Fitness Thread
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jeb6294
Well-known member
I think she's some Mary Kay type for Hempworx.
so I just tried one of these Quest protein bars. https://www.questnutrition.com/collections/protein-bars
20-21g protein, 1 g sugar, 200 calories. they really taste pretty good. I've had the cookies and cream and the chocolate chip bars. What do you healthy people think of these?
20-21g protein, 1 g sugar, 200 calories. they really taste pretty good. I've had the cookies and cream and the chocolate chip bars. What do you healthy people think of these?
csb
Well-known member
For 200 calories you can also have a Snickers.
Here's the deal- if it's something that keeps you from snacking on something else that might be higher calories, say four Oreos (280 calories), then go for it. If it keeps you feeling full and keeps your next meal light go for it. If you use it as a meal, great. However, if you are eating these as snacks in between three full meals, you're probably going to notice some weight gain.
Here's the deal- if it's something that keeps you from snacking on something else that might be higher calories, say four Oreos (280 calories), then go for it. If it keeps you feeling full and keeps your next meal light go for it. If you use it as a meal, great. However, if you are eating these as snacks in between three full meals, you're probably going to notice some weight gain.
csb
Well-known member
Today was the last day of my weight loss challenge I joined back in January. I've gone from 179.6 to 163.4. We're all talking about having a second challenge (not for another 15 pounds) and I'm ready for that. Some lessons learned:
- Work travel is not a vacation. Just because I'm in a restaurant doesn't mean I need to get something indulgent.
- Find friends who are along the journey with you and will hold you accountable. I lucked out with a great group of people, in addition to having a lot of health-minded people at work.
- Eat the cookie. Eat the cake. Just know that it can't happen everyday. Losing weight is a long game.
- Build some muscle!
- Meal planning and meal prepping will totally get you further down the road than you can ever imagine. I didn't use any particular diet. I'm not a huge salad fan, so instead most of my lunches were turkey sandwiches and fruit or even Baked Lays. Find food that you like in your calorie goal (see cookie bullet above).
- Don't beat yourself up over ANY of it. Your weight is not who you are at all.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
I don't actually typically eat protein bars... I grab Kind or Clifford bars when I do have any bars.
What I have gotten into the habit of relatively recently is having a protein shake every morning. My go to is four ice cubes, 8 oz of almond milk, a dash of maple syrup (organic from VT), a scoop of my custom True Nutrition protein powder with collagen boost (chocolate brownie flavor), 1-2 T organic unsalted peanut butter, and one whole frozen banana. It's so good!
This week, I'm finally getting back into a workout routine, and making it a priority again. It was hard finding time to workout during the process of moving and unpacking, but that's done now, so no excuses!
What I have gotten into the habit of relatively recently is having a protein shake every morning. My go to is four ice cubes, 8 oz of almond milk, a dash of maple syrup (organic from VT), a scoop of my custom True Nutrition protein powder with collagen boost (chocolate brownie flavor), 1-2 T organic unsalted peanut butter, and one whole frozen banana. It's so good!
This week, I'm finally getting back into a workout routine, and making it a priority again. It was hard finding time to workout during the process of moving and unpacking, but that's done now, so no excuses!
@csb check out the difference:
snickers
Quest - cookies and cream protein bar
My understanding is that the protein will help burn fat whereas the sugars retain/retard the burn. There is a huge difference. It's not solely about the calories.
@leggo PE that shake sounds pretty good. I might have to try that recipe. when you say "custom" is this a mix powder that you create?
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csb
Well-known member
Fair enough.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
Good comparison! I'm not a person who counts calories. I'd look more at the amount of protein and amount of sugar in each, where when doing this, the Quest bar comes out on top by a lot.
And as to the protein powder, yes, it's a custom mix of the following ingredients: pea protein, rice protein, cyclic dextrin, collagen, and the chocolate brownie flavoring. I'd sub with probably any chocolate protein powder. Or use plain protein powder and some cocoa powder (and maybe up the maple syrup a tiny bit to counteract cocoa powder's lack of sweet flavor). Can't go wrong with the combo of chocolate and peanut butter! And the frozen banana makes it super creamy. If you were sensitive to the sugar (even if it's natural), you could try frozen cauliflower instead of the banana. I've never tried that myself, though.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
Also, plug for True Nutrition! You can create a totally custom protein powder there, as well as buy many other types of powders for fitness. They have a large offering for what seem to me to be very decent pricing.
