m tired…

Angel Kirsty – But its one hour out of the day, come on!

Devil Kirsty – Yeah, but it’s not an hour is it, I’ve got to go upstairs, get changed, drive to the gym, it’s raining, it’s dark, Made in Chelsea is on after corrie, my iPod isn’t charged (and I can’t exercise without music don’t you know), I’ve not got cold water in my water bottle (I refuse to drink luke warm water), I’M TIRED….

By the time I’ve gone through this rigmarole I could have done a workout and been on my way home J

I’m sure you have all been there (if you haven't, tell me your secret).

So what is the key to getting over this? I think it’s all about planning (which I am particularly bad at, in fact, 2014’s New Year’s resolution is to be a better planner, in all aspects of my life). The way to combat most of the excuses in the scenario above would be…

• Have my tea earlier (I normally wait for Matt to come home from work so we eat together (normally about 8pm) but to make it work for me I’ll eat with Isabelle instead now and have an early tea).
• Sky plus the programs you watch. Modern technology rocks J
• Get my gym stuff on while Izzy is getting ready for bed then it’s on and can no longer be an excuse.
• Tiredness – now, I may be tired, that is true, but I’m one of these where I’m tired until I get to the gym.  Once I’m there I get in the zone and I’m happy and that feeling of achievement afterwards (and let’s be honest, smugness, that’s why we all check in at the gym, come on) and once those endorphins kick it, it’s all worth it. I always get a better night’s sleep after a good work out too.

So there, I've confessed, I’m normal and not some superhuman gym bunny that skips to the gym every day! I have the same battles that everybody else has. The reason for this blog is to help me get over these and showing you that it is possible. No going back now Kirsty, eek!

Tomorrow I am off to see Esther for stats and ‘before pic’ (when the fun officially begins). I’ll confess now, today has been like the last supper… if a last supper consisted of jelly tots, chocolate fudge cake, mums roast potatoes… the list goes on! But from tomorrow, the transformation begins and I will be eating like an angel…

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