I don't do any other additives to my diet besides my gummy vitamins, so I can't speak to their other products, but I've been very happy with protein powder from them! Not chalky at all. I always blend it, but I mix it into the almond milk before putting it into my blender (this is very easy if using a mason jar with a lid). I don't think I'll ever try another company's protein powder, though I might mix up my flavoring in the future to come up with new combo's.
I don't do any other additives to my diet besides my gummy vitamins, so I can't speak to their other products, but I've been very happy with protein powder from them! Not chalky at all. I always blend it, but I mix it into the almond milk before putting it into my blender (this is very easy if using a mason jar with a lid). I don't think I'll ever try another company's protein powder, though I might mix up my flavoring in the future to come up with new combo's.
csb
Well-known member
Part of my answer is because I've fallen trap to the "It's protein, so I can eat and eat it!" and that's led to weight gain.
Good point and I'm trying to not do that. I'm led to believe that if load up on protein before and/or after working out then it'll maximize the fat burn from the workout. I had been eating a bowl of fruit after the gym. fruit has a natural sugars. I was told I'd be better off having protein (like a protein bar) instead. It seems the best path is to keep count of the calories and minimize the sugars. These Quest bars are somewhat dangerous because despite the low sugar content they taste like a cookie.
csb
Well-known member
I used to really focus on pre- and post-workout nutrition. I was sure I had to put those calories back and frequently used protein (shake, bar) as the fill in. I think it was this mindset that led to my weight gain while training for a marathon.
I almost exclusively workout in a fasted state, usually for about 45-80 minutes. I've had no issues. In the morning, I hit my usual breakfast after I've showered and whatnot. That's 3 eggs, cheese, and a piece of toast. If I workout in the evening, I'll have dinner later on, but admit I have a hard time eating much after a solid workout in the evening.
I mostly try to focus on things like if I want a cookie, I have a cookie. BUT, I can't keep cookies in the house. I will eat them all. I will buy one giant cookie from the bakery, enjoy it, and go on with life and that 300 calories.
All of this goes out the window for endurance events for me. I absolutely will eat something before and then eat during if I'm going to be out for 2+ hours. I will then eat after if it's a multi-day event. Eat today to fuel tomorrow. However, those kinds of workouts aren't my standard weekday workout. I'm talking about burning 1000 calories and above for the effort.
It's really personal, so I'd ask- do you feel okay if you don't eat after a workout? Or a certain length of workout? If you feel lightheaded, you should jump in on some food. But, if you feel okay, maybe try waiting until the next meal to eat and see how it goes.
I almost exclusively workout in a fasted state, usually for about 45-80 minutes. I've had no issues. In the morning, I hit my usual breakfast after I've showered and whatnot. That's 3 eggs, cheese, and a piece of toast. If I workout in the evening, I'll have dinner later on, but admit I have a hard time eating much after a solid workout in the evening.
I mostly try to focus on things like if I want a cookie, I have a cookie. BUT, I can't keep cookies in the house. I will eat them all. I will buy one giant cookie from the bakery, enjoy it, and go on with life and that 300 calories.
All of this goes out the window for endurance events for me. I absolutely will eat something before and then eat during if I'm going to be out for 2+ hours. I will then eat after if it's a multi-day event. Eat today to fuel tomorrow. However, those kinds of workouts aren't my standard weekday workout. I'm talking about burning 1000 calories and above for the effort.
It's really personal, so I'd ask- do you feel okay if you don't eat after a workout? Or a certain length of workout? If you feel lightheaded, you should jump in on some food. But, if you feel okay, maybe try waiting until the next meal to eat and see how it goes.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
I primarily work out at night, after dinner. I pretty much never have anything else to eat afterwards.
I don't really focus at all on pre- or post-workout meals. I might if I worked out earlier in the day, but right now, that's not happening.
I've come to the realization that working out in the morning is not the best for me, as much as I may like having it done with at the start of my day! I just can't ever get up early enough. My fiance goes to work later than I do and always gets his workout done in the morning.
Right now, my protein shake (detailed as above) is consumed around 9-9:30 am, and holds me over til lunch around noon. It is essentially replacing, for me, what used to be a banana before leaving for work and some other morning snack (usually Greek yogurt with granola and maybe some berries).
I suppose I might be getting some benefit from having that shake after biking 8 miles to work, but I don't have it directly afterwards (typically 30-60 minutes later).
Mostly, my trouble area with eating comes in the evening, before dinner. I think much of that has to do with the fact that we don't normally eat dinner until 8 or 8:30 pm, which is definitely on the later side. So around 6-6:30, when I get home, I'm generally already at least a bit hungry.
I'd love to get us to eating dinners earlier, but that isn't that realistic when we cook dinner every night (which we enjoy doing) and often my fiance isn't home until 7:30 pm or so.
I've never been super successful with meal prep, but always, always plan out our lunches and dinners throughout the week before I go grocery shopping. So I'm very strong in the meal planning department, which I think helps us a lot with our nutrition.
I don't really focus at all on pre- or post-workout meals. I might if I worked out earlier in the day, but right now, that's not happening.
I've come to the realization that working out in the morning is not the best for me, as much as I may like having it done with at the start of my day! I just can't ever get up early enough. My fiance goes to work later than I do and always gets his workout done in the morning.
Right now, my protein shake (detailed as above) is consumed around 9-9:30 am, and holds me over til lunch around noon. It is essentially replacing, for me, what used to be a banana before leaving for work and some other morning snack (usually Greek yogurt with granola and maybe some berries).
I suppose I might be getting some benefit from having that shake after biking 8 miles to work, but I don't have it directly afterwards (typically 30-60 minutes later).
Mostly, my trouble area with eating comes in the evening, before dinner. I think much of that has to do with the fact that we don't normally eat dinner until 8 or 8:30 pm, which is definitely on the later side. So around 6-6:30, when I get home, I'm generally already at least a bit hungry.
I'd love to get us to eating dinners earlier, but that isn't that realistic when we cook dinner every night (which we enjoy doing) and often my fiance isn't home until 7:30 pm or so.
I've never been super successful with meal prep, but always, always plan out our lunches and dinners throughout the week before I go grocery shopping. So I'm very strong in the meal planning department, which I think helps us a lot with our nutrition.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
Wow, that was a long post. Sorry friends! 
I haven't weighed myself in weeks, the last month i have started carb cycling. five days of keto(40g of carbs) then two days of carbo loading(513g of carbs) . Honestly after two days of eating carbs i am screaming to get back into ketosis. i was super stoked thinking man i can't wait to see what the scale says and i was pretty bummed to see that the scale hasn't moved, stuck at 217. (-20 since jan 3 so yay) i was thinking i had lost a lot more in the last month because i moved two notches on my belt, my lifting belt is on its last notch(last time that happened i was at 198), my pants are baggy and my shirts fit differently. I am kicking myself for not taking progress pics but in looking back at pics of me from a month ago and taking some today there is huge difference in body composition(bicep veins and more pronounced fabs(fat abs)). I guess i have been recomping (slowly losing fat and building muscle).
also- great sadness, i shaved my mustache.
also- great sadness, i shaved my mustache.
Road Guy
Well-known member
you know you are doing well when you have to get a smaller weight lifting belt!
I squatted 285 Monday, trying to get back to being able to squat 315 like in the high school days!
I've been working out with this fit 55 year old dude, who I learned used to play Offensive Line (guard) at CU. Nice to have a gym bro
I squatted 285 Monday, trying to get back to being able to squat 315 like in the high school days!
I've been working out with this fit 55 year old dude, who I learned used to play Offensive Line (guard) at CU. Nice to have a gym bro
I cry when I go into the gym and look at the gym "leader board" and see that the wife of the husband/wife duo up top can probably out-squat me at nearly 100 #'s less weight (squatted well over 500 lbs with knee wraps only).
holy crap. have you ever seen Stefi cohen squat or deadlift? she has a bw of 129 lbs and she pulls and squats 500.
